With its exotic demeanour and otherworldly performance, the Pagani Huayra R Evo Roadster hypercar is the vision of automotive fantasy.
In the high-stakes, ever-evolving arena of modern luxury, there is always another rung of exclusivity to climb, always more rarefied air to breathe. Wonderment is attained, then normalised; revolutions fizzle out into the everyday; shiny becomes faded. And for HNWIs from Monaco to Manhattan, affluence provides the perfect foil to seek out the next elite clique.
For car cognoscenti no longer emotionally stirred by regular supercars, the new Pagani Huayra R Evo Roadster administers the requisite dopamine hit. Before a single specification is examined, a single body curve lusted over, the asking price, in the region of €4.5 million, is lofty enough to weed out the poseurs—after all, only five of these Italian exotics will ever come to fruition. But if that number does not make interested parties shudder, it soon becomes apparent that this hypest of hypercars—a direct descendant of 2021’s Huayra R—may well defy all known monetary logic and warrant every cent of the outlay.
To the eye, the Huayra R Evo Roadster is a vision of pure automotive fantasy: ask AI to draw an image of the ultimate expression of sports car aesthetics and the Pagani would be the picture: the race-car-inspired “Codalunga” longtail silhouette, aggressively sloping bonnet, wild aero lines, steroidal wheel arches, gull-wing doors, rear spoiler. The technical figures continue along the same borderline-unreal path: 662 kW (in old money, that’s nudging 900 horses), 770 Nm and a maximum velocity of 350 km/h. Then factor in that this carbo-titanium, terra firma rocket is, thanks to two lift-out panels in the roof, partly exposed to the elements, meaning drivers can bask not only in slivers of sunshine, but in the operatic exhaust note and the V12 engine’s cacophonous whine.
Given the quixotic excess available, it will come as no revelation that the Huayra R Evo Roadster is a track-only tool. Fitting, really, because it is as much race car as hypercar (a fact reinforced by the stylishly appointed but resolutely motor-sport-inflected cabin), destined to live its best days in the seclusion and privacy afforded by the world’s premier race tracks.
To that end, customers not fortunate enough to have their own private circuit—another level of ultra-exclusivity altogether—are encouraged to join “Arte in Pista”, a programme designed for the brand’s coterie of hypercar owners, and which regularly hosts five-star track days at international venues for members. In keeping with the growing global appetite for high-end automotive experiences—the Magarigawa “luxury driving club” in Tokyo, Japan, being one example of the emerging zeitgeist—Pagani offers its affiliates the chance to get acquainted with their extreme steeds, alongside technical support staff and professional co-drivers. And as an extra cherry, fine dining options and overnight stays in plush hotels are also part of the covenant. Welcome to the club.
