Pagani Utopia, the dazzling successor to the Huayra

The long-awaited successor to the Huayra is called Pagani Utopia and could deliver 864 CV of power. It will also be available with a seven-speed manual gearbox. Its design, which according to the brand took six years to perfect, makes it a unique Pagani, with features such as the central exhaust outlets, the raised rear fins and the central design.

The overall look is more understated and features new design tricks, such as the bridge spoiler connecting the two rear fins, as well as the rear lights that appear to hang in mid-air and are inspired by jet turbines. The same goes for the interior, where there are many familiar design cues, such as the two circular instrument gauges and the four ventilation pods on the top of the dashboard, but there are enough differences for the owner of a Huayra to feel the upgrade is worthwhile.

Everything we know about the Pagani Utopia

Pagani has done away with the central touchscreen but has fitted a larger one between the speedometer and the tachometer. One of its main features is its manual gearbox. Although the original Zonda came with a six-speed manual gearbox, the Huayra followed the paddle-shift trend and moved to a seven-speed sequential gearbox. For the Utopia, however, Pagani appears to be offering the best of both worlds, giving buyers the choice of manual or single-clutch automatic gearboxes. A dual-clutch transmission was ruled out on weight grounds, and the result really was worth it: the Utopia weighs just 1,280 kg, making it almost 70 kg lighter than the Huayra.

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These gearboxes are connected to a 6.0-litre V12 with twin turbochargers from Mercedes-AMG, which delivers almost 900 CV and a maximum torque of 1,100 Nm from 2,800 to 5,900 rpm. Pagani says changes to the valvetrain allow it to rev to 6,700 rpm, and although it has not revealed any performance figures, it does claim the Utopia meets all global emissions regulations.

The images of the suspension components are so impressive that it is almost a shame they are hidden by the bodywork. Connected to each subframe are double forged aluminium wishbones and “semi-active” springs, capable of withstanding the stresses of track driving while still offering decent everyday comfort on public roads thanks to its various available driving modes.