‘Horacio, my son, but why don’t you do something simpler? Why don’t you start making candy?” Horacio Pagani’s father repeatedly tried to divert his son from the bizarre and challenging idea of making cars using lightweight materials, but to no avail. Ever since childhood, Horacio has had only one passion: cars.
Horacio Pagani was born on November 10, 1955, in Casilda, in the Argentinian Pampas Plain near Santa Fe, to an Italian family: in fact, they come from Appiano Gentile, in the province of Como. Horacio’s parents work in the family bakery, but Horacio will follow a different path. At only 20 years old, he owned a workshop, and in 1979, the single-seater he designed participated in the F2 championship with Renault engines.
Meeting with a champion: Manuel Fangio
But the turning point in Horacio’s life came through his meeting with racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio, who immediately understood his incredible talent and convinced him to leave for Italy. Fangio, the five-time winner of the World Drivers’ Championship, wrote a series of letters: one to Enzo Ferrari, one to Carlo Chiti, one to Enzo Sella, one to Alejandro de Tomaso, and finally, the decisive one to Giulio Alfieri, which opened the doors of Lamborghini to Horacio.
Horacio joined Lamborghini as a third-level worker, but his talent allowed him to work his way up in the company quickly.
The founding of Modena Design
He became head of special projects and started studying composite materials until, in 1993, he left Lamborghini to open Modena Design in San Cesario sul Panaro. Here, Horacio designed and built his first hypercar, which debuted in Geneva in 1999 after a long gestation period; it was called Zonda, after the wind of the Andes, and had a Mercedes-signed engine, attracting insiders’ attention. The supercar reaches 330 km/h and can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just four seconds.
In the world of Hypercars
In 2001, the range was updated to include more powerful engines and deliver even higher performance. Given these prerequisites, the result could only be the Carsport Zonda with American Viperacing, Carsport Holland and GLPK purchasing the license from Pagani. The new GR, equipped with an engine capable of delivering up to 600 hp at 7500 rpm, runs on the Sebring and Le Mans circuits. Without too much success, it must be said, however, Horacio continues to produce dream cars, and ten years after the first Geneva Motor Show, he is ready to present the Zonda F, dedicated to his friend Fangio, who, meanwhile, had passed away.
Exclusive and super high-tech cars
Pagani continues to produce dream cars such as the legendary Huayra, Cinque (from the number of examples made), Utopia, and many others. These are highly exclusive and always the result of long research and development work. With the design of the Huayra Roadster, BC Horacio Pagani won the prestigious Compasso d’Oro award in 2022.
Today, Pagani Automobili is a global leading company in the luxury Hypercar sector, maintaining its headquarters in San Cesario sul Panaro (MO). Horacio Pagani is firmly at the helm (it has to be said!) as Chief Designer and President. There are 162 employees, and a peculiarity of the company is the very limited number of examples produced for each Hypercar model. The story of this successful company is told at the Horacio Pagani Museo in San Cesario sul Panaro.
Congratulations to those who bring Italian talent, dreams and Hypercars to the world!
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