Pagani Huayra Roadster arrives as Australia’s most expensive car

THE Pagani Huayra Roadster is now on sale in Australia, with the hand-made Italian supercar sporting the highest-ever price tag for a new production car sold in Australia.

The good news for anyone forking out the required $5.5 million for the two-seat, twin-turbo V12, all-carbon-fibre hypercar, is that it’s right-hand drive and street legal here, having complied with Australian Design Rules without requiring a single modification – not that we expect to see too many used as daily drivers.

Despite the unprecedented sticker price, which includes more than $1 million in luxury car tax alone, Pagani’s Australian distributor, Zagame, believes it won’t have any trouble selling two Huayra Roadsters per year. That’s the number it secured from the boutique hypercarmaker’s annual run of around 40 cars, of which one has already been sold to an Aussie buyer.

With a bespoke 561kW/1000Nm 6.0-litre AMG twin-turbo V12 and carbo-titanium and carbo-triax monocoque, the Huayra Roadster weighs in at just 1280kg with an empty tank; about 80kg lighter than its coupe sibling, which was the lightest hypercar ever built.

That grunt-leaning power to weight ratio brings an estimated 3.0 second 0-100km acceleration on the way to a top-speed of 370km/h, during which you’ll be pinned to your seat by 1.8 G, the highest lateral acceleration force of any car with road tyres.

While it shares a name with the coupe, the Huayra Roadster was a complete rebuild using all-new components, which assisted the lard shedding process.

Weight saving measures included a specially-designed seven-speed sequential gearbox that’s 40 percent lighter than a standard dual-clutch shifter, lightweight aluminium suspension, titanium fasteners, and even the same lightweight glass used for iPhones to help shave a further 6kg.

But no one is going to fork out the combined cost of five Rolls Royce Phantoms and a Ferrari 488 Spider for a glorified go-kart, which is where the genius of the brand’s founder and mastermind Horacio Pagani comes to the fore.

The Argentinian-born design maestro blended art and science to keep the pounds down, while also conforming to his desire for the car to masterfully come together “as though it was carved out of a block of Carrara marble”.

The attention to detail, from the sculpted carbon fibre engine cover to individual switches in the opulent cabin is stunning, and, like a classic work of art, you’ll find a pleasing new detail every time you look at it.

Zagame Automotive principal Bobby Zagame said the artistic factor of all of Pagani’s designs is instrumental in generating desirability for the brand’s loyal – and very well-heeled - collectors around the world.

“When you see the car it speaks for itself. It’s an asset; it’s like a painting or a jewel. You don’t buy the car because it’s a car, you buy it because it’s something you cherish.”

Pagani Huayra Roadster specifications

Price: $5,500,000
Engine: 5980cc, 36v Mercedes-AMG V12 twin turbo
Max power: 562kW at 5500 rpm
Max torque: 1000Nm at 4300 rpm
Transmission: 7-speed automated manual
Dry Weight: 1280kg
0-100km/h: 3.0s (estimated)