Horacio Pagani founded Pagani Automobili less than thirty years ago. The first model, the Zonda C12, burst onto the scene in 1999 and the company has gone from strength-to-strength ever since. Several iterations and stunning special editions of the Zonda family left the gates of the factory in San Cesario sul Panaro before the Huayra was introduced in 2011. Today, Pagani has cemented its name as a world renowned hypercar manufacturer with a difference. The attention to detail, quality and beauty that the company's founder insists upon means the cars are considered far more than just automobiles, but also as art and investments that command waiting lists that are measured in years.
Read more: Pagani (and P Zero). It's record again
Does that mean that they should not be pushed to their limits and enjoyed in anger as they were designed to be? Of course not and to demonstrate the phenomenal capabilities and astonishing performance, Pagani were quick to express their interest in attending the inaugural Pirelli P ZERO™ Experience to be held in the UK.
Pagani and Pirelli's close collaboration goes far beyond the surface level technical requirements as Horacio Pagain expressed: “We started working with Pirelli in 2008. We immediately got on well. We soon achieved great results, setting the record at the Nürburgring. The important thing, I think, was working to try to find a very safe tyre for cars such as ours, with a rear engine. We needed to have a reliable tyre, one that could tell you what the car was doing. Because you can have thought about everything when designing a car, but what keeps it on the ground is actually our friend Pirelli”.
If ever there was an opportunity to demonstrate power being nothing without control, it would be a Pagani Huayra BC with its 5.9-litre V12 producing 750 horsepower and an incredible 1000Nm of torque on the road and race track. We followed the car on its journey from Pagani HQ in London to the iconic Silverstone to experience the Huayra at the P ZERO™ Experience.
Having filled the Huayra's storage bins with helmets and race suits and the fuel tank with super unleaded, we hit the road and immediately began to experience the immense power of the V12. On slip roads the torque is savage and the P ZERO™ Trofeo Rs clawed onto the warm asphalt launching the multimillion euro BC towards the horizon. It may be worthy of a space in any art gallery, but this Pagani felt comfortable, composed and at one with the road. This particular car had covered close to 90,000 kilometres, having spent its life being a pre-production prototype for testing.
Arriving at Silverstone, the BC is the centre of attention. The first stop in the paddock is the Tyre Check & Fitting station,open for use by all event participants. The Pirelli team swapped the Pagani's Trofeos for a fresh set and the car joined the immense lineup of supercars in the pit garages for the evening.
The following morning the UK's very first P ZERO™ Experience began, with guests being offered the rare opportunity to feel the Huayra BC's blistering speeds around Silverstone,demonstrating that the Huayra is more than just a masterpiece to be admired when stationary. Together, Pirelli and Pagani provided a memorable experience for all and one that was reflected in the facial expressions of every passenger as they swung open the gull wing door.
