The Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta at Prestige Imports

A few months ago, I had the privilege of seeing Kris S.’s Pagani Huayra BC ‘Macchina Volante’ at Prestige Imports a few days after he took delivery of it (click here to read about it!).  Last week, I was even more fortunate and got to see Horacio Pagani’s personal daily driver – The Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta.

It’s hard to put into words the feeling you get when you first see this car.  Even for someone who has seen some of the most exotic cars in the world, I was left speechless.  Truth be told, all I could do was laugh in disbelief as my eyes picked up detail after detail while walking around the car.  That LaFerrari you see in the background, I didn’t even give it a second look – I was that awestruck.

The HP Barchetta is unlike any other Zonda ever produced.  It is 1 of 3 built.  The interior is a perfectly composed symphony of beautiful leather, fabric, wood and carbon fiber.  The tartan fabric woven into the seats is the same fabric that covered the seats of Juan Manuel Fangio’s Mercedes-Benz W196.  The wheel, manual brake handle and shift knob, are all made of beautiful burl wood.  The blue and white Dani leather is as soft and supple as it is durable.  It sports a 7.3-liter naturally aspirated AMG V12 beast that is hooked up to a 6-speed manual transmission (that’s right boys and girls…no paddles).  Everything about this car screams passion!, passion in its design, passion in its construction and passion in its details.

I had seen photos of the Zonda for years and always longed to see one in person, but because they are not technically street legal in the US it was virtually impossible.  Thankfully, the last couple of years have seen Huayras finally sell in the US (which meet EPA, CARB and NHTSA guidelines), and along with the import of these Huayras, came a handful of Zondas.

The Zondas can only be driven in the US if imported with a ‘show and display’ title, registered with a dealer plate or titled in California under the SEMA law.

Thanks to Prestige Imports and Pagani Miami, I’ve had the privilege of seeing 5 different Huayras, and now my chances of seeing more Zondas has increased 10 fold.  As always I’d like to thank Brett David and the entire team at Prestige for always being so welcoming.

Until next time!