A man, an entrepreneur, a pioneer, a genius and a visionary. Horacio Pagani is all this. He is the man to whom we owe the dream cars and the very own concept of “Hypercars”, thanks to the first Zonda C12 presented at Geneva Motor Show in 1999, a vehicle which turned upside-down the way of interpreting luxury cars, raising the bar in terms of refinement, stylistic inspiration, craftmanship and obviously purchase price.
But what is the origin of the legend? We must go back to long time ago. In time and space. We must go back to when Horacio was only a child in Casilda (an agriculture-based town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina) with a huge passion for motors, European cars and speed. An average child raised in a family of bakers, but with an extraordinary talent and vision. A far-sighted vision, always looking forward, even overseas. Looking at Modena, Bologna, the Motor Valley, and Italy, the cradle of supercars.
A vision that led him far away to face the uncertain, the unknown. With him he only carried two bikes, a tent and his young bride. Nothing else, but a dream. A dream that was stronger than any fear, stronger than anything. Such a foolish dream to fulfil, but maybe this is the reason why it has come true. It has become a legend. It has made history. Attempt after attempt, doors slammed in his face and many rejections.
Finally, he joined Lamborghini, after trying so hard, as a third-level worker, and in just two years he ended up managing the new-born department of composite materials, where he started to master his technique (and his research) on carbon fibre and on a long list of incredibly innovative materials for the time.
It was the beginning of the ’90s and the Gulf War brought drastic decisions, cuts and closures. But the young Horacio didn’t get discouraged, asked for a leasing (with which he bought an autoclave) and founded Modena Design, a company that produced CFRP components for third parties. He was tireless, he worked on his dream car at night: the car that was born by a four-handed collaboration with Juan Manuel Fangio (the one who put him into contact with AMG), the same vehicle that would later become the Zonda. And we know the rest.
It’s history, and it is a story that has reached our hearts, full of heroism, passion and legendary cars, which reinterpret Leonardo’s vision of art and science. Keep us amazed, Horacio!
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by Alessandro Colombo