Pagani boss Horacio Pagani recently chatted to Top Gear and some juicy information was shared including the fact that the successor to the Huayra will be arriving as soon as 2023.
Sure it is a little behind schedule but we can forgive them as it will be coming with the turbocharged Mercedes-AMG V12.
Internally it is referred to as ‘C10’ and powering the Italian machine will be the 6.0-litre biturbo V12 that AMG builds especially for them. For the new car, the power output will likely increase which is pretty crazy considering it already pushes out 791 hp (590 kW) and 1,050 Nm (774 lb-ft) of torque in the Roadster BC.
The boss also confirmed that the engine was developed because this is what the customers wanted so AMG then had to build something that’d last for a good few years.
“When we looked at different scenarios [for the Huayra successor’s powertrain], we gave priority to the customers,” Mr Pagani told the publication. “We talked to them and tried to understand what they would prefer.
“In the end, none of them were interested in an electric Pagani or a hybrid version. Rather, they expressed the desire to once again have a car that is light and easy to drive. This meant a journey of hard work with Mercedes-AMG lasting more than 72 months, to create the new Pagani V12 engine to achieve extraordinary power and torque and to equip a car like the Roadster BC that weighs less than 1,300kg.
“An engine which in its second version will power the C10 project and will comply with all emission requirements and regulations until 2026-2027,” he added. Knowing Pagani builds less than 50 cars a year, this might even be extended a few more years.
We know Mercedes and AMG have committed to selling only electric cars from 2030 onwards which could mean the end of the road for the ICE-powered Pagani. Top Gear asked AMG boss Philipp Schiemer what would happen to Horacio’s engines in the future, he simply acknowledged that he was “a good friend of AMG’s” and that the two are “in constant contact”.
Horacio on the other hand was rather clear and confirmed that although no customer has expressed interest in the electric direction, they have been working on a car for over three years with an alternative drive. This echoes the statement he made back in 2019 about Pagani developing an electric hypercar.
“The real challenge here is the weight,” he said back in 2019. “The Rimac C_Two is beautiful and impressive, but it’s just so heavy. The Chiron is so amazing, but terribly heavy.
Our Huayra is lighter, and can pull more lateral G. The real challenge is to make [the EV] a lightweight car. This is what Pagani customers want. A lightweight, beautiful to look at car with many details.”