Pagani Huayra Italian Supercar

Pagani Huayra Italian Supercar

If you are a Russian oligarch (in exile) or perhaps a Middle Eastern prince with a second residence in London (don't park your car in front of Harrods or London police will have your wheels clamped), you may want to consider this new addition to your Koenigsegg CCXR, Bugatti Veyron and Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce collection. The car in question is the Huayra made by Italian Pagani Automobili SpA. A serious contender for super cars priced in the upper price range of the market; the Pagani Huayra will have a price of about $1.4 million dollars. To this date five prototypes have been built which have been conducting road tests for the past 4 years. Pagani has just announced that it will begin selling the 700-horsepower car worldwide (including the US) through a dealer network beginning later this year (2011). Prospective buyers may very well want to visit the Geneva motor show in March where Pagani will have it on display.

This super car features a super powerful Mercedes-AMG M158 V12 twin-turbo engine; 5980 cc. The calm and harmony of driving one of the world’s most refined GT cars is interrupted when the driver calls upon the Huayra to unleash its 700 horsepower and 1000 Nm of torque. Broom, broom and zoom zoom, the car is said to have reached lightning fast speeds of up to 230mph, and goes from zero to 62mph in 3.3 seconds. The turbos have been studied to offer immediate response to the slightest throttle input, giving the driver full control over the engine at any rpm and preventing unwanted delays in the delivery of power. The engine's systems have been designed and tested to stand up to the most adverse conditions of temperature and performance. The Huayra has been subjected to the highs of Death Valley and the lows of the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle? Yes, la-la-land rumors have it that heavy hitters have their own private Antonov An-225 so they can drop off their super expensive race cars at the Arctic for a private race, by invitation only. The Gumball 3000 race is so last year...

Anyway, back to the technical stuff: the two lateral radiators are positioned in the front to guarantee the best cooling efficiency of the intercoolers placed over the cylinder heads. Dry sump lubrication ensures an optimal oil feed to the engine even when the car is subjected to the most extreme lateral accelerations. It also regulates the oil flow so that only the necessary amount of lubricant is actually pumped into the engine from the external oil tank, reducing the friction caused by an excessive volume of lubricant inside the engine sump. An oil/water heat exchanger reduces warm-up times by heating the engine lubricant during cold start and keeps engine coolant and lubricant levels at steady operational temperatures. Extensive weight saving programs led to ingenious yet simple solutions. In order to reduce hoses and connections as much as possible is built directly to the engine. The intercooler covers serve as expansion tanks to the low temperature circuit and the engine coolant circuit. The vertical fins contribute to the cooling of the tanks.

The styling of the car was perfected over the course of 5 years to find each line’s beginning and end. During this study, eight scale models were created, as well as two 1:1 models, each an evolution of the previous in a never ending quest to perfect the form and refining the substance. The bi-xenon headlamps are just one of the many precious gifts from the Zonda R, and LED daytime running lights are seamlessly integrated in the elliptical shape of the design. The rear bumper integrates with the diffuser and is dominated by an elliptical frame that surrounds the four central exhaust outlets, now becoming a characteristic Pagani element.

The new central monocoque on the Huayra is an entirely new design made from Carbontitanium. However, with the gull wing doors cutting deep into the roof, much research was focused on achieving the highest levels of rigidity through the application of new advanced composite materials and technologies first tested on the Zonda R. The fuel tank is located integrally in the best protected area of the monocoque, behind the driver, reinforced by safety cell made of different composite and ballistic materials. The front and rear CrMo subframes offer an exceptional rigidity-to-weight ratio to allowing the suspensions to work at their best while incorporating an advanced energy absorbing crash structure, ready to protect the occupants in the unlikely event of an impact.

The never ending quest for weight reduction resulted also into the combination of structural and non-structural or aesthetical elements. An example is the integration of all ventilation air ducts into the monocoque’s structure, making the use of additional parts and ducts unnecessary. The result of this attention to detail is a vehicle weighing 1.350 kg making the Huayra the lightest sportscar in its class.