R18.7 million-plus Pagani

ULTRA-EXCLUSIVE Italian sports car brand Pagani has become available in South Africa with the appointment of Daytona as the importer.

The Johannesburg-based dealer adds the Italian marque to its existing family of high-end brands which include McLaren, Aston Martin, RollsRoyce 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.” MAZDA doesn’t state it outright, but the logical assumption here is that its new Kai Concept vehicle, revealed at this week’s Tokyo Motor Show, strongly hints at the next-generation Mazda3 hatchback.

Although the design will be toned down to some degree, the concept gives us a basic idea of the design language that will apply to Mazda’s next Golf challenger. Like the latest CX-5 it has a large grille and slim headlights upfront, while a sloping tail and sharper taillights give it an aggressive stance from behind.

The concept also hints at other future Mazdas, not only in terms of styling but also in engineering and technology.

Power comes from Mazda’s ground-breaking Skyactiv-X petrol engine, which will be the world’s first series-produced petrol engine to use diesel-like compression ignition, when it arrives in 2019.

The Kai Concept is built around a new iteration of the company’s ‘Skyactiv’ vehicle architecture, promising a “considerably quieter and more comfortable ride”.

Mazda also used the Tokyo event to show off a new four-door sedan concept, which it calls the Vision Coupé, (grey car pictured).

According to Mazda, the showcar’s exterior embodies a “minimalist Japanese aesthetic” while the cabin was inspired by traditional Japanese architecture, blending “three-dimensional depth with a strong longitudinal axis”.

But just like the Kai Concept foretells the next Mazda3, is there a hint or two of the next Mazda6 in this one? Bring it on. - IOL Motoring