Ugly but Deadly? Pagani Huayra Supercar

Italian supercar maker Pagani has unveiled their carbon fiber supercar, the Huayra, via video ahead of its public debut at the Geneva Auto Show next month. At first I thought this car was freakin’ ugly. Yeah, it’s about as exotic as they come, and yeah it’s got some hardcore steampunk cool about it, but my first reaction was, “My word is it an eyesore – especially in those side view photos.”

But then I watched the above video and my opinion did a total flip-flop. Maybe it’s seeing the thing in motion, with the camera swooping over it and the doors opening and the wheels actually rolling. Or maybe it’s the techno wizardry of those crazy gauges and touchscreen. Or maybe it’s just the dog in the vid – I’m a sucker for dogs. Whatever the case, the video made me a believer – the Huayra (pronounced: “WHY-ra”) is super cool and a total beauty.

There’s no debating the Huayra’s deadliness. The successor to the Pagani Zonda weighs in at 2,975 pounds thanks to an all-carbon fiber body, and its makers say it’ll do the 0-62 mph sprint in 3.3 seconds thanks to a Mercedes AMG sourced 6.0 liter twin-turbo V12 engine that shares a block with the mighty SL65 Black Series. According to Autoweek, Pagani will offer two versions of said engine, “a base 700-hp version with 664 lb-ft of torque and a Sport tune with 730  and 811 lb-ft of torque.” There’s something awesomely absurd about a $1.3 million supercar being offered in “base” and “Sport” versions.

I can still see the dissenting view here, the one that sees ugly written all over this thing. A little voice inside me is still saying, “No, Noah, you’re wrong. The Huayra is like a Veryon gone wrong in oh so many ways.” But that voice is quiet, drowned out by the other voices in my oohing and aahing as I watch and re-watch that video. And even the dissenting voice can be heard saying, “No! It’s ugly! But man, would I still love to ride in one.”

What say you on the Pagani Huarya? Ugly but deadly or just plain sexy and deadly?

More photos and info on the Huayra over at Autoweek.

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Posted in: Cars,Design,Tags: auto,ugly but deadly