It was from an early age that Horacio Pagani developed his interest in sports cars and set out to pursue a career in the automotive industry. This Argentine-Italian engineer began his career early. Born in 1955, he finished building his first F2 racer by 1979, when he was in his early 20s. He worked for Renault with the mission of improving the body of a racing car and by 1983 he moved to Italy and began working at Lamborghini.
Lamborghini was a company he’s always admired and he saw it as an opportunity to solidify his career in the auto industry. He started at the bottom, and at the time Lamborghini wasn’t at its best days and had less than 200 employees. Horacio put his talent to work and quickly rose in the ranks of the Italian company and eventually had a chance to work with composite materials.
At the time he felt some resistance from the status quo of how things were supposed to be done, but he firmly believed in the potential of these durable, lightweight materials. His research paid off when the Lamborghini Countach anniversary edition came about, and he had the chance to utilize composite materials on parts of the chassis.
By 1991 he left Lamborghini to create Pagani and work on his supercar without being too restricted by any particular set of rules. A glimpse of what he was able to accomplish there is shown here, as we rank the fastest Pagani Supercars by top speed.
10 2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster: 217 MPH
As a limited production road-legal car, there were only five Zonda Cinque Roadsters ever produced. The frame was made of carbon titanium and the car used a Mercedes-Benz AMG V-12 naturally aspirated engine that put out 678 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque. The exhaust system was made from inconel and titanium, a Pagani exclusive design.
The Cinque Roadster had a sequential 6-speed transmission and adjustable suspension, allowing some room for comfort should the driver desire. It reached a top speed of 217 MPH, a feat in itself, but Pagani would achieve much more in the coming years. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that more than gunning for top speed records, Pagani sports cars are more about overall performance, and dynamic composure even when racing at speeds superior to 200 MPH.
9 2020 Pagani Zonda Revolución: 217 MPH
The Zonda Revolución is presented by the brand as the revolution in their concept of art applied to speed. Pagani never really strayed away from the passion of Italians for designing beautiful sports cars. Taken as pieces of art, Pagani always tried to create an amalgamation between beauty and performance functionality in its designs.
The Revolución is a car Horatio and his team developed that could either be admired on the track, or in a private collection. It was not road legal and despite having the 6.0-liter V-12 now outputting 800 and tipping the scales at 2359 pounds, the aerodynamic body work had to generate a lot of downforce to ensure it went fast around the track limiting its top speed potential. The Zonda Revolución is also claimed to hit the 217 MPH mark.
8 2002 Pagani Zonda S: 220 MPH
One of the original supercars made by Pagani, the first being the Zonda C12 which debuted at the Geneva motor show back in 1999, the Pagani Zonda S had to make a statement, and that it did. The Zonda S featured a 7.30-liter V-12 from Mercedes-AMG with a maximum power output of 555 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque at 4,050 rpm. But at only 2,000 rpm this engine was already making 457 pound-feet of torque. These numbers are pretty impressive today, and they were staggering back in 2002.
The Bugatti Veyron was available at the time with its Quad Turbo W-16 engine making 1,000 horsepower. But that was a car conceived for top speed. The Ferrari Enzo, which was launched in 2002 as well is a more suited supercar to compare to the Zonda S. The Enzo, in fact, was considered by some the first hypercar. It was light, RWD, and its screaming V-12 engine made 651 horsepower. It was more than the Zonda S, but it came at higher revs, and it made less torque too at ‘only’ 485 pound-feet. The Pagani Zonda S was rumored to reach the 2020 MPH mark.
7 2017 Pagani Zonda Barchetta: 221 MPH
Horacio Pagani S.P.A. has made some ultra-limited production vehicles. One such vehicle that had a production run of only 3 models was the Zonda Barchetta. Even then, one of the people fortunate (as in prosperous) enough to buy one actually had a run-in with a bit of bad luck and managed to crash this almost priceless car.
The Barchetta is said to have been a tailor-made car by Pagani and his team for Horacio Pagani himself. The Barchetta took the 1999 Zonda’s original design and reinterpreted it with state-of-the-art craftsmanship and material technology from 2017. This bold, 3-of-a-kind car is seen by the company as a reinvention of a masterpiece. It represents Horacio Pagani’s own interpretation of a collector's car.
6 2018 Pagani Zonda 760 Aether Roadster: 223 MPH
Another limited production car from Pagani, this time a one-off model, the Pagani Zonda 760 Aether Roadster had an estimated top speed of 223 MPH. To that end, the car featured a Mercedes-AMG tuned 7.3-liter naturally aspirated V-12 that made 760 horsepower. Inspired by the other limited production Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster (Cinque is Italian for Five), the 760 Aether Roadster's main differences from the Cinque are in how much power it makes, its unique color, and small differences in the aerodynamic aids.
Back in 2019, this one-of-a-kind hypercar was put on auction for $5.5M. One has to wonder how much it should be worth nowadays with the era of the ICE coming to an end. The Aether showcased Pagani’s one-of-one philosophy where a small team of engineers can pour all their expertise and passion for sports cars into one highly tailored package as if they were creating unique works of art.
5 2016 Pagani Huayra Hermès Edition: 224 MPH
Based on the Pagani Huayra, which was developed after the Zonda, the Hèrmes Edition was another limited production model that featured an exclusive interior by the Paris company that lent its name to the car and a hand-built engine signed by the technician in charge at AMG. This was the same engine featured on the Huayra, which was a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V-12 that made 750 horsepower and 735 pound-feet of torque.
The Hèrmes edition also shared the same 7-speed sequential gearbox from the base Huayra. What set it apart the most was the luxurious interior and color choice, also compliments from Hèrmes. Some other differentiating details such as laser-cut grilles were present. This one had an estimated top speed of 224 MPH.
4 2012 Pagani Huayra Carbon Edition: 230 MPH
For the production of the Huayra Carbon Edition, Pagani used all its knowledge from the use of Carbon Fiber on other Zonda models and took it a step further. The Carbon Edition featured extensive use of Carbon Fiber for reduced weight. The whole body used it, as well as the wheels and interior trim. Another material, carbotanium, a combination of carbon composite with a titanium alloy was used on the chassis and suspension.
This exquisite combination used by Pagani results in a strong, light, heat, and stain-resistant material that is perfect for its supercars. The Huayra Carbon Edition was unveiled back in 2012 alongside the White Edition, and it reached a top speed of 230 MPH.
3 2022 Pagani Huayra Codalunga: 230 MPH
Pagani claims only five Huayra Codalunga were ever made. All five are sold out with prices starting at about $7.7 million. The inspiration for its creation came from a union of aspirations from customers and designers. It was tailor-made at Pagani Grandi Complicazioni (Big Complications in English), the company’s dedicated division for special projects. The name of this division is an inside trivia to one of Horacio Pagani’s design philosophies. Finding simple solutions for big problems.
In 2018, two old-time Pagani customers asked Horacio to make a long-tail version of the Huayra Coupé with the goal of creating a supercar that boasted an elegant more streamlined design. The clients collaborated closely with the Pagani Grandi Complicazioni team in a big undertaking to make these bespoke beautiful beasts. The Codalunga is estimated to be able to reach the same top speed as the Carbon Edition from 10 years prior.
2 2011 Pagani Huayra: 238 MPH
First launched in 2011, the Pagani Huayra borrow its name from a legend. Huayra Tata, God of Wind permeated the Andean Highlands with blizzards and storms. When the God slept, the elements remained calm. But as the saying goes, there is a calm before the storm. And when the Huayra awakens, the storm surely comes.
Perhaps based on this ethos, Pagani tuned the original Huayra to reach as high a top speed as it possibly could. Some sources place it at the 230 MPH mark, but others claim it was able to reach 238 MPH. This pretty much placed it behind only the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport (267 MPH) for the fastest street car in the world at the time. The key difference is that the Huayra performed much better around a twisty track.
1 2021 Pagani Huayra R: 240 MPH
The Huayra R is a track-only car. Naturally, without the usual street-compliant restrictions, it outperforms its base model. This track variant is rumored to reach a staggering 240 MPH top speed. Its engine, a naturally aspirated V-12 outputs 850 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, and it redlines at 9,000 rpm. Pagani also considers this version a sort of test car that will help shape the performance of future Pagani models. It has a limited production of 30 units and a base price starting at around $2.9 million, plus tax.
This track monster produces 2204 pounds of downforce at 199 MPH and maintains an even split 46 percent front and 54 percent back distribution of its aerodynamic downforce throughout all speeds. The car also has a minimum, track-oriented ground clearance to maximize aerodynamic performance.