Pagani unleashes the Zonda-replacing Huayra supercar

The Huayra is named after a Spanish god of wind, and is pronounced "Wirer". Taking seven years to develop, and known internally as the C9, the Huayra replaces Pagani's legendary Zonda supercar, and owner Horacio Pagani says that the Huayra offers a different flavour of supercar to the Zonda.

The Huayra features a similar silhouette to the Zonda, but the aggressive looks have been toned down. It is no less dramatic however, with a pair of gull-wing doors that are made from carbon fibre, much like the rest of the body. The tub of the Huayra is made from an all-new carbon-titanium monocoque frame, which is strong yet able to flex slightly to absorb impacts. In total the Huayra weighs just 1350kg.

Inside, Pagani has made the Huayra a more comfortable place to be in, with slightly more space and luxury items such as touch-screen satellite navigation and Bluetooth connectivity, yet not losing any of the touches that make a Pagani instantly recognisable, with details such as the exposed gear lever, underlying the true performance intent of the car.

With regards to the actual performance, the Huayra is powered by a 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine, specially commissioned and built by Mercedes-Benz's AMG division. Pagani has instructed AMG to reduce turbo lag and improve the throttle progression, and the result is a final power output of 700bhp and over 1000Nm of torque.

Power is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shifters, developed by XTRAC, and the gearbox is located behind the engine to save space. A three-stage Bosch traction control system helps maintain grip and hold power down to the ground. Independently-adjustable aerodynamic flaps and an adjustable ride height help to control airflow and improve grip, cornering and stability at high speed.

Pagani intends to market the Huayra in more countries than the Zonda, including first forays into the American and Chinese markets. Safety equipment has been enhanced to help homologate the car for the US, while to help facilitate the growth and increase in production, Pagani is set to start construction of a new factory later this year.