The Pagani Huayra Roadster BC Is Pure Supercar Theatre (2024)

In a world where Lamborghinis are almost common, this is special.

By Chris Perkins

The Pagani Huayra Roadster BC Is Pure Supercar Theatre (1)

Supercars are a strange thing these days. In the era of the Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari Boxer, BMW M1 and the rest, supercars were objects of desire, hand built in small numbers by esoteric companies perpetually flirting with bankruptcy. Today Ferrari is one of the most valuable automakers in the world and Lamborghini makes a very nice contribution to the Volkswagen Group's bottom line.

So there are more supercars in the world than ever, and consequently, the sight of one isn't quite the event it once was. Lamborghini has built well over 10,000 examples of the Aventador, while it only managed to make 2000 Countachs.

Seeing a Pagani Huayra, though? That's an event.

We get to try out a lot of cool cars at R&T, but the opportunity to drive a Pagani comes around only once every decade or so. Unfortunately for us, it came on a rainy Tuesday morning in bustling Greenwich, Connecticut, not the ideal scenario for a car with a 791-hp twin-turbo V-12 and just two well-worn Pirelli Trofeo Rs to deal with all that power. (The photos here were shot the next day, right before the car headed to a fancy Manhattan party.) The only honest thing to do was to treat it like the event that it is.

The Pagani Huayra Roadster BC Is Pure Supercar Theatre (2)

This is the Huayra Roadster BC, the open-top version of the track-focused BC model. Everyone at Pagani referred to it as the RBC, which has a nice ring to it. The car is an exquisite thing, with its central monocoque made from carbon fiber woven with titanium, steel tubular space frames front and rear, and carbon fiber body panels. With all the clamshells opened, it's hard not to think of later Group C prototypes, especially the Sauber-Mercedes cars which founder Horacio Pagani named as an inspiration.

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But a race car is a single-purpose tool. A Huayra RBC is more like a piece of art, or rather, many pieces of art bolted together into something vaguely resembling a transportation device. Pagani's thing is attention to detail, and every component of this car is lovingly designed and made, from the beautifully sprung gear selector to the very bolts, each made from titanium and stamped with the Pagani logo. You approach a Pagani like you do a painting or sculpture, reveling in the perfect little details yet appreciating their contribution to the object as a whole. I could almost understand why you'd buy one just to admire it in your garage.

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Almost. The Huayra still has an AMG V-12 right up against the rear bulkhead, and it deserves to be run. And running the Huayra is charmingly old-school. The steering is a particular highlight, offering levels of communication unmatched by pretty much anything else on sale today. It seems strange to compare the Huayra to cheaper cars, but it's high praise to say the steering brings to mind McLaren and Lotus, which remain the benchmark for steering feel. And the steering is pleasantly weighty, too, a nice change of pace from the over-light wheels we now get from Ferrari.

The whole thing verges on sensory overload. You hear the pebbles bouncing off the carbon monocoque. There's everpresent turbo whooshing going on just behind your head. Even at relatively low speeds, the car's active aerodynamic flaps, two just below the rear wing and two near the nose, are constantly moving up and down, constantly catching your eye. And while other automakers have moved away from popping, crackling exhaust notes, the Huayra RBC embraces this sort of thing. One imagines it’s pretty easy to scare children when coming off throttle.

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Along with the Aventador, the Huayra is one of the last cars on sale today to use a single-clutch automated manual transmission. When the Huayra first arrived in 2011, dual-clutches hadn't yet become the standard for supercars, and Pagani went with a single-clutch for weight savings. As you'd expect, the transmission game has moved on quite a bit in the last decade, but consequently, this makes the Pagani single-clutch feel more charming. The car isn't just feeding you gears relentlessly, with total smoothness; you know when a shift occurs here. Plus, there's that delightful shifter in the center console to play with.

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Shockingly, the Huayra RBC was almost daily-drivable. Of course, it's a big car, and you have to be mindful of how much is behind you, but there's a great view out the front and the huge fender-mounted mirrors perfectly point out the car’s extremities. The car is still quite stiff with the adaptive dampers set to soft, though the quality of damping means that everything is kept under control. If you can get over the pressure of driving a car worth around $4 million (and I suspect that if you can afford it, you will) it's not much harder to use than a McLaren or a Lamborghini.

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Oh, yeah: As tested, this thing costs $4 million, give or take a few hundred thousand. I don't think it's worthwhile to talk about value here, because at a certain point the idea of “value” becomes irrelevant. The Huayra RBC is as much about its intangibles, like the sense of occasion it brings to all proceedings or the artful nature of its components, as it is a driving experience. You could just get a McLaren 765LT if you wanted a similarly fast car, but it would never drop jaws in quite the same way.

I had as much fun poring over the car in the photo studio as I did driving it. Maybe I would feel differently if I had more time, better weather, and the hills outside of Modena to really experience the car. But a true supercar is about far more than steering feel.

My generation can never know what it must've been like to see a Countach in the Seventies. But I imagine seeing a Huayra now gives us a pretty good idea.

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The Pagani Huayra Roadster BC Is Pure Supercar Theatre (11)

Chris Perkins

Senior Reporter

A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track's engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he's not a convertible person, despite owning three.

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The Pagani Huayra Roadster BC Is Pure Supercar Theatre (2024)

FAQs

Is the Pagani Huayra Roadster a hypercar? ›

The Huayra was named "The Hypercar of the Year 2012" by Top Gear magazine.

Is A Pagani considered a supercar? ›

Known for radically styled, low-volume supercars sporting over-the-top embellishments, Italian automaker Pagani has been building flashy track-killing machines since 1992. The company's first creation was the Zonda, which put Pagani on the map and was offered as both a coupe and a convertible.

What is the difference between the Huayra and the Huayra BC? ›

BC stands for "Benny Caiola," which pays tribute to Benny Caiola, an influential friend of Horacio Pagani, the founder of Pagani Automobili. The Huayra BC is a limited-edition variant of the Pagani Huayra model, known for its advanced engineering, aerodynamic design, and exceptional performance.

Is Pagani more expensive than Bugatti? ›

Pagani cars are known for their exclusivity, craftsmanship, and attention to detail, which contribute to their high price tags and rarity. Here are some key factors that make Pagani cars more expensive and rare compared to Bugatti or Ferrari: Limited Production: Pagani produces a very limited number of cars each year.

Was Pagani rejected by Lamborghini? ›

After gaining experience at Lamborghini, Pagani approached the company with his designs, hoping to collaborate on a project. However, his proposals were rejected, prompting him to pursue his dreams independently.

Is driving a Pagani illegal? ›

You cannot legally drive a Pagani Zonda in the US. There are several (approximately 10) in the US that get driven periodically. Most are here under “Show and Display” titles granted by the EPA and DOT. This permits them to be driven up to 2,500 miles per year.

Why are Pagani so rare? ›

Aiming for the highest quality and craftsmanship, the Pagani cars come at a price only a selected few can afford, making them celebrities' cars. The brand was prised by collectors and enthusiasts after building a reputation for building these genuinely unique vehicles. Finally, it's a car that is worth its price.

How many Huayra BC roadsters were made? ›

Later, Pagani unveiled the Huayra Roadster BC and produced 40 units.

What does BC mean in Pagani? ›

The name “BC” represents the initials of Benny Caiola, a person who has greatly inspired Horacio Pagani over the years. Benny was so impressed by the passion and technology of the cars Horacio was designing from the very beginning, he made history as the first customer to buy a Pagani Automobile.

What is the fastest Pagani Huayra BC? ›

Pagani Huayra BC Roadster — 240 MPH (Estimated)

What company owns Pagani? ›

The Pagani family will remain the majority owner of the company, while the rest is shared between the PIF and Italian shareholders, Emilio Patrone and Nicola Volpie.

How many Pagani Roadsters are there? ›

How many Pagani Huayra Roadster was made? Only 100 units of the Huayra have been produced.

How many Pagani are there in the world? ›

All up, including all the special editions and one-offs, Pagani's total build numbers since 1999 are still in the hundreds – about 450, to be precise. Even now, in full swing, Pagani builds about 40 cars a year, with each taking about six months to make. Such is the irony of supercars: going fast takes time.

Does Pagani make hypercars? ›

There's nothing remotely shy or retiring about a Pagani; it is the quintessential hypercar. Horacio Pagani founded the company in 1992 after a career working with Lamborghini. His first car, the Zonda, arrived in 1999 and was produced in a dizzying number of special editions and one-offs over the next decade.

Are Paganis legal in the US? ›

You cannot legally drive a Pagani Zonda in the US. There are several (approximately 10) in the US that get driven periodically. Most are here under “Show and Display” titles granted by the EPA and DOT. This permits them to be driven up to 2,500 miles per year.

Is the Huayra R street legal? ›

The world's first street-legal Pagani Huayra R is expected to be delivered to the city in about a year's time. The Huayra R owned by @petfred, was recently shipped to Lanzante in the UK. The car will undergo a complete transformation, ready to be driven on the streets in the next 14-18 months.

How many Pagani Huayra roadsters are there in the world? ›

How many Pagani Huayra Roadster was made? Only 100 units of the Huayra have been produced.

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