Horacio Pagani, il capo of the hypercar brand that bears his last name, has not found interest in electric cars in the market niche he is targeting. Pagani has been studying for four years the feasibility of electric versions for the small public that can afford such high-performance cars and does not shake their hands when driving, maintaining, and refueling a V12.
After four years of studies, they have reached the same conclusion that the traditional industry had in the past: there is no interest in such a car, at least for a Pagani. Therefore, the plans to launch an electric Pagani have ended on paper, Horacio revealed in person to Autocar. To maintain an acceptable level of performance and autonomy, with current technology they would need 600 kg in batteries -those of a 62 kWh Leaf weigh 450 kg-, and that collides with his approach.
Suffice it to say that the Pagani Zonda R barely weighs just over a ton, so such an increase in weight is unacceptable. Pagani would not mind launching an electric car weighing around 1,300 kg, but for that, we will have to wait for battery technology. On the other hand, the environmental impact is a weak argument considering that, with one exception (a Zonda prototype with more than a million kilometers, La Nonna ), the Pagani do not accumulate large numbers in their markers.
Regarding the benefits, Horacio Pagani himself, owner of a Tesla, considers that the benefits are not interesting if they do not bring emotions to the driver and that in that sense electric cars fundamentally provide strong accelerations but little emotion. We return to the subjective nature of thermal engines, especially talking about mechanics as particular as the V12 (the culmination of balance, not efficiency).
Pagani will continue to have access to Mercedes-AMG mechanics, and 2035 is still far enough away to be able to wait for technical advances that allow the energy densities of batteries to be greatly increased so that a hypothetical Pagani electric is a light car. In the 20-year history of the manufacturer, its production does not reach half a thousand units, so the environment is decidedly not going to be destroyed by them alone.
Pagani is not afraid of disappearing. Zondas are priced at 10 times what they cost new, Cinques, even more, 20 times more expensive used. Its audience is so small and so exclusive that it is still reasonable to stick to the V12 mechanics. The so-called gentleman drivers may continue to opt for a Pagani V12 if they are not seduced by electric cars in the category with more than 1,000 hp.
