2009 Pagani Zonda - Spied

Next generation of the road-hugging Italian boutique supercar coming to the U.S.

BY JAKE HOLMES, PHOTOGRAPHY BY AUTO SCOOP
May 2008

Bearing a slight resemblance to the Batmobile, these spy pictures show the next Pagani Zonda testing in Italy.

The Italian automaker is not divulging many details, but we do know that this car will replace the current Zonda F and, like all previous Paganis, will use an engine supplied by Mercedes AMG. We expect the new car to produce close to 700 horsepower, which could mean we’ll find the supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 from the McLaren SLR 722 Edition in the engine compartment behind the driver; it’s a motor that already touts a tire-smoking 632 hp.

The current Zonda F is powered by a 7.3-liter V-12 making 602 horsepower that rockets the car from 0 to 62 mph in less than four seconds.

Since its launch in 1999, the Pagani Zonda has followed a simple principle: take a low-slung, aerodynamic body and a monstrous AMG engine to create a supercar that can play with Ferrari Enzos and Lamborghinis. The new car looks set to follow the same pattern, although its lines are softer and curvier than current Zonda designs. It still looks like it was sculpted by engineers with rulers, but with cleaner styling than before.

Pagani’s signature quad-exhaust tips poke out of the rear fascia and huge inlets in the front bumper gulp for air. Like prior Zonda, this one sports clever aerodynamics to keep it snug to the ground, including a carbon-fiber rear spoiler and splitter. Sweeping body curves should let air flow over the car.

Pagani plans to launch the new Zonda sometime next year. The car will be sold in the U.S. starting in 2010.

One thing we do know is that the Zonda will be expensive and exclusive. Pagani’s factory in Modena, Italy, builds fewer than 20 cars per year, and the least expensive model starts at a cool $457,000.