Pagani Utopia Roadster Review — Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:02] before. But today, I'm going to do exactly that. I'm going to get to go in this Pagani Utopia Roadster, but before I drive it, I'm going to meet the people behind it to find out more about the car.

[00:19] and most people choose a lot of them. It's got 864 horsepower, 12 cylinders, two turbos, and a manual gearbox. and in a few years they won't be allowed to build it anymore. I'm here with Franchesco Perini. He's head of

[00:33] charge of engineering this car. So, we're actually outside a very special exactly? Well, this is the art and science research center which effectively was back in the early '90s the original facility where everything

[00:47] started. It used to be called modern design, but now the facility is fully design, but now the facility is fully operational just on R&D activities. So and testing. It's Horatio's office, isn't it?

[00:59] >> So he's got his eye on you every day of the week, isn't he? So tell me, what is the concept of this Utopia Roadster? In fact, how do you say it properly in >> Utopia. Correct. >> Okay. So what is the concept of this

[01:12] 1960sish compared to the Wra, which is more aggressive. Effectively, Utopia was a complete new chapter differently from what we've done for Zonda in Wuayra where the Roadster came after a few

[01:25] years. Since the very beginning of the project, we imagined coup and roadster >> Quick question then. Are you a roadster guy or a coupe guy? Experience the car more. But uh

[01:38] you remove the top but you're impacting the structure efficiency because you're removing a very effective part of the chassis which distributes the loads. The challenge here was how can we have a car which keeps the same rigidity technical

[01:54] performance in term of chassis and the same weight at the same time. >> 1,280 kg. >> Is that dry or wet? >> So it's about 1,500 kg wet with fluids. How heavy is the coupe? Same weight.

[02:07] >> Okay. So, for me, Franchesco, the Utopia has a very classy look, but while it Can you talk me through some of these with the arrow? Well, being an hypercar,

[02:20] of course, there are a lot of elements that uh will influence the performance. So that's why the design which was born as a pure expression of what we believe should be in the next chapter of the Pagani road cars uh expressing uh the

[02:34] most also in in the little details like aluminum bezels you'll find here which >> Yeah. So on any other car that'd be plastic. This is beautiful to touch. But does this actually aid arrow? >> There is a channeling in there. Yes. You

[02:48] >> Yeah. real vents there that releases air pressure from the designer to the >> but you add this element on here just for some design flare. Then how about the light shape as well which has been designed thinking and imagining what was

[03:03] romantic from the nostalgic times of the ' 60s you know the headlights of the Vespa this kind of flavor. >> So this is inspired in a way by a little scooter >> in certain way. Yes. And the main blocks

[03:16] aluminum block. >> All this here. Now I know Hashio really does love his 1960s cars, especially like Porsche. He's got a 917, hasn't he? And this light design is that sort of a little bit inspired by that too. As well

[03:29] as the Veser scooter. >> Mhm. Being uh with a lot of horsepower, we need a lot of uh cooling and arrow balance that uh all these shapes here manages with with the opening of the main radiator, the intercooler radiators

[03:43] through making also the coronary like a part which is little contribute to the drag reduction and to the increase of the of the downforce because ultimately we want the car to be as stable as possible. delivers an equivalent of

[03:58] downforce similar to the Roadster BT which is a very aggressive car you see with a big spoiler and a rear wing whereas Utopia is a very romantic shapes. I know that Horatio sometimes designs things before they go into the

[04:11] wind tunnel and he's got this natural ability to improve a car's arrow just by what's happened here? So some of it's wind tunnel, some of it's just horio just knowing what will improve air flow. >> Mhm. Typically with uh experience and

[04:25] intuition we managed to start the project with a solid pace and the CFT analysis, the simulations and the wing tunnel help us to refine minor elements. tunnel help us to refine minor elements. But luckily we never had to rejust the

[04:40] projects that much and losing that intentions that was the original feeling at the original design. Okay, moving round. Obviously, famous thing on Paganis is the single windscreen wiper. What's the reason for going for a single

[04:54] windscreen wiper? Is it just because the shape of the windscreen itself or is it due to aerodynamics? One of the complex things to homologate the windshield is the shape and the dimension. We managed to keep the single wiper because it

[05:09] it more efficient. >> It does cover for most of it. I suppose connects down with the windscreen. >> Okay. So, down the sides here, this is we're talking about aero efficiency. >> We've even got arrow wheels here. This

[05:24] must cause drag. They must do. >> They play a significant role in the owning the car, opening >> the car opening. And clients really like >> Now, there's something I've noticed which is a little bit odd. On this side,

[05:38] non arrow. >> Mhm. For the clients that are more willing to use the car on the track, the arrow version with this carbon blade >> Wait, are people really taking these utopis on track?

[05:52] too frightened. >> It's meant to be used for both on on on the road, but also needs to be capable of pushing hard limits on the track. So, this is one of the most difficult engineering challenge to make the two

[06:07] compatible in the same creation. I mean, personally for me on this car with this color scheme, I prefer the normal wheels, but if this had carbon on it, >> carbon blades. >> The carbon blades. Which do you prefer?

[06:19] >> Carbon blades. And this is classic Pagani, like the intricate design of the door mirrors. Isn't it a nod to a woman's eye or something? >> That's the wireless design. Okay. >> This is based on a different principle.

[06:32] >> is this a man's eye then? >> No. The thing is the arm supporting the section. >> So that creates downforce. Yes. Just a the fact that you got some drag here from the buckles which people love. So

[06:46] Massive piece of carbon fiber. Isn't it manufacturing process because it embeds a lot of things in in a single layup biggest parts we build. >> And then there's other little details.

[07:00] Everything you touch just feels nice, doesn't it? Like this is the door hinge. it. Like some manufacturers have like a button hidden. You're just like, "Yeah, >> Then here at the rear, I mean, the rear is beautiful with the four exhaust

[07:15] pipes. Yeah, this one's got ceramic coating on the exhaust pipes in there, flare. What's going on with the rear design? I mean, some of it's functional, the adjustable wings. So, this is active arrow you've got here,

[07:27] >> but it when it's stationary, it just all just fits in beautifully, doesn't it? you haven't got really like exaggerated diffusers. I was expecting more diffuser action. It is flat the bottom. It's completely sealed.

[07:40] on this car? >> Oh, it's exceeds the 500 kg at uh 280 BC. >> And that's way more aggressive looking. >> And you get close to it with this more classy design. Obviously the other part

[07:55] of a Pagani, it's not just the looks, it's also the power. So let's get into the engine. So, the Utopia, it's powered by a 6 liter twin turbo V12 from AMG, >> What horsepower does it have? >> It's 864 horsepower. As you rightly

[08:10] pointed, it's assembled in half alterbac at AMG, but due to the strong uh and parties. This is effectively called Pagani V12. It delivers 1,100 Nm of

[08:24] >> Wow, that's a lot of torque. revs uh up to 6,500 >> It's not bad for a big turbocharged engine coupled with the 7speed transversal transmission that we developed with uh extract. And uh the

[08:38] big challenge was to make the powertrain as light as possible and we're talking as light as possible and we're talking about 262 kg dry weight of the engine. The other challenge was to comply with emission regulations that uh we are

[08:50] facing and uh we're not having any kind of exemption. We we need to mulongate uh mission standards. >> They can be sold completely in every >> Yeah. Both Europe, US and Derivative markets. And the challenge is in 2026 to

[09:07] deliver a pure V12 with no hybrid assistance or anything capable of expressing the pure natural of the mechanical power. At some point though some form of electrification aren't they? Or are you trying hard to create

[09:21] engines that will never need that? >> This for as example is certified up to >> This for as example is certified up to 2030 in Europe and in the US up to 2031 and there will be further steps of evolution of the

[09:34] avoid electrification. Is that correct? Yes, we'll try to avoid it. But of course, uh we needs to be very open in case at some point in history we'll be >> Forced is the key word. Even the engine, I mean, look at this. The intake cover.

[09:51] to put my grubby fingerprints on it. Then obviously we've got the bronze suspension. So what kind of suspension we got on this car? This suspension was uh effectively derived from the development done on the YR R. The

[10:06] machine. The tires on this car, they're Pirelli Trafo RS's, but they have your for this car. Obviously, >> you can imagine a 22 in tire. Uh not for

[10:19] an SUV use, but for a for an hypercar with so much torque. How stiff on one side needs to be, but on the other side needs to be also comfortable for the driving on the road. So even if you're driving in these RS's and it's wet, the

[10:31] car should stay stable. >> There is a there's not much. Are you sure? >> There is a lot of uh combination in the work between the sensor, the ESP, so the active aerodynamic of the car, they work

[10:45] >> So that's all very bespoke. And speaking of bespoke, I mean, we've got to move on special. >> They're just so unique and beautiful. aluminium. Everything you see that's looks metal is metal, isn't it?

[11:00] Everything that looks leather is leather. It's great, isn't it? One thing that is interesting though is that the seats are manual. Very expensive car. electric. >> Why choose manual? Is it lightness?

[11:12] >> It is lightness, but it comes to the angular position of the seats. are the controls I need to know? Obviously, we've got three pedals, manual gearbox, and first is down here. It's a dog leg, isn't it? So, that's one

[11:24] this gear shifter? >> Actually, the gearbox development was one of the biggest things in the project because was uh so difficult to have the 1,100 Newton meters of torque dealing with a pure mechanical gear shift with

[11:39] >> That's going to feel intense that much torque through a manual gearbox. I'm know about these? >> So, this is the control of the different >> So, we've got wet, I guess, comfort, sport, and race. Yeah,

[11:53] show me on the >> on there changing colors and gives you the different kind of reactiveness of the dampers of the active aerodynamics multiple elements on the car that are

[12:06] balanced for each single driving mode. There is an auto blip for because it's a >> Yeah. So if I can't hit them to then yes do it in the way you want when you're driving. Then there are controls to

[12:20] manage with the infotainment such as the all our physical buttons. You see it's >> and that's in there isn't it? So there's no central screen. We just get dials pressure and temperature. Right. >> And making physical bathroom was

[12:34] >> And making physical bathroom was actually something that the industry was not uh I would say keen to do anymore. So we had to somehow reinvent physical touchcreen now isn't it? Not here. Oh,

[12:48] Magani because everything just feels so tactile. All the buttons, even this, I like the sensation of that. Never has it been so pleasurable to put on your >> Very nice. And obviously, we've got loads of storage, luggage space, and the

[13:01] key, which is cool, isn't it? >> Yeah. For each model, the key always reflects the design of the car. >> Wow. That is really nice. Now, one of high-speed car. We've taken the roof off and so there's an air foil that we need

[13:16] to put on there. I've got it here. So if you're driving the car with a roof down, you fit this, don't you? But even this is an experience. So let's see. I'll put that up there like that. And then I just turn

[13:28] >> And then you rotate. >> And even that feels quite nice, doesn't it? Just the feel of that. Just the last bits like magnetic, isn't it? >> My god, you go into intricate detail on these cars. Okay, so now we're good to

[13:41] go and take this thing for a drive. So, thank you very much, Franchesco. you here today. >> I promise to take care of this car. thought I should learn how to drive it from Christopher Pagani. So,

[13:56] Christopher, you're the number two son. Not number two in terms of favoritism, charge of marketing. Is that correct? >> Yes. quite an easy job. You just go, "Look, here's a Pagani." And people go, "Okay,

[14:08] we'll buy it." There is a lot to explain about how the cars are built and what's behind the scene, all the engineering, all the design. isn't it? >> And what's the output now? How many cars

[14:23] do you sell a year? >> So, it's roughly 70 cars a year. It's a very tiny number compared to, of course, what the other players are doing. >> Sometimes you have it where children don't want to go into their parents'

[14:36] your if your dad's a lawyer or an accountant or something. But when your accountant or something. But when your dad's building hyper cars, it's kind of this, what would you do? >> But to be honest, we've never been

[14:50] >> But to be honest, we've never been forced or never been suggested to be there. My father and my mom as well, which is also very involved since the beginning, they never said to us, you have to work with the family business.

[15:04] They gave us a lesson. You want to have your own bicycle, you want a mountain bike, you work in the afternoons, you come, you stay a few hours and I can give you some uh money, then you can go buy what you want. And in a way, they

[15:19] taught us something that uh you know, you don't get spoiled only because uh we >> Do you know I thought you were going to say your dad was telling you if you want a a mountain bike, you have to build it yourself like I did with the little

[15:34] motorbike. It's true. But going back to what you said, my passion has been always motorcycle and I grew up with Valentino Rossi and him winning all the races. So were you instrumental in hiring the lady that does the

[15:47] configurations with the customer because of her name is very very close to Valentina Rossi. >> So we're driving around some roads where Is this part of it? >> Yeah, this is a place where we do most

[16:01] of our testing. Our cars are meant to be driven on the road because are all road legal fully homologugated cars. The majority of the testing is on the road. We do testing on the racetrack too. But here we can find bumps. We can find

[16:17] situations where we know how the car will behave on the different surfaces. similar to British roads actually in so much that I mean that they're not great. We're picking up speed now. You can hear the intake

[16:32] >> and we can uh have some fun too. Go >> on then. to see what it pulls like in a bit cuz I'm going to go out in the mountains. So

[16:46] quite a few cars. I understand that people within Pagani they tend to pick their favorite chassis out of all the cars. Do you have a favorite chassis? I grew up earlier with the Zandas and my ever favorite is the chassis number 20.

[17:04] Beautiful blue full painted Z on the S. And there's a funny story. When we were producing that car, I think I was 14, 15 years old and I painted my Vaspa with the same color. I bought a Vaspa, restored it, and then made it similar to

[17:21] that Zonda cuz I loved it so much. So, have you guys got that Zonda back in a with a customer? >> That is a car we were able to buy back. bought back? Cuz I know your dad had this problem with like actually selling

[17:35] cars in a way used to like chase after the delivery truck to wave goodbye. Well, you know, at the beginning, uh, we we had only few prototypes that that we had only few prototypes that that were meant to be used for testing and we

[17:49] couldn't sell them, which makes it finding cars on the market now that we getting some of the cars because back in the day, we couldn't do it. We had to

[18:01] sell all the production cars, maybe only keep some of the the early prototypes, but the early prototypes are meant for the museum. >> What other manufacturers's cars do you particularly like? Cuz I understand that

[18:15] your dad's daily is actually a Toyota Alford, which a customer gave to him. >> He loves it. And I do love it, too. >> They're good, aren't they? We have one of the Alfords which is the daily commute with my dad when he doesn't use

[18:28] the bicycle which he he does it every day. On a hyper car level I would say we're very much into Porsches. So Porsches as are probably a big chunk of

[18:40] the collection. A Carrera GT has been one of the early ones we were able to one of the early ones we were able to buy. 911R, 918 Spider. Some of those have been seen already in the internet that my father owns. His love is also

[18:54] that my father owns. His love is also with Mercedes. We have a 300 SL which we just got a couple of years ago which he loves the design Ferraris. Probably his favorite to drive is the Ferrari F12 TDF. And now we are getting into some of

[19:09] TDF. And now we are getting into some of the classic cars. So 275 some of those uh cars from the 60s and the 70s that I think reminds my dad when he was uh when when he didn't have the money to get it to get it. So now he's

[19:25] buying some of his wish list. I don't know if you saw it throughout the visit, but the last car we purchased is a Porsche 917 Longtail. That is probably the pinnacle of the passion for race cars and Porsches. So, out of all the

[19:39] cars that you've got within the family, is that your father's favorite? The 917? >> I would say it's the only one he would keep. If there is a day he says, "I'm selling all my cars." That is the one he's um he's keeping forever.

[19:56] >> And you yourself, which would you pick? >> Probably Carrera GT is a little bit more modern in a way. I've driven on track and I've driven on a drag strip, but

[20:08] never on road. So, this will be my first time to experience one on the road. >> So, if you want to take it take the car back to the UK, just you can drive it all the way. >> You don't mean that.

[20:21] >> You have the comfort, you have the the fun. I'm sure you know the right roads. >> So, my MS would be very pleased if I turn up in there, say, "Hey, look at the won't be surprised when I actually take you at your word. And when I'm halfway

[20:37] to Calala, I'm like, "Uh, Christopher, you know, you wanted that car back." >> Well, you said you want to go back with a with with a plane, but the car is is >> It would be more fun. Maybe another day. I'd love to do it, but I'm sure you need

[20:50] teasing me. I'm going to get and give it a spin and see what it feels like. And that'll be the review part. Maybe I'll find some things that I don't like so find out. Thank you very much, Christopher. Appreciate it.

[21:04] drive the car sometimes. >> Yeah, >> it was for work. Yeah, it's work. >> Here we go. First time driving a Pagani. We filled it up with fuel. I've got my Pagani hat on. I'm good to go.

[21:18] a bit of getting used to, so I'll have auto blip on, but I am going to go in sports mode. Okay, first things first, getting out of here. Turning circle is not great. I'm going have to do a a definite three-point

[21:32] turn. This is embarrassing. This is an embarrassing start. Can't really see behind me. Oh, yeah. There's my camera there. Just holding up the road. Can I get around there? Yep. Yep. Yep.

[21:47] Yep. It's very nerve-wracking driving a car that's this expensive the first time, even though I've been doing this kind of thing for years. I've because it is so hot. Cuz they like to keep things lightweight. We don't have

[22:01] ventilated seats. I've got a bit of a sweaty. But I tell you one thing that I'm very surprised at how easy it is to just pull away in this car. I thought it'd be all tetin sensitive on the clutch, but it's so super smooth and

[22:14] easy. Seems quite sedate to just poodle about in. Clutches light. about in. Clutches light. Brakes fine. Throttle responses predictable all easy. And the suspension, even though I'm in sports

[22:28] mode, so it's stiffer, it's just so good. You find that with really expensive cars because their bodies are so stiff, the suspension can be more supple, allows it to breathe with the road. Of course, they could have made

[22:40] this car more aggressive for faster lap times, but it's got to see people are going to drive on the road as well as the track.

[22:57] rev them out to get that crisp naturally aspirated howl. Whereas with on and off the throttle, which is diabolical for my passengers. But for me, it's really entertaining because I just get the sound from the turbo.

[23:13] just get the sound from the turbo. It never gets boring.

[23:27] really got to get used to the gearbox because first all the way over there. It's almost like you're inverse in a normal car. And so second and third you spring whereas it's fourth and fifth which are in the neutral position. So

[23:42] it's a bit confusing for my little brain. anything in that. May I'll throw it away. Good job the door mirrors are nice

[23:56] behind you. Even with cars coming the other way and on quite a narrow road, I don't feel intimidated by this car. I actually feel a bit more intimidated by predict where the corners of this car are slightly better. I don't know

[24:09] whether it's cuz the dash is lower, but it's got the big wheel arches which really tell you where the front of the wings are. But I do have a lot of confidence in going forward in this car, less so in pulling out of junctions and

[24:22] going backwards. I hope no numpties just ignored the lights. Hello guys. today. There's me moaning about the air conditioning and lack of seat

[24:34] ventilation. Crimea River Watson. The steering of this car is electrohydraulic. What that means is that you have an electric power steering pump rather than it being driven off the engine for greater efficiency. The

[24:46] hydraulic. So you do feel more connected to the front wheels. Get more feel through the steering wheel than you would do in a normal fully electric would do in a normal fully electric power steering system.

[25:03] I'd love to do what Christopher offered. be able to drive this all the way back to the UK. Obviously, taking the long way home, the longer way home, maybe that should be. It'd be so good to just spend like a week driving back in this

[25:17] through the Alps. Oh, what? What's going on here? Well, I'm fluxed. Oh dear, I've gone the wrong way. Um, now I've got to turn around. Oh no, I don't want to turn around. I'm a bit worried about

[25:30] something coming round the corner behind me. This is my version of a van me. This is my version of a van reversing. So, go there. Maybe. Okay.

[25:47] This goes to show how easy it is to just modulate this clutch. Look at that. Don't go too far up there cuz then we might bottom out. I've done it. This is the tension of driving something

[26:02] This is the tension of driving something like this. Always a bit nerve-wracking. So, what's interesting about this car? It's done like 60,000 km. It still feels It's done like 60,000 km. It still feels tight.

[26:22] I guess that's part of the fun learning it gives an extra dimension to the car. I'd find it easier if it was just six gears to tell the truth. You could argue actually get to spend that much time driving them because they're just too

[26:35] busy or they got other cars in their collection. So maybe going with the get- go like a six-speed manual rather than upside down 7-speed would mean that you get used to the car quicker. But I can't fault the feel of

[26:49] the shift. It's nice and solid and mechanical and of course it looks gorgeous. I suppose what happens is when you have one of these cars, you spend a couple of hours driving it and then you spend another like 15, 20 minutes after

[27:02] at it. And it's probably one of those cars as well that you get enjoyment from if you haven't got enough time to go out and drive it, you can just sit in it for like 15 minutes and get out again and just see as like a piece of art that you

[27:18] can also drive. Also, I'm not sure if this car feels like a weekend blast kind of car. Feels more like a road trip car that once want to keep on driving it. You just want to go somewhere in it. Enjoy the

[27:32] scenery. Enjoy the car rather than just take it out to smash it for a blast or owners actually take this on track. I I wouldn't, but apparently they do.

[27:54] Whoa. Jeez. That's more like it. Wa.

[28:16] What a way to finish the video. And I'm not doing much talking, but it's And I'm not doing much talking, but it's this is just me enjoying myself. this is just me enjoying myself. Wow.

[28:33] So, that is pretty much the end. Oh, what a ride. That was a lot of fun. This car surprisingly easy to drive and just a really nice thing to be in and to

[28:45] experience. What a privilege to be able to just drive it through these Italian to just drive it through these Italian hills. Absolutely glorious. First time driving a Pagani on the road. And what a way to do it. Thing is though, if I was

[28:59] buying a Pagani in Utopia, would I go for this spec? Well, actually, no, I wouldn't. I've picked my perfect spec. I've configured my own car. Find out need to watch my specking video and you can see what it's like for customers

[29:13] lucky enough to be able to a afford one of these cars and b get an allocation on If you did, give it a like. If you want to see some other Pagano content, make have some more coming. And let me know what you think of the Utopia in the

[29:26] comments. Would you have this a Koigga Bugatti or a Gordon Murray T50? Let me know. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time. Which way am I going? I can't remember. Where have I gone? I'm lost.