V12 engines to live on at Pagani

Electrified supercars are becoming a reality hard to ignore let alone avoid. Even an electric Pagani is in the works.

However, according to the company’s founder Horacio Pagani, it doesn’t have to be the end of the road for glorious V12 engines.

The good news is that thanks to a close relationship with Mercedes-AMG, the Huayra replacement, said to be branded C10 internally, will continue on with a twin-turbo V12 from Affalterbach.

While the 590kW/1050Nm 5980cc engine is built bespoke for Pagani, it does mean Mercedes will have a boosted 12 in its arsenal for at least the next seven years.

Speaking to Autocar, Pagani reveals that a petrol-powered V12 is still in the company’s plans for the foreseeable future despite working on an electric C10 for a possible 2022 release.

“This next model will have a similar philosophy. It will have a traditional combustion engine, a new-generation Mercedes-AMG V12 twin-turbo,” Pagani revealed to the British publication.

“We have a very close relationship with Mercedes already and this new V12 engine will be homologated until 2026.”

While the retention of the V12 is noteworthy, for a manufacturer that builds and delivers less than 50 cars globally per year, the prospect of an all-electric hypercar is big news.

According to Pagani the EV’s development will be close to the orthodox C10.

“The C10 will have a regular V12 but, at the same time, there will be a full-electric vehicle. It’s not going to be exactly the same platform. It will be modified.”

However, it seems buyers are to blame for Pagani’s shift towards a hypercar using electric motors over internal combustion.

Environmental pressures have to be taken into consideration, but according to Pagani, he identifies a changing customer base as the stimulus for the move to electrification.

“At the beginning, our clients tended to be car collectors in Europe in their 50s or above. Now the average age has dropped significantly and we have a lot of younger buyers in Asia Pacific and also in North America and Silicon Valley,” Pagani said.

Hopefully there’s still enough interest for the V12 beyond 2026 because, while they are complex, costly and less efficient, they are inherently balanced, smooth and sonorous.