Mr. Pagani and his creation

In Italy, you have two supercar makers. There’s the class and beauty of a Ferrari, or the brute strength and passion of a Lamborghini. I suppose you can count Maserati and Alfa Romeo as two other big carmakers but they never trespassed into Ferrari and Lamborghini territory. Trying to build a car faster than a Ferrari or more extreme than a Lambo is a big Italian no-no. But one man with more passion than both companies decided to give it a try, and that man’s name is Horacio Pagani. Mr. Pagani is an Argentinean man who moved to Italy in the early 80’s to pursue his life long dream of building cars. He started off with Lamborghini but eventually went down his own path to create one of the biggest names in the business, Pagani Automobili Modena. Mr. Pagani set to work on his dream car and in 1999, it debuted at the Geneva Motor Show. Using a Mercedes Benz “AMG” v12, the car cost about $320,000. It was called the “Zonda”, named after an Argentinean wind. Only a handful were made and Mr. Pagani continued to improve and tweak the car until eventually his Zonda’s were some of the most potent automobiles the world had ever seen. Usually when a small, independent car company attempts to make a supercar, they last a few years. The reason why they last such a short time is because companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini are too big to compete with and their cars were always better. Not this time though, Mr. Pagani’s wonderful creations were smashing lap records and leaving F430’s and Murcielago’s for dead. Every year the “AMG” tuned v12 would grow stronger and faster. Every year the price tag grew higher and higher as the car became more sought after. Until finally, Zonda production came to a close. The Zonda however, went out with a bang, or a howl I should say. Enter the Pagani Zonda R, the most radical, quickest and most expensive Zonda ever made. It is an orgy of unbelievable numbers, 740 hp and 525 lb ft of torque, 2358 lbs and wait for it… 1.8 million dollars. Making it more expensive than a Bugatti Veyron but it is in every way better than a Veyron apart from the top speed. The feel, the sound, the power deliver, the weight, the poise, the list goes on and on. "0-60 mph, no one knows, top speed, no one knows", only that the 6 speed sequential gearbox will go through gears with an unorthodox precision and speed. The “AMG” v12 bellow is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Oh and did I mention it holds the lap record at the Nurburgring? There isn’t enough that can be said about this car and in my opinion it is currently the best car in the world, with Pagani being one of the best carmakers in the world. A man with such passion and love for speed was able to set up shop in Ferrari and Lamborghini’s backyard, and teach them a lesson or two. A man, who is truly inspiring to us all, was able to do the impossible and succeed. This video really sums that up... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwzMB8PKvRU