First impressions

Attempts to beat Ferrari and Porsche at their own game normally meet with the same success as drunken rows with nightclub bouncers, but Horacio Pagani blew the establishment away with the Zonda back in 1999 and raised the bar once again with the Pagani Zonda F. And with the Roadster, the Italian firm might just have created a 214mph, blurred vision of perfection.

There are just 90 Zondas in the world, Pagani built just 25 Fs, including the Roadsters, and they’re all sold. So to get hold of one I visited Group 20, which allows members access to the Zonda, Ferraris and Lamborghinis for as little as £15,000 a year, the price of a warm hatch. There’s a new Pagani due soon, and they have already promised it will be a step up.

And despite being around in its basic form for nine years, the Pagani has lost none of that wrecking ball impact. The basic cab-forward shape is reminiscent of the Group C Sportscars that dominated Le Mans in the 1980s and the Gatling Gun exhaust cluster is the car’s main signature.

Look closer and every detail is exquisite, perfect, from the teeth in the wheels to the lip spoilers that combine with the wide single-plane wing to plant this car to the ground. It screams pure speed from every angle and isn’t just a car, it’s a thetarical experience. Read more here…

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