Design
From ever angle this beast looks beautiful. I might even have to go as far as saying it's the most beautiful modern car created. The whole car just oozes sexy and beautiful. The spoiler in the back adds a sense of machoism to the whole design while the curves add a somewhat feministic beauty. but the most beautiful part of the body work has to be the rear of the car.
Very few cars ever have a properly styled rear. It always seems that the designers put all their effort into styling the front end and then leave the rear with some boring taillights and a stereotypical rear end. They really need to put more thought into that. Imagine driving next to any supercar. Chances are you're going to be driving behind it. And honestly let's face it, the majority of people that can afford and purchase these beautiful machines want them for the sole purpose of showing off. Now why would any of these lucky guys want to be driving a $250,000+ car only to disappoint and disgust those that they're trying to show off too. Thankfully we can always depend on Pagani to supply us with our automobile rear-end fantasies. Their trademark quad-exhaust is the most beautiful exhaust system I've ever seen. And the Zonda R's tailights, or lack thereof, just flow as part of the whole curvature of the body. It's simplistic design shows off the inner workings of the engine and yet still manages to be gorgeous. The rear end, just like the rest of the car, is an exquisite blend of simplicity, function, and beauty.
But it is much more than eye candy. The goal: the ultimate performance at the racetrack with absolutely no compromise. The whole car was designed from scratch only using about 10% of the previous Pagani Zonda F components. But this is still a completely different beast than any other previous Pagani. The suspension forged in Avional, a new Pagani six speed transversal sequential gearbox, carbon fiber monocoque, and an aeronautical four pump fuel tank are only part of the equation. The wheelbase has grown by 47mm and the overall length by 394mm. The bodywork and aerodynamics have been designed to offer maximum downforce. And although it was built solely for track use it still has the refinement and quality of any Pagani road car.
The engine is built by the racing specialists at Mercedes AMG (known for their face destroying engines), where the championship winning DTM cars are born, as well as the famous CLK GTR. From it's engine the Zonda R borrows the basic architecture including and ingenious dy slump allowing a low center of gravity. This naturally aspirated 6.0 Liter V12 engine rips out 750 hp at 8,000 rpm and 524 lb-ft of torque, which is extremely effective on the lightweight 2358.9 lbs body of the Zonda R. Add in it's lightweight carbon fiber high-performance intake system, a racing multiple disc sintered clutch, Formula 1 style exhaust system, hydroformed in Inconel 625 and ceramic coated for optimal heat dissipation (in other words, many gizmos that make the car go "VROOOM" instead of "vroom") and you've got a ridiculously fast car with a 0-60 time of 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph.
The Pagani Zonda R is the epitome of track cars. Taking the basics of any fast car (lightweight + more power) and refining it with technology, but still keeping to it's roots of the perfect driver's car, Pagani has created a masterpiece. A combination of a gorgeous body (especially that exhaust system), beautiful engine, and Formula 1 technology makes this the ultimate track car. For now.
