Vanishing Point 2013 – The International Pagani gathering held annually, will be the place where the final version of the Pagani Zonda will be unveiled to clients and family members. Well, actually it’s the last Zonda Revolucion
This be-all-end-all Zonda sports a Mercedes-Benz AMG-sourced 6.0-liter V12 pumping out 800 hp and 538 lb-ft. of torque bolted to a six-speed sequential transmission. With only 2,358 pounds to tote around, that leads to a power-to-weight ratio of 2.94 pounds per hp – better than the Bugatti Veyron, McLaren P1 and even Pagani’s own Huayra.
Deflectors on the hood, a vertical stabilizer mounted on the trunk, and a drag reduction system inspired by Formula One (which can operate manually or automatically) are all part of the package as well.
Brembo carbon ceramic discs save weight and do the heroic job of stopping a car that achieves speeds in excess of 220 mph. These brakes are said to last four times as long as standard discs and offer more braking power.
Like all Paganis, the Zonda Revolucion is made to order and at $3.6 million, the cover charge ensures that you get exclusivity within the realm of Pagani.
Problem is, this is the last iteration of the Zonda — or is it? How many more of these things are they going to make? Every six months, I look up and there is another freakin’ Zonda! Even though orders for the Zonda’s successor have already been taken, we are still seeing “The Last Zonda”. Will this car ever disappear?
Remember the Zonda Cinque? Only five were built for $2 million a pop and they were the be-all, end-all Zondas. Then, there came the Cinque Roadster, because somebody figured it was unfair to has five coupes and not have five roadsters to match.
Then we have the Pagani Zonda Tricolore – the final mass-produced Zonda. A tribute to the Italian Aerobatic Team, carrying the team’s colors, you could have owned this 220 mph car (6 mph faster than the run-of-the-mill Zonda) for only $812,000.
Then the Zonda F Roadster Final Edition commemorated the end of the Zonda F production. Carbon fiber bodies and 665 horsepower separated them from the rest of the F herd.
The 764 Passione featured a big central fin, a carbon fiber finish and a 7.3-liter V12 AMG M120 engine tuned to produce 760 hp. “This will be the very last Zonda that will ever be made bringing the Zonda production to an end.” said the company. Yeah, right!
The Zonda R debuted at Geneva in 2007, using the 6.0 liter V-12 M120 engine sourced from the race version of the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR. The Zonda R was aimed at the Ferrari FXX and Maserati MC12 Corsa, rich boy toys rather than the original Zonda’s road competitors as it was not road-legal.
Okay, we have nothing left. The Zonda has gone from a dramatic competitor to Lamborghinis and Ferraris to finishing its course as a heart-pounding track car. That is quite a swan song, right?
Wrong! The Zonda R Evolution came along as the final development of a car that was supposed to be the final development of a car. Finally, we have the Zonda Revolucion. It’s an ultra-exclusive mind-numbing car for collectors and fans to fight over at the next decade’s supercar auction.
Intertwined between the Zonda’s dying models were the one-offs for Lewis Hamilton, Marcos Hites, Peter Saywell and a few other people outside our current social circles. I think it would be funny if, a few years from now, we were seeing a Zonda J or Zonda RX Revolucione BiCarbonate Roadster. I am certainly not complaining about any of the models that were supposed to be the last Zonda, it’s just that the Huayra was supposed to replace the car that will not die from San Cesario sul Panaro.
Perhaps the Zonda will live a life like the Jason Voorhees. Be killed off, but keep coming back. After all, it worked for the 911, the Mini and the Volkswagen Beetle. Why couldn’t’ that same recipe apply to a Million-Dollar Supercar?
So I will enjoy reading the press on the Zonda Revolucione. This may or may not be the last car to wear the Zonda name. As far as I am concerned, if the customers want Zondas – build them! The Huayra could be your bread-and-butter car and the Zonda be your made-to-order, three-years-to-build exotic. As the crowds that see the covers come off these special Zondas gets smaller and smaller, perhaps there will be another Zonda – one so exclusive that Horacio Pagani only unveils it to himself.
Pagani Zonda Gallery
Do you think the Pagani Zonda Revolucione is the last Zonda we will see Pagani unveil?
