An e ectric future?
Want to see Horacio Pagani really animated? Get him onto EVs.
He started looking at both ‘a potential future all-electric Pagani’ and a hybrid in 2018, sensing that a shift in enthusiasts’ appetites was imminent. |n typical fashion, it wasn’t just the car that he looked at, but rather the ecosystem as a whole, a ‘smart garage’ project.
‘No clients were asking for it five years ago. But we have been discussing it with Mercedes and how they see it, as we are always very keen to understand and listen.
‘But there is always a but,a situation that takes us to the reality. A Pagani hypercar is about 1300kg for a V12 and that is something that’s hard to achieve on a fully electric car. |f you have to approach similar performance, it will be more than 2500kg, which for us is too much.
‘Safety is very important at Pagani. With 1300kg, when you lose the grip, you have a way to re-establish control. With 2500kg, it’s a very, very heavy machine to manage. |t’s like giving a weapon to a client that can create more damage than joy.’
You get the sense there is no rush at Pagani. Plans for the next hypercar, the successor to the Utopia, are already in play but it won’t be an EV. ‘There is a lot to study and no date for it [electrification] to happen yet.’
Currently, an EV doesn’t allow Pagani to maintain the character of his cars. ‘You have to feel it when you’re driving it. The main goal of these three cars [Zonda, Huayra, Utopia] was to calculate a driver’s car. You’re the one owning the way it’s behaving, deciding what the car is doing.
‘This is also related to the weight.
When you increase the weight of something, you need the electronics to help you manage the performance so you create an instant filter. We don’t believe that creating distance from the driver to the car is something that a Pagani client will appreciate. Why should a Pagani client buy a car that’s controlled by electronics? |t’s stupid – | might as well sell them a simulator.’
Not that he doesn’t appreciate what others have done: ‘Three brands distinguish themselves due to their remarkable accomplishments in advancing BEV technology. Lotus, Pininfarina and Rimac have put huge eorts into the development of their vehicles so | believe that the work and progress they’ve achieved will soon be rewarded and recognised.’
|f you force Pagani to choose between his Porsche 918 or Carrera GT, he has no doubts. ‘| will always take the GT as it’s 500kg lighter.’