Pagani’s Special Edition Zonda is the Most Expensive Production Car in the World

Pagani as a brand can’t be accused of being conventional in any way, even by the wild standards considered to be ‘normal’ in the hyper car segment. The Zonda first debuted almost 20 years ago in 1999, but the mid-engined monster has come quite a distance since then.

The Zonda is an excessively fast and attractive machine in its own right, even when you’re fortunate enough to get your hands on a standard production model, but the HP Barchetta special edition pushes the envelope just a little bit further, because why not.

This limited edition entry was unveiled at the 2017 Pebble beach Concours d’Elegance as a gift to Pagani’s own founder, Horacio Pagani – firstly to commemorate the company’s 18th anniversary and secondly to celebrate his 60th birthday. If that wasn’t ‘exclusive’ enough, there will only be three produced, one of which already belongs to Mr Pagani, so the other two will be sold for around $17 million each (around R245 million). Let that sink in.

The most noticeable differences to previous Zonda models are the aesthetic features, particularly the body-styling and rear wheel arches that are reminiscent of group C race cars. Beneath the hood, it has the same 800 horsepower engine from the Pagani Huayra BC, except this one is naturally aspirated rather than a bi-turbo.

Several other features such as seating configuration and the suspension are also carried over from the Huayra, as well, while gold wheel inlays on the right of the car and blue inlays on the left add a unique quirk of the Barchetta HP.

It’s roofless, too, so perfectly suited to leisurely drives down an Italian Riviera, just mind those speed bumps – you know, if you don’t want to leave half a million dollars worth of metal on the tarmac.