► New Pagani Huayra Roadster BC
► A targa-top supercar, more power
► Joins Huayra Roadster unveiled at Geneva
Pagani Automobili has announced a new open-top supercar – the Huayra BC Roadster due to be unveiled at Pebble Beach in August 2019. It’s a limited-run targa-top special and just 40 will be made, joining the coupe and fully fledged Roadster in the line-up.
It’s a pricey addition to the range, costing some £2.8 million plus taxes, but for that you get a carbonfibre removable roof panel, a 1250kg kerbweight (30 less than the regular Roadster) and a chunky power increase to a formidable 791bhp.
The Mercedes-AMG twin-turbo V12 musters 775lb ft of torque at just 2000rpm, so it’s going to be predictably rabid. However, Pagani has not yet issued full performance claims for the new Huayra BC Roadster, although it does quote cornering acceleration of up to 2.2g. Sounds like it really will corner like it’s on rails.
And that name? BC references Benny Caiola, the Ferrari collector who bought the first Pagani’s Zonda two decades ago.
Read on to find out more about the regular Huayra Roadster – and to see where the Pagani story began two decades ago…
Pagani at the 2019 Geneva motor show: the full-blown Huayra Roadster and Zonda chassis number 001
We’ve lost track of the sheer number of Pagani Zonda derivatives released before it was eventually replaced by the Huayra – so how good does this pure, unadulterated C12 look alongside a roofless version of its successor?
The Italian maker brought both to the 2019 Geneva motor show to partly to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the car responsible for its membership to hypercar royalty, and also to mark its most successful year to date, with a 35% increase in turnover.
Enough – tell me more about the Zonda…
Twenty years have passed since the 1999 Geneva motor show where the Zonda C12 was revealed for the first time, and just 140 street legal models have been sold since then.
That show car wore silver livery inspired by the Mercedes Benz Silver Arrows – a tribute to the manufacturer which provides the six-litre, 450bhp V12 powerplant.
This restored Zonda – chassis number 001 – carries the same livery. It was originally used for homologation and crash tests, which meant most of the original parts had to be recovered in the restoration.
That included the suspension, rims, wheel hubs, and exhaust pipes, right down to the screws and bolts. A proper job, in other words.
What’s the Huayra Roadster about?
At the newer end of the scale is this stunning drop-top Huayra Roadster, with its matt finish Blu Tricolore paint and white accents along the outline. The car was originally shown at the 2017 Geneva motor show, but the latest version has a few special touches.
This colour combination was suggested by the carbonfibre craftsmen of Pagani Automobili as the best way to show off their work.
The theme is carried into the inside with blue and white leather echoing the exterior colours.
A-Z of the Geneva motor show 2019 on CAR