Pagani Utopia

Pagani Utopia at a glance

The Utopia follows the Zonda (code C8) and the Huayra (C9) - see our articles on the Pagani Zonda R and the Pagani Huayra Imola. All models are listed in the Pagani catalogue.

Development

Horacio Pagani, the Argentine-born founder of the company, designed the Utopia himself. Development took more than six years. According to Wikipedia, Pagani built eight complete prototypes, three of which were used for about two years of engine testing, and twelve scale models: ten at 1:5 scale and two at full size.

At a time when most new hypercars were moving to hybrid or fully electric drive, Pagani kept a pure combustion engine and placed the emphasis on low weight, mechanical feel and craftsmanship. The car was shown to the public for the first time in Milan, in the Teatro Lirico, on 12 September 2022.

Internally the car is known as C10, continuing the sequence of the Zonda (C8) and the Huayra (C9). All 99 coupés had been assigned to customers before the presentation. The first customer car was delivered in October 2023.

Design and interior

The name comes from Thomas More's book Utopia of 1516, which describes an ideal society. According to Motor1's report on the launch, owners of earlier Paganis had asked the company for simplicity, lightness and driving pleasure, and the Utopia answers with a calmer, more minimalist shape than the Zonda and the Huayra. Active aerodynamic elements are built in discreetly so that they do not break the clean lines of the body. The doors open upwards in butterfly fashion.

Inside, Pagani avoided large screens. The speedometer and rev counter are analogue, with a single small display between them, and there is no central infotainment monitor. The centre stack carries a row of instruments, switches and climate controls, and the steering wheel and pedals are machined from solid metal.

Engine and gearbox

The V12 is designed and built for Pagani by Mercedes-AMG, the partner that has supplied all of the company's engines. The M158 twin-turbo V12 has a displacement of 5,980 cc and produces 635 kW (864 PS) at 6,000 rpm. Its maximum torque of 1,100 Nm is available over a wide band, from 2,800 to 5,900 rpm. The dry weight of the engine is 262 kg.

The gearbox was developed with the British specialist Xtrac and is mounted transversely behind the engine. Customers can choose a pure manual with a clutch pedal or an automated manual version, which Pagani describes as the quickest-shifting gearbox with helical gears. The V12 has a 60-degree angle between its cylinder banks, and Pagani says the car meets California's emissions standards. Both use a triple-plate clutch and an electro-mechanical differential. The manual option was one of the most discussed features of the car: very few hypercars of the 2020s offered a clutch pedal.

Chassis and suspension

The Utopia is a two-door berlinetta with butterfly doors that open upwards, and the engine sits behind the cabin driving the rear wheels. The suspension uses forged aluminium double wishbones at the front and rear, developed from experience with the track-only Huayra R. The monocoque is made of Pagani's carbon composites, Carbo-Titanium HP62 G2 and Carbo-Triax HP62, with front and rear subframes of chromoly steel. The body panels use a new type of carbon fibre that, according to Pagani, is 38 per cent stiffer at the same density. The quad titanium exhaust with a ceramic coating weighs just over 6 kg. The dampers are electronically controlled.

Brembo supplies carbon-ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers at the front and four-piston calipers at the rear. The wheels measure 21 inches at the front and 22 inches at the rear, with turbine-shaped carbon fibre inserts that pull hot air away from the brakes, and Pirelli made tyres especially for the car. With a weight of 1,280 kg, the Utopia is light for a car with a twin-turbo V12 and 1,100 Nm of torque.

Utopia Roadster

The open version was introduced on 30 July 2024. It has both a removable carbon fibre hard top and a removable soft top, and it keeps the powertrain and specification of the coupé. Like the coupé, it can be ordered with either the manual or the automated manual gearbox, and the removable roof panels let the owner choose between a fully open car, a soft top and a carbon hard top. Production is limited to 130 cars. Its price was reported at about €3.1 million in 2024.

Pagani's approach

Pagani builds only a small number of cars per year, and its models have stayed in production for many years with special editions and track versions: the Zonda was followed by the Huayra and its track-only Huayra R. For the Utopia, possible future track variants have already been mentioned. The background of the company founded in 1992 by Horacio Pagani is told in our Pagani history.

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