purchased in the La Graziosa industrial area of San Cesario sul Panaro. Working at night but this time in his new warehouse, Horacio started designing the car of his dreams in 1993.
Again, after working on a prototype, Pagani needed an engine. Obtaining an introduction to Mercedes Benz, Horacio showed Dieter Zetsche, future chairman of the board and CEO of the Daimler group, the prototype at the Geneva Motor Show. Dieter was clearly impressed, claiming “it looks like a timeless car!” Pagani didn’t miss a beat, revealing the seriousness of the situation with a humorous response: “Thank God! Because I don’t have any money, and I’ll need a lot of time to make it.” Dieter came through for Pagani, offering up a 12-cylinder, 450 horsepower, M120 engine. Pagani was, so to speak, off to the races.
At the time, Horacio labelled the car “Project C8” but it was always intended that the car would be launched publicly as the Fangio F1 in honour of Pagani’s friend, Juan Manuel Fangio. Tragically, Fangio died in 1995 from long term health complications. So, when the car was ultimately ready for presentation at the 1999 International Show of Geneva, Horacio had renamed the car “Zonda” after a torrid wind that blows from the Argentinian Andes. The car received huge reviews, with many claiming it was and would remain an icon. Zonda embodied Leonardo’s guiding principle – marrying form and function – and it set a new industry standard in which technology was applied to advance performance.
The Underpinning of Design: Pagani Automobili
According to Pagani Automobili …
The driving force behind Modena Design, at the outset, and then Pagani Automobili is, and has always been, the quest for all that is unique in the creation of automobiles that embody Da Vinci’s concept of Art and Science walking hand in hand. Pagani automobiles enshrine humanistic concepts rarely applied in the automotive industry. Even their smallest detail emanates authentic significance. Products of the mind and built by hand, these Hypercars are enhanced by the heart of their creator, Horacio Pagani, who has always had passion as a vital part of his DNA.
A major reason for Pagani’s success is his ability to think in terms of the broad stroke of design. An avid reader and student of thought, Horacio is well versed in history, art, architecture, and craftsmanship. But again, what elevates Pagani from other designers is his commitment to research, to harnessing the power of technology and embedding it into beautiful and highly functioning forms. For 40 years Horacio Pagani has committed himself to researching and testing various materials. His efforts and investment into developing new technologies has resulted in more than 40 advanced composite materials, some of which are used exclusively by Pagani Automobili. Among these materials are Carbo-Titanium HP62-G2 and Carbo-Triax HP62, both developed and patented in-house.
In fact, if one had to describe the essence of the Pagani brand, it is the artful blending of scientific research and attention to detail with the goal of “making shapes, surfaces and materials highly efficient and capable of captivating the senses.” The alchemy of Pagani enterprises is the blending of form and function translated through his heart and his hand.
It is this posture and approach – an “attitude” – that Pagani transmits to his workforce. He always pushes his craftsmen, designers, and engineers “to strive to improve their skills and
Opposite:
Pagani Autoclaves
Photo
Courtesy of:
Pagani Automobili
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