With its 7,3-litre V12 Mercedes-Benz AMG engine in full cry, the Pagani Zonda Roadster is a 355 km/h wind-in-the-hair supercar.
With its 7,3-litre V12 Mercedes-Benz AMG engine in full cry, the Pagani Zonda Roadster is a 355 km/h wind-in-the-hair supercar.
Pagani, the Italian sportscar builder behind the awe-inspiring Zonda C 12 S supercar, unveiled the Zonda Roadster at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday.
The car is seen as a competitor to the upcoming roadster version of the Lamborghini Murciélago (known as the Barchetta). The Zonda Roadster will be produced in a strictly limited edition of 40 completely made-to-measure cars, each of them fitted with carbon fibre/carbon textile removable roof.
The Zonda’s 7,3-litre V12 revs to a shrieking 7 000 r/min redline. With its low weight, a mid-mounted engine (located just behind the driver) and aerodynamically adjusted, wind tunnel-derived styling, the Zonda Roadster develops 414 kW at 5 900 r/min and maximum torque of 750 N.m at 4 050 r/min.
Power is transferred to the rear wheels via an AP twin-plate clutch and six-speed transmission, which helps propel the Pagani from zero to 100 km/h in 3,6 seconds and on to a top speed of 355 km/h.
The Roadster was designed with special attention to safety – a key issue in the “SuperConvertibles” segment. According to Pagani, the new carbon fibre central chassis structure reaches the highest structural rigidity level available in the segment, 18.000 N.m/mm in torsional rigidity, 9.000 N.m/mm in flexional rigidity, for a dry weight of 1 280 Kg.
The roll bar – elliptical in section – is built out of carbon and chrome-molybdene alloy and is linked to the aft section of the chassis. The full-carbon body has a new bonnet design, and a new rear hood design where two NACA air vents work as air extractors.
“The new Zonda Roadster is a true expression of the Pagani spirit: we do not just build supercars, we build ‘Una Macchina con Anima”, a car with a soul ”, said Horacio Pagani, founder and head designer of Pagani Automobili.
Each Zonda Roadster will be hand-built to the exact taste of its owner. The car’s interior will have rare leathers, hand-tailored by Pagani’s own team of craftsmen, aluminium and carbon-fibre, all chosen by the car’s owner.