Pagani Huayra History

Pagani announced the Huayra in January 2011 and showed it at that year's Geneva Motor Show. Named after Huayra-tata, a Quechua wind deity, the car paired a 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged Mercedes-AMG M158 V12 producing 740 PS with a seven-speed automated manual gearbox. Four active aerodynamic flaps — one at each corner — adjusted independently to manage downforce under braking and cornering, replacing the fixed wings of the Zonda era. The base coupe run was capped at 100 units; all were sold out by 2015.

Where the Zonda had been refined through engine enlargements, the Huayra's evolution took the form of increasingly focused sub-variants. The Huayra BC (2017, named for Benny Caiola — Pagani's first customer and a close friend who died in 2010) trimmed weight and raised power to 789 PS in 29 examples. The Huayra Roadster (2017, 100 units) followed, and then the Roadster BC (2019, 40 units, 800 PS), arguably the most radical open-top car the company had produced. The track-only Huayra R (2021, 30 units) deployed a naturally aspirated 850 PS V12 — a deliberate step back from forced induction for the pure driving sensation.

Later bespoke commissions underlined Pagani's position as a manufacturer of wearable art: the Huayra Imola (2019, 5 units) and its Imola Roadster (2023, 8 units) were named for the Italian circuit; the Codalunga (2022, 5 units) revived the long-tail Berlinetta body form of 1960s Le Mans racers. The Huayra R Evo Roadster, revealed in 2025, continues the lineage even as the Utopia establishes the next chapter.