Pagani: the ultimate of ultimate cars

Everyone likes to say they have the ultimate of something: the ultimate watch, the ultimate yacht, the ultimate home, and, of course, the ultimate car. You think you have seen it all, and then you clap eyes on the Pagani Huayra and realise that all claims to be the ultimate of something before just fall away.

A big reason for that is because you pay the ultimate price if you want one. No, not that ultimate price, although this is a serious performance machine, so best you be a decent driver. The ultimate price in this case is an about €2.5-million. After the government has added its cut and you take the exchange rate into consideration, you are probably in for about R40-million, but that’s just a guess. 

But that is the price you pay for ultimate, and for that you get to be the only person in any year to buy a brand new Pagani Huayra coupé, in South Africa anyway. The company will make only 100 coupé versions, and only one has been allocated to South Africa a year. The allocation will probably double if we get a roadster version too.

While it takes about 150 days to build one at the Pagani factory in Italy, it can take up to a year to spec one, which requires time with the configurator at the Daytona Group Pagani showroom in South Africa and at least one trip to the factory. But you will have something unique, something engineered for you, and something, well, ultimate really.

Apart from the engine, which comes from Mercedes-AMG, everything is bespoke. Every bolt features the Pagani logo and is made from titanium. The incredible instrument cluster has to be seen to be believed and is handmade by a watchmaker in Geneva. The gearshifter is actually a work of art in itself, and, honestly, we want one on the Wanted editorial desk just so we can stare at its incredible design. The carbon fibre was designed by Horacio Pagani himself, and then there is what happens when you open the gulping doors, the engine cover, and the front boot cover. It is all a work of art, or as Pagani himself likes to say: ”a combination of science and art”. 

It is expensive, it is exclusive, and to many people it may just a little unnecessary, but no one will argue that aside from handing over an even bigger wad of cash to have your own vehicle designed and built by Ferrari or Rolls-Royce, the Pagani really is the ultimate.