Pagani is an Italian carmaker that has been in existence since the early 1990s. The company was founded by a man named Horacio Pagani, who formerly managed Lamborghini’s composites department. The company was first called Pagani Composites Research. Although not the largest or most famous carmaker, Pagani is known for producing cars with incredible speed capabilities and style.
One example of this is the Pagani Zonda. This is their first car as well as the one they are most famous for. This is a mid-engine sports car that was debuted at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. As of 2019, there were a total of 140 Pagani Zondas produced.
We took a look into the rare specimen to uncover its best feature as well as other interesting facts about it, and this is what we found. Fasten your seatbelts!
A Brief History Of The Zonda
The Pagani Zonda was originally set to be called the Fangio F1 as a way to honor Juan Manuel Fangio, who was a Formula One champion. However, it was renamed the Zonda Wind after his death in 1995. Zonda Wind is a regional term for a hot air current above Argentina, which is where Fangio was from.
It should be mentioned that a later version of the Pagani Zonda was called the Zonda F as a way to honor Fangio.
As of now, there have been eight editions of the Pagani Zonda produced. The first was the Zonda C12 in 1999, and the latest was the Zonda HP Barchetta in 2017; this version marks the end of production for this iconic car. There have also been many special editions of the Zonda produced since its inception. Racers can still get the car for competitions.
Each new model of the Pagani Zonda increased the car’s speeds, displacement, and of course, acceleration time. This is in stark contrast to many carmakers who hardly make changes to their cars as they release new editions.
What Is The Best Feature Of The Pagani Zonda?
As mentioned before, each new version of the Pagani Zonda was able to increase speeds and acceleration. Because of this, it becomes clear that Pagani’s goal was to create a fast car. Given that this is true, the top speed is the best feature of the Pagani Zonda, regardless of what model we’re discussing.
The slowest of all the models for the Pagani Zonda was the very first in 1999. It achieved 0-60 MPH in a neck-breaking 4.2 seconds. This first version was powered by a 6-liter Mercedes-Benz M120 V12 engine and had a power output of either 400 PS or 450 PS. There were only five of these cars ever produced.
In the year 2000, Pagani released the follow-up to the Zonda C12, simply called the C12-S. With this version, the company was able to decrease the acceleration time to achieve 60 miles per hour from 4.2 seconds to an impressive 3.7 seconds. This new car has a peak power of 550 PS. This car featured a new 6-speed manual transmission because the one previously used could not support this amount of power output.
The fastest three cars of the standard models in terms of acceleration of the Zonda are the Zonda F Clubsport, the Zonda Cinque, and the Zonda Tricolore. Each of these cars has a 0-60 acceleration of 3.4 seconds. They also have roughly the same peak power, although the Clinique has the biggest at 678 PS. They each have a top speed of 217 MPH.
The latest Zonda, the Barchetta, is sure to be the fastest as it has a top speed of 221 MPH. However, there is no accurate 0-60 estimate available for it.
How Much Is A Pagani Zonda?
The latest version of the Pagani Zonda is one of the most expensive new cars of all time. It was the most expensive in 2018. The Pagani Zonda Barchetta HP, the HP stands for Horacio Pagani, commanded a hefty $23.64 million for the rare few people who would be lucky enough to get one.
If you were looking for a used version of the very first Zonda, you could expect to pay over $3 million, whereas the car cost about $325,000 when it was first released.
These cars fetch such hefty price tags because they truly are works of art. A company like Pagani that only produces a handful of cars will always be high in value because they are super rare. Many of these cars are almost fully handmade.
Final Thoughts On The Zonda
The Pagani Zonda is a legendary sports car that is among both one of the most expensive and most rare cars of all time. They were designed to stand out, achieve massive speeds, and to be art pieces instead of simply cars. Although the Zonda is no longer in production, car enthusiasts all over the world still find excitement from this true game-changer.