The utterly insane Pagani Huayra always lacked a certain something. The boutique Italian supercar checks nearly all the supercar boxes: ostentatious gullwing doors, obscene power, styling that proclaims, I could have bought an archipelago, but settled for this. But Pagani screwed up by leaving the roof in place, a particularly egregious oversight in a car named for a god of wind.
Consider the Huayra Roadster a big fat check mark in that final box. It took long enough--- Pagani started on this car in 2010, only to ditch all the work three years later and start over. Now, it's ready to show the new design off at next month's Geneva Motor Show.
Like the coupe, which premiered six years ago, the Huayra uses a Mercedes-Benz six-liter V12 engine with twin turbos. It churns out 764 horsepower---more than Lamborghini's new Aventador---and 740 pound-feet of torque. All that power is surrounded by a body of titanium and carbon fiber. To further shave weight, the suspension and wheels are aluminum alloy. Even the removable roof is carbon fiber.
All told, the topless Huayra weighs just 2,822 pounds---176 pounds less than the coupe. That's especially impressive because convertibles tend to be heavier, as they require the mechanicals to raise and lower the roof, and additional bracing to stiffen the chassis.
To keep all that carbon fiber on the asphalt, Pagani installed active aerodynamics: Four flaps move independently, manipulating air to increase downforce. Pagani hasn't announced a 0 to 60 mph time or top speed, but you can bet few things that don't have wings will be able to keep up.
In exchange for this big fat check mark, Pagani asks an even bigger, fatter check, to the tune of $2.4 million. Wondering where you'll get the cash? Don't---Pagani's making just 100 Huayra Roadsters, and has already sold them all.
