Pagani Huayra Epitome And Imola Track Special debut At Villa D’Este

Pagani always wants to make a splash on home turf. On May 23 at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este the firm will present its latest engineering test bed, the Imola, and also its first manual transmission Huayra, produced in collaboration with its Grandi Complicazioni atelier.

First, the Imola, named for the famous Italian racetrack and created as a test bed for subsystems and engineering concepts to employ in future Pagani models. With such low production volumes and the commercial need to create rare batches to please clients, Pagani has produced engineering “pull-forwards” like the Zonda R that informed the Huayra, and the Huayra R track car and Huayra BC that pulled forward materials and suspension design for the third-generation Pagani, the Utopia. Only five editions of the Imola will be built, guaranteeing its collectability.

Imola’s considerable power comes from the 6-liter twin-turbo V12 engineered and built in collaboration with the naughty schoolboys of Affalterbach, Mercedes-AMG. The engine has the ultimate build quality and engineering depth of Mercedes-AMG paired with the Italian passion of Pagani. The car companies able to match the engineering skill and depth of Mercedes and Mercedes-AMG can be counted on one hand, and you don’t need all five digits.

Mercedes-AMG’s V12 delivers 827 horsepower. The engine also spools up 811 lb.-ft. of torque (1,100 Nm in the European measure). Power is delivered through Pagani’s unique development of an Xtrac 7-speed semi-auto gearbox. So paddleshifting is the order of the day, executed in milliseconds, exactly what one wants on-track.

Imola is not a gas-electric hybrid, and thus has no need for the heft of electric motors or a battery pack. That means without oil and fuel, Imola tips the scales at 2,748 lb. (1,246 kilos), thanks to its composite chassis. Horacio Pagani started working with composites when employed at Lamborghini more than three decades ago, and eventually established his own composites manufacturing company which provides lightweight components to the automotive and aerospace industries, and also defense industry. Pagani composite is as advanced as any in the world.

Even the Acquarello Light paintwork is ultra-light weight, shaving 11 lbs. off the car. With fuel and oil onboard, perhaps add 150 pounds. But Imola is still well under 3000 pounds, comparable or superior to other track-day exotic specials, even with the weight of a semi-auto gearbox. Lower weight helps not just with acceleration and top speed, but most importantly for a track car, with cornering turn-in precision. A lighter car can simply change direction with greater ease.

Pagani Imola uses the active aerodynamics system introduced on the Huayra. Four winglets move and adjust according to the needs of the moment, reducing aero downforce at higher speeds, generating greater downforce in cornering, and serving as an air brake.

Pagani Imola features an electronically controlled and fully interconnected system of active dampers (shock absorbers for those of us in the U.S.). Front suspension ride height can be adjusted for driving conditions working through a central black box, the “super brain” that assimilates data from all other related black boxes controlling the engine, differential and gearshift functions.

Also debuting at Villa d’Este is another Huayra Epitome from the firm’s Grandi Complicazioni, a service that works hand-in-glove with customers to produce supercars with one-off esthetics. Each project in Grandi Complicazioni is a unique journey taken by the client and a dedicated designer. Pagani imposes no limits to the effort in shapes, materials, colors, finishes. Both the Huayra Epitome seen here and the Imola were born from this approach.

This car is the first Huayra equipped with Pagani’s Xtrac manual transmission. Yes, you must know how to work the third pedal to the left.

This Huayra Epitome wears all-new front and rear bumper shapes, and the front hood has exclusive light clusters and a new wheel arch air extraction system, and the rear hood with oversized side conveyors and integrated wing. The front end features a new bumper with an integrated splitter, designed at the customer’s request to increase downforce, accelerating airflow to the inner radiator ducts. The wider mouth allows more airflow to the new inner ducts, optimizing aerodynamics and improving the efficiency of the front radiators. The light units are also exclusive to this vehicle: the Huayra Epitome is the only Pagani one-off to feature four light units installed on the front hood and two DRL elements installed on the bumper. The rear has been completely redesigned following the requests from the client, who wanted a hood with an integrated wing. A new aerodynamic cover for the rear lights has also been designed to reduce airflow resistance, extending the laminar boundary layer over the hood and giving an aggressive and unique look to the car’s rear.

Perhaps in response to demands from those of us in California, where the roads in urban and suburban areas can be truly horrendous, Pagani has added a super-soft mode thanks to the active suspension. The button is located in the cabin on the central tunnel, to be activated when driving on rough roads for extra comfort. Above 93 mph (150 kph), the damper setting returns to its normal condition, depending on the driving mode selected. A supercar is not much fun if your kidneys are being punched. This is a brilliant use of adjustable dampers.

Both cars will be on view at Concorso d/Eleganza Villa d’Este, Lake Como, on May 23 to May 25.