Jaw-dropping V12 Pagani Imola Roadster turns us all green with envy
“The best-performing open-top the brand has ever created”, which coming from Pagani sets the bar pretty high
We all thought the Pagani Huayra was done for after the eccentric Italian hypercar brand’s third model, the Pagani Utopia, was revealed in 2022. Time to think again because this is the Pagani Imola Roadster: an ultra-exclusive drop-top speed machine that was built for the road but “does not fear the track,” according to its makers.
The Imola Roadster was developed by Pagani’s Grandi Complicazioni division, which focuses on creating limited-number Paganis like last year’s Huayra Codelunga. The team’s approach with this car wasn't just to take a tin opener to the Imola coupe from 2020, instead it combined the technology from the already outrageous Huayra Roadster BC with a design and aerodynamics inspired by the hardcore Huayra R track car. Gulp.
The new design features enlarged front air intakes and warm air outlets – one hidden in the wheelarch, another on the side of the front bumper – that reduce pressure under the front end. This, in turn, improves the car’s stability and boosts airflow towards more aerodynamic aides at the rear.
That’s where you’ll find new tail-lights, a new diffuser, rear wheelarch air vents and that enormous rear wing that looks like it came straight off Thunderbird 2. The benefit of all that is that the Imola Roadster’s bodywork creates 600kg of downforce at 174 mph.
The cherry on top of all of that is the air scoop positioned directly above the extremely lucky occupants’ heads. It feeds the Imola Roadster’s twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 that was made by AMG specifically for Pagani. It delivers 838bhp and 1,100Nm of torque, all of which is sent to the rear wheels via an seven-speed sequential gearbox from British company Xtrac. No 0-62mph time has been revealed, but the car will accelerate with the force of 2G and has a v-max of 217mph.
Other fantastic details include the six-pipe titanium exhaust system that produces a “truly astonishing” sound, and there are four active flaps that move independently from one another to offset pitch when braking, and roll when cornering. Not to mention the fact the Imola Roadster weighs just 1,260kg, which makes a Porsche Cayman GT4 RS look a bit lardy.
Just eight examples of the Imola Roadster will ever be built, so while Pagani hasn’t said how much each costs, they’re probably all sold out anyway.
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