Baby Pagani being made?
"Don't place your deposit on a Gallardo just yet. For most of us, a Lamborghini in the garage is a distant dream, but anyone fortunate enough to be in the market for a compact supercar could soon be spoilt for choice.
Auto Express can reveal Pagani is planning to produce a baby Zonda, which will use Mercedes power in a bid to teach its Italian rival a thing or two about exotic performance. Talks are underway with the German firm's in-house tuner AMG about donating the supercharged V8 from the SL55 to the newcomer. The Zonda already uses a 7.3-litre version of AMG's V12 powerplant, tuned to produce 555bhp. In the new model, the smaller V8 is likely to provide at least 490bhp and a sub-4.5-second 0-60mph time.
As our exclusive images in this week's issue show, the car will be a more compact evolution of the Zonda's shape, with a far more muscular stance than the Lamborghini. What's more, it will lose some of the larger Pagani's outrageous styling, giving
a cleaner look. It will still be easily recognisable, with the familiar shape of the glass area and bulging wheelarches complementing the drooping rear end and sharp nose. The design will be finished by two raised, centrally mounted tailpipes, which will no doubt emit a suitably sporty exhaust note.
The project is still in its early stages, so don't expect to see the baby Pagani on the road until 2006. With the full-size Zonda costing Pounds350,000, the newcomer will make the exclusive marque far more accessible, with prices likely to start at around Pounds130,000"
:A/E UK...
Comes as a bit of a shock since McLaren are also planning a car in that category but with possibly an "underpowered" engine when compared to the V8K. But now you have even more choice 420M, GT2, Gallardo, P8, and now this...all top class cars IMO.
Auto Express can reveal Pagani is planning to produce a baby Zonda, which will use Mercedes power in a bid to teach its Italian rival a thing or two about exotic performance. Talks are underway with the German firm's in-house tuner AMG about donating the supercharged V8 from the SL55 to the newcomer. The Zonda already uses a 7.3-litre version of AMG's V12 powerplant, tuned to produce 555bhp. In the new model, the smaller V8 is likely to provide at least 490bhp and a sub-4.5-second 0-60mph time.
As our exclusive images in this week's issue show, the car will be a more compact evolution of the Zonda's shape, with a far more muscular stance than the Lamborghini. What's more, it will lose some of the larger Pagani's outrageous styling, giving
a cleaner look. It will still be easily recognisable, with the familiar shape of the glass area and bulging wheelarches complementing the drooping rear end and sharp nose. The design will be finished by two raised, centrally mounted tailpipes, which will no doubt emit a suitably sporty exhaust note.
The project is still in its early stages, so don't expect to see the baby Pagani on the road until 2006. With the full-size Zonda costing Pounds350,000, the newcomer will make the exclusive marque far more accessible, with prices likely to start at around Pounds130,000"
:A/E UK...
Comes as a bit of a shock since McLaren are also planning a car in that category but with possibly an "underpowered" engine when compared to the V8K. But now you have even more choice 420M, GT2, Gallardo, P8, and now this...all top class cars IMO.
, but at least they are heading in the right direction. 
. Also, there is nothing everydayish about the Zonda. Heavy clutch, low ground clearance, uncomfortable for longer trips - but hey, the engine is a luxo-Benz. When you buy a supercar for $300.000 and more, don't you want a true, exotic-sounding engine? It just seems pointless to me to have a 7.3-litre engine in the car, that is only putting out 550 BHP. Heck, for that purpose they could use the Mercedes S600 engine with a Maybach ECU (as some guy Trey did in the US - ran sub 12-second times, trapping close to 120 in his S600). Lighter and more advanced.
