Sandton - Ultra-exclusive Italian sports car brand Pagani has become available in South Africa with the appointment of Daytona as the official importer.
The Johannesburg-based dealer adds the Italian marque to its existing family of high-end brands which include McLaren, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce and Brabus.
South Africa will receive its first Pagani Huayra Roadster next year which already has a proud new owner. In fact, the allocation given to Daytona by Pagani for the Huayra for the next two years has been sold.
The Huayra coupe, named after the Incan god of wind, is the successor to the Zonda and made its world debut in 2011, followed by the Roadster version which was unveiled at this year's Geneva motor show in March. It's powered by a mid-mounted Mercedes-AMG V12 6-litre twin turbo with outputs of 562kW and 1000Nm.
A lightweight body made of carbon fibre and titanium gives the two-seater a none-too-shabby power to weight ratio, allowing it to blitz the 0-100km/h sprint in around 2.7 seconds and haul ass to a 370km/h top speed - making it one of the world's fastest cars.
The rear-wheel drive car incorporates active aerodynamics, and is capable of changing the height of the front from the ground and independently operating flaps placed at the rear and front of the car. The rear flaps also act as an airbrake under hard braking.
Pagani builds only around 40 Huayra roadsters each year, priced at £1 000 000 apiece - that's R18.7-million without import duties, and Daytona won't tell us what local versions are selling for. Price is on application only.
Horacio Pagani, who formerly worked at Lamborghini, began designing his own car in the late 1980s and the Zonda C12 was the first fruit of his labours, debuting at the 1999 Geneva motor show.
Says Justin Divaris, Ceo of Daytona: “I had the opportunity to visit the headquarters in San Cesario Sul Panaro and I was impressed by the level of quality and the performance of the vehicles, as well as the incredible skills of the Pagani artisans."