Skip to main content

Italian Supercars and Pagani

The Oxford dictionary defines art as, “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination…producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” Throughout the history of the automobile, the Italians have taken it upon themselves to use the car, in its most abstract definition, a social tool, as canvas for some breathtaking artistic expression.
Cars like the Fiat 500, the Ferrari 250 GTO, the Lamborghini Miura and more recently the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione redefined car design for good, and these barely scratch the surface. Not to mention, most of them were sublime driving machines.  This also meant that the general public would tend to overlook their questionable build quality and awkward interior layouts.
Fast-forward to the present day and the situation is slightly different. Case in point, Ferrari & Lamborghini. One is a marketing juggernaut, selling everything from keychains to amusement park rides. While the other is now an offshoot of the largest automotive conglomerate ever. Their cars, while still quicker and better looking than almost everything else, now seem to be made to please everyone. This is no bad thing, makes them more accessible, but the true purists still feel left out.
Pagani Huayra BC
Credits: Speedhunters
This is where Pagani come in. Set up in 1992 by ex-Lamborghini engineer Horacio Pagani and based out of San Cesario sul Panaro, near Modena, Italy, this small upstart of the supercar world has managed to build some true masterpieces. The Zonda first and then the Huayra are immensely stylish and quick while being built with an almost pathological attention to detail. Testament to this are the interior bits milled from solid aluminium, the exposed gear linkages which mimic the precision of watch movements, the spaceship styling and the bespoke AMG engines. All of this goes to show these cars to be not just about the numbers. They exude a sense of occasion and character, which makes them even more appealing.

The electric revolution is sweeping through the car world and it is almost certainly for the best. Also, supercars are not going anywhere either. What may go missing though are stunningly pretty, characterful cars. But with the Italians and their Paganis, you can always hold out hope.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Maruti 800: A Social Icon

The automobile industry in India prior to the 1980s was in complete shambles. The only two manufacturers of note were Premier Automobiles in Mumbai and Hindustan Motors in Kolkata. They manufactured the Premier Padmini and the Hindustan Ambassador respectively. The Premier Padmini was based on the Fiat 1100, a car first sold in the 1950s while the Ambassador was little more than a Morris Oxford, a car sold in post-war England. As such, by the 1980s both these cars were hopelessly outdated. However, the buyers did not really have any other options. This was the era of the License Raj. The waiting period stretched into years and the shortage was so acute that used examples were sold at a premium. However, all this changed with the introduction of the 800 by Maruti Suzuki in 1983. The Maruti 800 was everything the Ambassador and the Padmini weren’t. It was small, nimble, efficient and reliable. It was up to date with the latest in Japanese technology and most importantly it was chea...

Three Boxes or Two?

The Indian car buyer’s affinity towards sedans is well documented. Roughly one in every four cars sold here in September 2017 was a sedan and the largest selling car in that period was the Maruti Dzire, a sub-four meter saloon. The reason behind this popularity is simple, owning a sedan has traditionally been a sign of growing prosperity and improved social stature. This mindset is a legacy of the Indian car industry during the License Raj: where the Hindustan Ambassador and Premier Padmini (both sedans) were a symbol of power as well as prosperity. Lately, things have been changing. Newer car buyers are ready to forgo the perceived benefits of a sedan and instead opt for a premium hatchback. This trend was first seen with the launch of the Maruti Swift in 2005 and has now grown to become an entirely new segment with competent players like the Maruti Baleno, Hyundai i20 and the Honda Jazz. Interestingly, the Swift itself now fits in a segment lower than the one it helped create. Ha...

The Future of the Supercar is Electric.

The future of the automobile is electric. This is almost a fact. The future of the supercar however, is under debate. Petrolheads are a resistive bunch and don’t take to change easily. They aren’t ready to let go of their flat-plane crank V8s just yet. This is seen in the criticism this year’s Ford GT received for having only a V6, when in fact this car is up there with its peers in pace and dynamism. This outlook has been further aggravated when it comes to electric power. Until very recently, electric power was associated with dull, drab, eco-conscious family cars like Priuses and Insights. It was only after the effective torch-bearers of petrol power, Ferrari, Porsche and Mclaren, showed with the LaFerrari, the 918, and the P1 respectively, that electric power can also make a car exciting and quick, and be way more efficient while doing so. What cannot be argued with are the performance figures new electric cars put out. The Tesla Model S, in P100D spec, has a 0 to 96 kph time ...