In this day and age of super-exclusive cars and bespoke commissions, there is one brand that has established itself as “art on wheels”. Pagani Automobili, founded by Horacio Pagani, is one of the very few manufacturers in the world that can rival Bugatti, Koenigsegg, or any other form of hypercar royalty. While performance is more than adequate, unlike its French and Swedish counterparts, Pagani prioritizes the experience, beauty, and elegance of its hypercars.
If you’re a true enthusiast chances are Pagani is not something unfamiliar. But, for those of you who aren’t, Pagani started its life in 1992 as a small Italian boutique automobile manufacturer. Their first offering was the Pagani Zonda C12 that debuted in 1999 and was a spot of gold in a seemingly over-hyped sea of supercars.
While the Huayras and Zonda Cinques have received quite the attention, Not many people know about the Zonda C12—the first Pagani ever to roll out of Modena.
Pagani Zonda C12: Quite Literally “Art On Wheels”
Nowadays, you would associate most supercars to have a radical design and attractive curves. The trend was started by the Pagani Zonda- back in 1999, no other supercar had a curvy yet purposeful design as tasteful as you see in the Zonda. Everything according to Horacio Pagani was to do with both form and function. Unlike most supercars where either one is compromised, the Zonda and its successor the Huayra never really had much.
Every design detail is unique to the Zonda. Mr. Pagani wasn’t new to designing shall we say. During his early days, Horacio made a few significant contributions to Lamborghini. Horacio Pagani was the chief of design and was responsible for the Countach Evoluzione concept which later became the car that we know and love.
If you were to look at the Zonda in transformer mode, it’s similar to what the Lamborghini Miura used to look when both its hood and rear clamshell were kept open. The Zonda is a timeless design- even today, the lines remain classy yet exotic; rendering it a sumptuous piece of automotive architecture.
Pagani Zonda C12: A Screaming V12 To Match Its Looks
Since Mr. Pagani was busy sculpting his dream, he left the engineering or at least the engine development to Mercedes. Yes, the Pagani Zonda C12 used a Mercedes-Benz 6.0-liter V12 producing 444 horsepower and 472 lb-ft of torque. Acceleration times were impressive given that the Zonda was an incredibly light car; weighing in at just 2670 pounds. The Zonda C12 was capable of reaching 60 mph in 4.0 seconds while top speed stood at 185 mph. Just like many supercars of that era, the Zonda came with a manual transmission with 5 forward gears.
The engine was extremely torque and was flexible enough to pootle around the city streets with relative ease. That said, maneuverability wasn’t the best given the width of the car. Just like a 911, the hips of the Zonda were flared and you’d have to keep that in mind when going through narrow European streets, especially considering that the Zonda C12 wasn’t a worldwide homologated car.
Pagani Zonda C12: Extremely Rare And Covetable
While there were many special edition Zondas, not many C12s were made. A total of 5 examples were only manufactured, wherein one was used for crash testing and homologation, while another was a show car. The crash test car has now been fully restored and is kept at the factory. The remaining cars were delivered to their customers of which one was Benny Caiola.
The Huayra BC which later showed up was to commemorate Pagani’s first-ever customer and was launched after 6 years of Mr. Caiola’s demise. Prices of the Zonda C12 have skyrocketed to almost being invaluable.
Pagani Zonda C12: Impeccable Attention To Detail
Pagani represents the highest level of precision and attention to detail. As you make yourself into the saddle, the instrument cluster, followed by the gear shifter and the entire center console in general is made with extreme commitment. The Zonda C12 was part of the era when airbags weren’t a thing.
Although it was a mandate, legislations in the EU had a loophole where manufacturers had to abide by the rule only if they met a certain production number, which the Zonda did not. Citing financial concerns and low-production number boutique carmakers like Pagani did get exempted from the mandate much like many other one-off creations.
The interior is bathed in leather with many of its components milled from aluminum. Unlike the Huayra, Pagani wasn’t at a point where they could’ve made everything in-house. Most of the interior creature comforts are borrowed from other carmakers.
For instance, the stereo is similar to the ones seen on Ferraris of the time, and the climate control unit is borrowed from the Lamborghini Diablo and so were the taillights. Aside from these minor shortfalls, little things like the shifter-mounted starter button add to the experience inside the Zonda.
Sources: Evo, Motor1, YouTube