The new Pagani Huayra ( Still don't know how to pronounce that )

When Pagani builds a new car, we jump to attention, but not because it comes from a brand that carries the momentum of glorious heritage or racing success or the patronage of royalty and stars. Pagani doesn’t have those things to fall back on. The non-petrolhead world doesn’t know about Pagani. It’s our secret, and absent all that branding stuff, it’s the car itself that has to do all the work.

Shouldn't be a problem. The new Huayra (the main syllable is wire, with an ‘h' before and an ‘a' after) is a substantial step upward from the only Pagani so far, the Zonda. Just let's think about that extraordinary idea for a moment. When it began life, the Zonda was a Ferrari 550 competitor. In its more powerful mid-decade F form, it went up a gear. Because it was so light, it comfortably outperformed a Murciélago and hit the stratosphere occupied by the headbanging razor hardcore like the Enzo and Carrera GT. But unlike them it didn't demand your mortal remains in return - it was refined and easy, and a breathtakingly extravagant luxury good. Then it hit another level with the end-of-line Cinque versions. The potential of the Zonda's original concept meant it could evolve far beyond even what its creator Horacio Pagani himself had envisaged. So there was no need to rush the Huayra.

But now it's here, the Huayra leaves even the Cinque in the dust. Let some raw numbers set the scene. Beneath a pair of golden-finned intercooler covers and carbon-fibre intake boxes, there lives and breathes a brand new 6.0-litre AMG V12 making 730bhp, and a mountainous 811lb ft of torque. All this to propel a car of just 1,350kg. That's slightly lighter than the most powerful Porsche ever, the certifiably insane 911 GT2 RS, but with rather more than one-and-a-half times the torque. Or the same torque-to-weight as a Veyron. Veyron Super Sport, that is. Right, now we've got your attention...

This car is, like the Zonda before it, the obsessive work of an individual, company founder Horacio Pagani. He says he started work on the Huayra in 2003, because he feared the Zonda would seem old beside the Carrera GT and Enzo and Veyron. It didn't, so while the Zonda kept growing up, he continued to whittle away on the Huayra. Perfection won't be rushed.

                                                                                                                 Taken from: Top Gear news