Pagani Unveils World's Most Expensive Drop Top

Motoring Channel Staff - 2/Mar/2006

There are now so many permutations of the Pagani Zonda that one wonders how many million dollar Italian super cars the market can handle? But if there's demand, then there will be supply...

As a result, Pagani Automobili, an Italian-based sports car maker, unveiled the Roadster F at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show to appeal to a new type of customer who wants devastating performance, exotic looks and open top driving.

Providing a new jewel in the Zonda family and a swanky sibling for the Zonda F coupe, Pagani describes the new Roadster F as fast open top motoring at its best. 

And it's not wrong; powered by a 7.3-litre Mercedes-AMG V12 engine, the car can accelerate from 0-200km/h in less than 10 seconds and eclipses the magic 300km/h barrier without breaking a sweat. 

In fact, the speedometer lists 400km/h as the top speed!!

Hand built by Pagani in a limited run of just 25, the company says that the Roadster F offers the outstanding driveability and performance of the F coupe, enhanced by the pleasure of driving with a gentle breeze in your hair.

Thanks to an original roof made out of carbon fibre and cloth (removable in a few seconds), Pagani explains that due to the use of carbon fabrics for the construction of the central chassis, bodywork and interior, it was possible to maintain the dry weight of 1230kg, which translates in a weight/power ratio of 1.89kg/hp for the Clubsport version.

The Zonda Roadster F name is a tribute to the revered Argentinean race car driver Juan Manuel Fangio who helped develop many of Pagani's Zonda super cars before his passing, and the vehicle has enough sheer grunt to hit 100km/h from rest in fleeting 3.7 seconds.

Featuring a light and rigid vehicle body, the Roadster F posts such incredible performance figures thanks to the mighty 445 cubic inch Mercedes-AMG engine that resides behind the driver, developing power of 485kW (650hp) @ 6200rpm and torque of 780Nm @ 4000rpm.And as Pagani explains, the Roadster F travels along the boundary where beauty and power merge together forming something special; it’s sinuous and aerodynamically shaped bodywork gets its prominence from sharp edges and elegant lines, which at first glance show its extraordinary potential.

The niche Italian automaker suggest that from the cockpit drivers will enjoy a magnificent view, which is quite unusual for a super car. With ones hands on the steering wheel the driver can enjoy an environment that far exceeds most expectations, with a mixture of carbon fibre, soft leather and polished aluminium appealing to your senses. The precious instrument cluster looks like the handiwork of a watchmaker with intricate dials and overlapping one another. It reveals the pure-breed of an Italian GT car: thanks to its personality, mixing sensuality, aggressiveness and magnetic beauty, you can easily imagine it driving along the sea front in Monte Carlo or screaming down a straight at Le Mans. 

And all this supported by handling that is unbelievably efficient and sincere and that monitors constantly what is happening to every single wheel, creating the feeling of the power behind you and the precise response in front.

Pagani insists the Roadster F is not a race car; rather a jewel handcrafted in Italy, a whirl of emotions, a masterpiece for the connoisseur who cares to drive fast. Very fast. The fastest, most exclusive, most powerful and most expensive Roadster in the world, the Zonda Roadster F is automotive art.