Pagani Huayra R Is a New Old-School Laboratory on Wheels With a N/A V12

After taking a closer look at the all-new Pagani Huayra R, it leaves us with a similar impression, especially after hearing about the model’s raison d'être and what inspired Mr. Horacio Pagani to build it.

Apparently, the track-only hypercar was spawned by the clean lines and timeless appeal of Le Mans and World Sports-Prototype Championship cars of the 1960s and 1970s.

“Today’s racing cars are focused exclusively on aerodynamics and are largely the product of the wind tunnel. In the 60s and 70s, however, the cars were very fast, certainly dangerous, but beautiful. Prototype sports cars like the Ferrari P4 or the Ford GT40, or the Le Mans cars, had extremely attractive lines, which are still a huge source of inspiration for our cars today," says a very wise Horacio Pagani.

"The Porsche 917 is my favourite, with its romantic yet bold shape, which gives the impression of a very fast car. It is beautiful, elegant and timeless. From this desire for freedom, and from the experience of the Zonda R and the cars of the past, came the idea of the Huayra R, like a breath of fresh air.”

The Magnum Opus of the entire Pagani lineage, the new Huayra R exudes passion through its every pore, from its old-school approach to design and attention to details to the number of high-tech materials that it uses.

While the long-tail exterior is definitely inspired by Le Mans prototypes from the golden era, so is its bespoke engine. Traditionally, every Pagani ever built has been powered by a Mercedes-Benz engine, a tradition that Horacio promised his dear friend, Juan Manuel Fangio, to keep.

While every other version of the Huayra until now has been powered by a twin-turbocharged V12 specifically made for the car by Mercedes-AMG in Affalterbach, the Huayra R has gone a step further with the help of HWA.

For those not familiar with HWA, the company’s name comes from the initials of its founder, Hans Werner Aufrecht, and it has dedicated its existence to the pursuit of excellence in motorsport.

Yes, we are talking about the same guy who also co-founded AMG, long before it became the official tuning arm of Mercedes-Benz.

Getting back to what powers the Huayra R, we are looking at a tailor-made, naturally aspirated, 6.0-liter V12 that has a stratospheric 9,000 rpm redline. It develops no less than 850 horsepower at 8,250 rpm and 750 Nm (553 lb-ft) of torque, available between 5,500 and 8,300 rpm.

Officially named the Pagani V12-R, the massively powerful engine is the lightest powertrain in its category on the planet, tipping the scales at just 198 kg (436 lbs).

To put things into perspective, the all-aluminum V12 in the McLaren F1, which was also naturally aspirated, weighed no less than 265 kg (584 lb).

On top of it, Pagani also worked with HWA engineers for a bespoke transmission for the Huayra R, with the new six-speed sequential gearbox weighing in at just 80 kg (176 lbs).

The car uses a monocoque chassis made from the patented Pagani Carbo-Titanium HP62 G2 and Carbo-Triax HP62, with front and rear tubular subframes in CrMo alloy steel. That makes the entire car weigh just 1,050 kg (2,314 lbs), while also gaining a 51% increase in flexural rigidity and a 16% increase in torsional rigidity compared to the road-going Huayra.

Every line and surface over and under the Pagani Huayra R was designed to generate maximum aero, with an initial development target of 1,000 kg of downforce at 320 kph (2,204 lbs at 199 mph).

In other words, at higher speeds, the car pretty much doubles its traction thanks to aerodynamics, almost like a true Le Mans racer.

Like a true laboratory on wheels, the Huayra R incorporates technologies to be used on future Pagani models. The track-only hypercar will be limited to just 30 units, each one starting at €2.6 million ($3.09 million) plus taxes.