Pagani: The hypercar that is more coveted than a Ferrari today

In May, car enthusiasts in New Mexico, USA, were treated to an exquisite showcase of supercars at an event titled Pagani Raduno: The Drive 2025. The gathering saw owners of the Pagani cars embark on a scenic journey through New Mexico, including routes around Santa Fe and Los Alamos in the Santa Fe National Forest.

The cars on display ranged from the 2002 Pagani Zonda S and Pagani Huayra Roadster to the 2024 Pagani Utopia Sport. One of the attendees, Ariane Dart, shared photos and a video from the event, and wrote on Instagram, "The Pagani Raduno 2025 in Santa Fe, NM was a resounding success! ✨🥂✨ Thank you to Michael Staskin and the entire Pagani Team for your tireless efforts to plan and execute the exceptional event!! (sic)."The Pagani Huayra Roadster, known for its powerful engine, advanced aerodynamics, and luxurious design, remained one of the highlights at the event.

The Raduno also saw special handovers of cars that enthusiasts had patiently awaited for years. Calling it a privilege to be part of such “historic moments,” Evan Cygler, Director of Special Projects at Miller Motorcars, who also attended the event, highlighted the joy of witnessing the Zonda, Huayra, Utopia, and other special projects together on the road. "Horacio Pagani (the founder of Pagani) must be so proud year after year to see his art on the road and people enjoying them," he shared on social media.

A Pagani car that had participated in the Pagani Raduno: The Drive 2025 was also at display at the Monterey Car Week 2025, held at the at Pebble Beach, California. In the video below, an enthusiastic presenter at the event, called the Pagani car, Pagani Huayra Roadster, "above a Ferrari" and a "hypercar." The history of Pagani carsPagani Automobili, the ultra-exclusive hypercar brand, was founded by Horacio Pagani in 1992 and quickly created ripples in the automotive world.A car enthusiast since childhood, Horacio moved from Argentina to Italy in 1983 to work at Lamborghini, a marque he had long admired. During his stint there, he contributed to the Countach Evoluzione, the first car built entirely from composite materials. However, Lamborghini’s financial struggles at the time pushed Horacio to branch out on his own.He launched a consultancy, Modena Design, specialising in advanced composite materials, which eventually laid the foundation for Pagani Automobili.

In 1999, the company made its mark with the debut of its first model, the Zonda C12, at the Geneva Motor Show.

Following the success of Zonda, Horacio redefined the supercar landscape as he launched other Pagani models like Pagani Huayra, named after the Andean god of wind, in 2011. Each Huayra took around 350 hours just to paint.Then came the Huayra BC, named after Pagani's first customer, Benny Caiola. In 2022, Pagani unveiled another masterpiece: the Utopia.

However, given the company's attention to detail, it produces only a handful of cars each year. According to Top Gear, the company had just produced a total of 450 units up until 2022 and it builds about 40 cars a year.The cost of Pagani carsThe Pagani Utopia Roadster carries a starting price of €3.1 million (around Rs 28 crore), and most models from the marque typically climb into eight-figure territory. In 2024, a one-off Pagani Zonda 760 LM Roadster went under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s Dubai auction, fetching over $11 million.Among the few who own these rare machines is footballer Lionel Messi, who has one of only three Pagani Zonda Tricolores ever built. Each Tricolore was crafted to honour Italy’s Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team and comes powered by a Mercedes-AMG 7.3-litre V12 producing 670 hp. Weighing just over 1,200 kg, the hypercar boasts carbon-titanium bodywork, a sequential gearbox, an Inconel exhaust, and an endless list of bespoke details.

Due to their extreme rarity and exclusivity, as per the vlogger, Supercar Blondie, Paganis are often regarded not just as luxury cars, but as investment assets.One of the most unusual and expensive features of the Pagani Huayra lies in its bolts. The hypercar is held together by 1,400 specially designed, laser-etched titanium bolts, each costing nearly $80. That means more than $100,000 of the Huayra’s price tag comes from bolts alone, a detail that sets it apart from every other supercar in the world.But this isn't costly when you compare it to...Though the Pagani is very expensive by the objective benchmark, supercars can be worth much more.The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé holds the record as the most expensive car ever sold, fetching an astounding $142.7 million at a private RM Sotheby’s auction in May 2022. The sale, held at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, saw the buyer remain anonymous.Why so much? Because only two of these were ever built, both named after their creator, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Mercedes’ then-head of testing and development. This particular model had never been raced and had been preserved for decades in Mercedes’ private collection, adding to its value. Notably, Mercedes directed the proceeds from the sale into a global fund for science and education.