WATCH: Up close and personal with the R55m Pagani Huayra that has everyone talking

From relatively small beginnings in Modena, Italy, 28 years ago to becoming one of the most revered manufacturers well before the turn of the previous decade, Argentinian-born former Lamborghini employee Horacio Pagani’s small-scale hypercar facility has reached cult status for turning out some of the fastest and most dramatically styled performance cars of recent times.

Originating from the iconic Zonda that served as the first car to wear the Pagani name in 1999, to the Huayra that ultimately replaced it eight years ago, the Mercedes-AMG V12-powered coupes and roadsters have become the stuff legends and dreams, dwarfed not only by their earth-shattering performance, meticulous attention to detail and outlandish power outputs, but eye-watering price tags comfortably exceeding eight figures.

Since last year, specialist super and hypercar importer Daytona has been the driving force behind setting up Pagani in South Africa for buyers resolute on wanting sheer hypercar opulence where the sticker price doesn’t matter.

In traditional Pagani fashion, coupes are often first, with roadsters following a short while later, a pattern, which in the case of the Huayra kicked off four years ago with the unveiling of the BC at the Geneva Motor Show, an even more powerful version of the standard model.

Fast-forward 12 months, Pagani took leave of the ‘standard’ Huayra’s roof at the Swiss showpiece, with this and the attributes of the BC being combined into the creation of the Roadster BC that bowed out last year.

Summarised as a “burning desire that led to a new work of art”, the spotting of a Roadster BC being offloaded at OR Tambo International Airport earlier this month eventually led to images being splashed all over social media as speculation erupted as to who had parted with an estimated R55 million to obtain one of only 40 examples in existence.

The Citizen was therefore off to Daytona to not only meet South Africa’s most dramatic and newest resident to arrive this year, but also to get some insights on the brand’s local exploits thus far.

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