Pagani has just launched their latest supercar to replace the ten-year-old Huayra, however, it is in some ways less modern than its decade-old predecessor. But that’s not a bad thing whatsoever. The successor to the Huayra is called the Utopia and it is an 852hp manual twin-turbo V12 supercar that aims to take the driver back to the days when supercars were a real mission to drive.
Pagani founder and CEO calls the Utopia his vision of the “perfect hypercar.”
The Utopia definitely takes a lot of inspiration from both the Zonda and Huayra predecessors. Its design has caused a division in the car community. Some love it while others think it looks too dated, and people have moved on from Pagani’s UFO-Esque design language. In my opinion, the Pagani Utopia looks incredible. It may not look as flamboyant as the Zonda or Huayra, but it is far prettier and in some ways a bit more elegant.
However, don’t assume that Pagani has given up on making their cars completely bonkers. The Utopia may not feature gull-wing doors like the Huayra, but Pagani has fitted the Utopia with butterfly doors which adds more drama to the car whilst still being classy. The rear of the car features two hollow oval-type inserts which are there to increase the aerodynamics of the car. Around the body of the car, you will see many different creases and cut-outs to increase aerodynamics and give the car a more dramatic edge.
So, is the Utopia worthy of being the successor to the mad Huayra supercar? Let’s find out.
picture via: thesupercarblog.com
Attention to detail is Pagani’s Priority
picture via: dupointregistry.com
Let’s face it. Nobody focuses on the small details as much as Pagani. Outside, you will find that all the creases and lines are very sharp. The lights have a lot of detail in them, and even the wing mirrors are very unique with them being upside down. However, where Pagani is truly in a league of their own, is the interior.
Inside the Utopia, is something that will take your breath away. There are no large touchscreen displays in the center of the dash and nothing is minimal. A complete contrast then to many other modern supercars. Instead, you get an interior that is straight out of a sci-fi movie.
The detailing is rich. You can see the gear linkage for the X-Trac manual gearbox and when you change gears you can hear the clicks. The whole gear knob and shifter are made from aluminum and you can even see the threading between the gear knob and stick as well as the bolts holding the gear shifter and the H-Pattern stand it sits on.
In normal cars, seeing exposed bolts and screws would not be good at all. However, in the Utopia, or any Pagani for that matter, exposed bolts and screws are a good thing since Pagani does it in such a way that it could be considered artwork.
Just below the gear shifter is a dial and. a few buttons for the car’s controls. Again, these are highly detailed with the dial and buttons having deep ridges that you can really feel. You can also see the bolts holding the panel for these buttons and dials and they look so detailed. In fact, if you look just below this part of the car you will see the exposed bolts holding the gear linkage in place.
In front of the gear linkage, is a starter button which is finished in red. It may not look as cool as the starter button in the Huayra but nevertheless, it is finished in very high-quality aluminum. Above the starter button, is the climate controls which are all knobs rather than screens or buttons. They look very classical and again you can see the exposed bolts which hold this panel in place. Above, is a row of buttons and gauges which look as if they have come from a classical race car from 50 years ago rather than a supercar that was only launched last week.
The steering wheel is highly detailed, with exposed bolts and a minimalist design. You have two gauges in front of the driver as well as a small digital display.
Overall, the interior is very classical and it is nicely complimented by bright light blue ambient lighting which uplifts the whole car and makes everything feel so much more like an occasion. The only thing I am not so keen on is the air vents, which look as if they have just been stuck to the dashboard of the car.
It’s a Very Powerful Car
picture via: supercarblondie.com
The Pagani Utopia is one powerful car. Under the hood is an AMG twin-turbo V12 that sits in the middle of the car just behind the driver. This engine can be viewed through a small glass piece behind the rear windshield. The V12 pushes out 852hp and 811 lb-ft of torque which is ridiculous for a car like this.
There are no fancy hybrid systems on board, no crazy gearbox systems that can change gears in milliseconds, none of that whatsoever. Pagani has ensured that the Utopia is a supercar that takes the back-to-basics approach hence why it features a proper manual gearbox rather than a “virtual” manual gearbox which is seen on Koenigsegg’s new hypercar, the CC850.
The engine is specifically built by AMG for Pagani, and it’s so efficient that it even passes California’s strict emissions tests. This proves then that big engines can still work in this day and age. All the power is sent to the back of the car which heightens the drama when driving because it makes the car feel so much more old-school.
In a world where every supercar is going hybrid to achieve ludicrous power figures, it is nice to see that Pagani has gone down its own path on what a modern supercar should be. Don’t forget, Pagani is in some ways on death row since they have decided against making electric cars (for now) and sales of new internal combustion engined cars will become illegal by 2030.
Expect more supercars like the Utopia to be launched between now and 2030, since this decade will be the last decade where you can really build soulful cars like these. Unfortunately, the Utopia is very exclusive and only 99 will be built. Want to buy one? Well, you can’t since all 99 have been sold for a price of over 2 million euros.