Age: 58
Hometown: Casilda, Argentina
Company: Pagani Automobili SpA; 95 employees in 63,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Modena, Italy. It has produced 191 cars over its 16 years of operation.
Past projects: Zonda C12, a 555-hp carbon-fiber wedge using a 6.0-liter AMG-built Mercedes-Benz V-12, and subsequent iterations, including the Zonda S, Zonda R, the Zonda roadster, and 678-hp Zonda Cinque.
Current project: Pagani Huayra, a $1.6 million Zonda replacement intended for U.S. sales, with a 720-hp twin-turbo 6.0-liter Mercedes-Benz AMG V-12.
C/D: Given the difficulty of earning a profit in this business, why do you build high-speed cars?
HP: I’m telling you that you’re wrong; it is not a difficult business to make a profit. In 1983, I arrived in Italy with my wife and many dreams, two bikes, three suitcases, and a tent. Today we have a small, exclusive, and prestigious supercar factory, a brand valued at more than €300 million [$410 million], and we are building, without any external investments, a new €15 million [$20.5 million] factory that will be finished at the end of the year. Every year we close with a profit, and every year we invest a lot in research and development.
C/D: Does top speed still matter?
HP: In the field of exotic cars, there are companies that aim at maximum speed, such as Bugatti; others to track performance; and others, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, to keep alive the myth of the sports car without being necessarily the fastest. It happens infrequently that a customer asks us the maximum speed or the acceleration; these “numbers” have become uninteresting, at least to our customers. Our cars exceed 350 km/h [217 mph], but these are just numbers only to tell your friends at the bar!
- Pagani Huayra Research: Full Pricing, Specs, Reviews, and More
- First Drive: 2013 Pagani Huayra
- First Drive: 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari
C/D: Is there a point at which power and speed will reach a limit? Are we there now?
HP: I think the cars in general are all too fast. I highly recommend everybody to drive very carefully, not only if you have a supercar.
C/D: Over your life, what would you say was your biggest mistake?
HP: Every day I look at the way I walked to avoid repeating the same mistakes. If I’m wrong, I did it with the head, not the heart. I would do the same path; I’m a very lucky person. Life has given me more than I deserve.
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