Howling Revisited

The last time we looked at the Pagani Zonda, easily one of our favorite supercars of all time, the world had heard and understood the enigma of the howling. What Horacio Pagani creates with the Zonda and its various iterations is a glimpse into automotive nirvana, the utopia of exotic motoring.

Over the last few years, even more new and exciting developments have emerged from San Cesario sul Panaro in Italy. Most recently, the Zonda R (which is the track-only complete monster Ferrari-beater) thrashed all comers on a lap of the 'Ring with a time of 6'47". For reference, that's a second faster than a Radical SR8LM, a whopping 11 seconds quicker than the 599XX, over half a minute ahead of the already-blinding F Clubsport, and bests whatever car you drive by about a week.

A Pagani dealer in Hong-Kong requested the Cinque so much that it finally came about, as we mentioned in the first article. Naturally, all five are spoken for, what with their clutchless sequential sub-100ms gearchanging (thanks to shift paddles the size of boomerangs), and their 678-horsepower-fueled 0-62 run in 3.4 seconds. Those insane roof scoops and additional venting create so much downforce, cornering has been measured at 1.45g. Of course, what is a Cinque without a roadster version, so expect another five of those at a cool $2 million each.

For the 5oth anniversary of Italy's flight demonstration team, Pagani created another unique edition, named the Tricolore. As with the Cinque, the carbon fiber is woven with titanium to create an even stronger and lighter composite that we would like to have woven into our limbs. It's really that awesome, finished off with a clear blue lacquer that is mesmerizing, and LED running lights that aren't. Running the length of the beast are three Italian-colored stripes that mimic the flight team's paint scheme. Only three will ever exist.

And then there is the PS. Let's say you wanted a Cinque (pocket change, of course), and all five were sold out. Now that's irritating. What you should do is ring up Mr. Pagani and have him build you a special 1-of-1 edition, with your initials on it. Peter Saywell of the UK has beat you to it, with the Zonda PS you see below. Not only does it feature a rearranged exhaust that's laid out like a row of medieval cannon battery, a wicked-looking rear diffuser is also fitted, along with the 6-speed sequential gearbox from the Cinque.

Why not have another special edition? The Zonda Uno (guess how many were made?) features a melting pot of other versions -- air scoop, rear diffus0r, and stripe from the Cinque, LED running lights from the Tricolore, aqua coloring from Miami Vice -- at the behest of a Middle-Eastern enthusiast. He must like fast cars that are aqua, because this 700hp Uno joins an entire stable of similarly-hued supercars.

And so, we are poised on the brink of the C9 -- Pagani's next platform. Rumors abound that it will run a version of the old Mercedes twin-turbo V12, but we certainly hope not! A naturally-aspirated V12 is the only powerplant worthy of the stigma all the current Zondas have embodied, but we will trust Mr. Pagani's judgement in creating another generation of the howling.