Common sense and physics say that automobiles and large bodies of water aren't exactly an ideal combination, with the exception of those silly-looking and far-from-impressive amphibious vehicles that try to bridge the large gap between cars and watercraft.
Every once in a while, though, a land vehicle makes a bold attempt and the entire world seems eager to pay due attention to it. Like the Pagani Utopia in the video below.
This week has seen massive thunderstorms hit the United Arab Emirates, resulting in severe flooding of urban areas, many of which are still underwater as of this writing. Dubai, dubbed more or less jokingly the true land of all possibilities, has become the scene where supercars and hypercars are either drowning or making headlines for their brave attempts at crossing bodies of water.
Seeing hypercars gathering dust at the junkyard is not surprising in Dubai, as neither it is to see them being used as police cruisers or taxis. But seeing a hypercar swim in Dubai is a phrase that, until this week, would have been unimaginable.
Yet here is a 2023 Pagani Utopia take on a shallow body of still water like a champ. It's not exactly swimming – at least, not in the way in which a Porsche Taycan or a Tesla Model 3 did before it and attained viral status in the process – but it's doing a fine job either way.
Photo: Pagani
Though it's not exactly wise to use an electric vehicle as a watercraft, even if only for a little while, EVs have been known to face situations like this one and to come out of them not just with their reputation intact but without any major defects. This is due to the fact that an EV carries the battery pack in the completely sealed underside so, in theory, as long as you don't go over a certain level in the water, you should be fine.
That doesn't apply to most ICE (internal combustion cars) vehicles. Moreover, no one would take a low-slung hypercar through water and risk hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
Pagani will make only 99 examples of the Utopia, but this one is, without a doubt, the bravest of them all – though not by personal choice. It was seen on a street in Dubai, taking on a body of water like a regular passenger car and apparently handling the challenge like a boss.
There are caveats to this viral story, and they're immediately noticeable. Number one, the water isn't that deep. Most drivers would consider it an oversize puddle, but for a car as expensive as a Pagani, which rides very low, it's still a challenge. Number two, this is a $2.5 million ride, so whatever minimal damage it takes from water, it's still going to cost an arm and a leg in Regular Joe money to fix.
Then again, this is Dubai. Everything goes here, including swimming Utopias after historic flooding.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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