Pagani Zonda R
written by John Chow
For some people, a Pagani Zonda F (the cars in my header) is not enough. They want more than a mere 604HP and 215MPH top speed. That was the case of an Italo-American customer of Pagani Automobili. The enthusiast already owns three Zondas (which happens to be 20% of Pagani’s annual production run of 15 cars) but wanted something faster. Mr. Pagani is a man who likes to look after his customers. He went to work on the new a Zonda and unveiled the drawings at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show, which opens today.
The R in Zonda R stands for Racing. A funny term considering this Zonda makes no concession to any racing regulation or governmental constriction of any sort. The R shows just how much higher the performance bar can be raised when you throw out the rulebook.
The Zonda R is born with full liberty. The target: the ultimate performance at the racetrack without any implications of rules, except for safety, where no compromise is allowed. In September 2006 the first drawings were ready, but it was crucial to have the support of Mercedes-AMG for a high revving engine with a power output of 750 bhp, dry sump, light and with a low center of gravity. The basis was the self supporting engine of the mighty CLK GTR, which has dominated the GT championships.
The Zonda R is a car designed from scratch, with only 10% of the Zonda F components to be carried over. The suspension forged in Avional, a new Pagani six speed transversal sequential gearbox, carbon-fiber monocoque, aeronautical four pump fuel tank are only part of the equation. The engine can cover 3,100 miles before it needs servicing. I guess that’s considered reliable for a Supercar.
Want one? Then prepare to pony up $1.2 to $1.6 million plus taxes (the exact price hasn’t been decided yet) for this track day monster. The first one has already been spoken for. However, it will never see a racetrack. The new owner plans to keep it in his living room.
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(8 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)
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So when are you going to order your’s John?
I’m still working on the Zonda F.
And how long will that be?
just a matter of time to come?
What color was it originally? It looks photoshopped, because I dont think they would ever make a supercar in as bright a blue as that.
Why not? It looks great.. I’m ordering my bright blue Zonda F right now
It was grey if I remember correctly, some friend of John shopped it to match his theme (Isn’t that the wrong way? Changing an expensive car to match a free theme, anyway…
)
They were silver before the chop.
I saw an episode of top gear where this car clocked the top speed of all of the supercars.
But I am not a big fan of the styling of the pagani zonda, there are other cars which look a lot better. Also these supercars are so impractical, I saw one episode where they were so low, they scraped the bottom as they were exiting a car park, so impractical for driving in a city on anything that is not a flat surface. Did you photoshop the color of the cars in the header image?
John contacted the company to retake the picture with blue cars.
Actually, I was going to do that but concluded Mr. Pagani would tell me to get lost in Italian. So I had it Photochopped.
Mr. Pagani could tell you to get lost in spanish too. He is argentinian
LOL! Yeah that is Sr. Pagani (señor)
It’s not about practicality because clearly a Pagani is not going to be your daily driven grocery getter. The same can even be said, to some extent, about vehicles like the Honda S2000, Pontiac Solstice, and Mazda MX-5.
Yeah but those other cars wouldnt keep scraping against every speed bump that you went over.
The bumpers of the Pagani is way too low for comfort. It wouldn’t even enter the basement carpark of my flat downstairs, due to the speed humps. Who goes around to shopping centers in luxury cars either?
As far as top speed goes, there are several supercars that can exceed the Zonda F’s top speed of 215MPH. The ones that come to mind are the Bugatti Veyron, the Koeniggsegg CCX and even the McLaren F1.
True
But then again, how often would you drive at this maximum speed
If you’re not stepping on the gas, you’re going too slow.
Oh, and the point of supercars is not practicality. In fact, supercars are not supercars unless they completely throw practicality out the window. Nearly all great supercars burn fuel at ridiculous rates (the Ford GT, for example, gets like four MPG and the Bugatti, if driven at the top speed of 255mph runs out of fuel in 12 minutes).
Supercars are about passion and love for automobiles. For the time that you drive them, you don’t have to care about how much you’re contributing to global warming or how much it costs or how many pandas you run over in the process…it’s all about the drive.
Or the collection for that matter. For some immersely rich folks, these ‘playthings’ are only part of their playground! I have passed by this condo before where this guy has 3 ferrari parked side-by-side. That is the ‘WoW’ factor it brings out to the common folks, like us.
If you all read closely, the one in John’s header is the Pagani Zonda F. This new one is the R model. Just clarifying if you all didn’t notice.
Very niiice, I liiike
Hi5!
Oh no, not another reviewMe
It isn’t, fortunately..
Pagani could care less about Moto…lol
Ahhh! Finally a new car post! My favorite reads!
That car is purely sexual…what I call a “cargasm.”
Not to mention, my current desktop background!
The Zonda F is stunning, but this just blows it away.
I will have one of these
Bah, I wouldn’t be able to drive it anywhere. Boo to bizarre exotic vehicles!
Yea, one would be afraid of attracting ‘too much’ attention. Not the lest if you have a dozen bodyguards around you as well..
John and I live in one of the safest cities in the world. There’s no real need for bodyguards.
I wouldn’t mind an entourage, though.
That’s a nice car!
It’s good too see John is back in the “driver’s seat” on the blog!
*cough cough.. Erhmm, is this a ‘paid review’ by the way too?
It definitely will turn eyes when you move around, but the monthly revenue that some of us ate may be little more than just fodder for its ‘afterburner’! Such a Huge appetite for fuel.
A First Born is a small price to pay for this car.
An interesting car for a living room.
That is one sexy beast…I’d love to get behind the wheel of one…
AWSOME CAR, I need one of those!
I am in love with this car.Its seem so amazing rom top views…one have seen in movies wow..I am gonna steal it lol
John, perhaps you would change the picture in your template above once you get your hands on one of this?
Is this one of your aims huh?
I’m sure John could get his hands on one of these within a few years…but…if I were him, I’m not sure if I would…so much car, so much power, and no where to drive it…it could be kinda depressing to have that car and drive it around the street. Unless you really get into going to the track, then that’s a really expensive hobby…
Most of the people that got it is obsessed with keeping cars as a form of hobby. Instead of driving it around, John may like to turn it into a ‘bedroom’ at night. Now that’s evill..
Pretty sic car, but I personally would prefer a simpler car such as the Lamborghini Gallardo.
lol, I wonder how you would define the latter as simplier. Both have got to be in the same class - The Unreachable!
Well, “unreachable” takes on different meanings to different people.
And the Gallardo is a much simplier, more practical car. It’s mostly German, after all. Nothing says sensible like German engineering.
I see. In Singapore, we have a small network of roads, thus the cost of even getting a simple car requires some high-end spending. To own one of the above, we must be a billionaire!
I love the rear diffusers on this thing, what a beast haha. Bringing one of these bad boys to a local track day would certainly raise some attention
Sure is sexy! I’d do it on the hood
[...] Chow continues his obsession with the Pagani Zonda, and is now drooling over the Pagani Zonda R. I don’t blame him, it is definitely one sexy [...]
One of the greatest cars ever. Quick, nimble, and track ready! And that’s just the Zonda F.
PAGANI ES ARGENTINOOOOOOO!!!
(jajaj q nacionalismo barato el mio. con que poco me conformo!!)
Yes he is Argentino, but half the population of Argentina originates from Italy, and Pagani is surely an Italian Last name, so we can say he is Argentinian with Italian blood
Where the heck do you think it took the passion for nice cars uh? 
[...] unveiling drawings of the $1.6 million Zonda R, Mr. Pagani showed off two Zonda Fs at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show, which is happening right now. On [...]