As a young man, Horacio Pagani worked for Lamborghini, and progressed from sweeping floors to chief engineer. But Pagani grew weary. His career wasn’t advancing as quickly as the luxury machines created by the renowned Italian automaker. An Argentinian native who moved to Italy as a teenager to work in the automotive industry, Pagani decided to make his own cars. The namesake handmade marvels of exotic design and scarce supply are revered by the public and other hallowed manufacturers.
The first Pagani was unveiled in 1998, six years after the company was founded near Modena, Italy. The company first brought its vehicles to the United States in 2011. Its third hypercar, the Utopia, debuted in July as a roadster and previously as a coupe.
Still run by its founder and his two sons, Pagani’s cars are manufactured in such small quantities — about 400 of its supercars in 26 years — that dealerships are scarce, with the carmaker sometimes collaborating with Bugatti, Ferrari and Lamborghini to have enough inventory to showcase.
Three of the handful of the carmaker’s dealerships are located in California. Pagani of Miami opened in October 2023 and is located on the Prestige Imports campus in North Miami Beach. Its showcase is as much Pagani furniture and attire as it is the hypercar.
Pagani’s biggest annual spotlight is The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Several Pagani models are annually displayed at one of the prestige events during Monterey (California) Car Week.
Starting with a yearly offering of a few cars, Pagani now makes between 50 and 60 vehicles per year, mostly non street-legal. The estimated manufacture of about one car per week is the responsibility of nearly 300 people. Horacio Pagani signs every new vehicle.
Like other niche rare carmakers, new Paganis are primarily sold in advance, often to the carmaker’s previous buyers. The Utopia will be limited to 99 closed coupes and 130 roadsters.
Christopher Pagani, the younger of the two sons and the company’s marketing director, explained its approach.
“All the components are built in-house,” he says. “It’s a hand-crafted car; you’re not going to find robots making your car. It’s like going back to the Renaissance.”
That’s not to say there’s no place for technological innovation; the cars feature what Pagani calls its “Cyber Tyre,” Pirelli-made tires fitted with sensors that provide information to the car’s stability control systems.
The car’s chassis is a mixture of titanium and carbon fiber and has a clamshell configuration with doors that swing upward. The Utopia has a sculpted shape and doesn’t have wings or spoilers. The alloy wheels are 21 inches in the front, 22 inches in the back.
Its design also features a Pagani signature — side mirrors that protrude from different locations, depending on the model and trim. The carmaker uses four designs, all giving the appearance of thin floating appendages or the wings of a bird in flight. The mirrored frames have been described as teardrops or shaped like a beautiful woman’s eyes.
Despite its robust appearance, the Utopia weighs only 2,882 pounds. The Utopia is only about 450 pounds heavier than a Mazda MX-5 Miata. It features a V12 engine and a 7-speed pure or automated manual transmission, it has a top speed of 217 mph.
With its small-batch availability, Pagani remained Italy-centric for several years. It first tested expansion in Great Britain, France and Monaco before entering the U.S. and further enhancing its global prestige.
“Somehow, the car is a vision from a dream my father had since he was a young child,” Christopher Pagani says. “To drive the cars that have our name gives us a sense of respect.”
Facts & figures
Acceleration: 0-60 mph, 2.8 seconds
Airbags: Unavailable
Gas mileage: Unavailable
Horsepower: 864
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $3.3 million
Price as tested: Unavailable
Manufacturer’s website: pagani.com
Warranty: Three years complete, complimentary vehicle maintenance
