By Otsile Kadiege

Pagani recently lifted the veil off the ultra-rare Huayra Codalunga hypercar. The limited edition model of just five units was produced in close collaboration with clients. It boasts an elegant and sinuous shape and state-of-the-art Pagani mechanical engineering.

Huayra Codalunga development

In 2018, two Pagani collectors asked Horacio,  Founder & Chief Designer, to produce a long-tail version of the Pagani Huayra Coupé with the idea of creating an elegant hypercar with a clean and streamlined design. The clients, who had been actively involved in the development of the project, liaised directly with Pagani Grandi Complicazioni, which focuses on creating one-offs and few-offs vehicles. Despite its limited numbers, Pagani deployed significant resources to create a hypercar that would comply with global regulatory requirements and be fully certified.

The Huayra Codalunga was designed down to the smallest detail in accordance with the creative principles of the great polymath Leonardo da Vinci. It took two years of working closely with the client to finalize the styling concept. Two models were built, one at 1:4 scale and the other full size.

Huayra Codalunga design

Designers made use of the Huayra Coupé’s simple linear style as a starting point and also drew inspiration from the long-tails of the 1960s that raced at Le Mans. As a result the Huayra Codalunga is longer and has a smoother body which is made of advanced composite materials. The Huayra Codalunga’s rear engine cover, which has a footprint of more than 3.7 m2, is 360 mm longer than the one of the Huayra Coupé.

The lack of rear grilles makes space for an unobstructed view of the Codalunga’s exhaust system, which is made from titanium and weighs only 4.4 kg (9.7 lb). The special ceramic coating completes the homage to the racing cars of Le Mans and the symphony that emanates from the signature four tailpipes is a tribute to automotive passion.

The Pagani Huayra Codalunga is fitted with forged Avional wheels, 20-inch at the front and 21-inch at the rear. The wheels are wrapped with Pirelli PZero Corsa 265/30 R20 at the front and 355/25 R21 at the rear.

Huayra Codalunga trims

On this special model, the choice was made to use neutral colors and semi-matte or fully matte paints, to evoke the shades of the past and to bring out the simplicity of the car’s design. This concept also plays a fundamental role on the inside, where the seats are finished with woven leather/nubuck upholstery and aluminum components are machined from a single block. This recalls the manual techniques of the past, when the artisan would polish each element by hand. Work which is still performed today, a tradition kept alive by the experts in the center of the world sports car industry, Italy’s Motor Valley.

Performance

Nestled behind the Italian two-seater hypercar is a twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 engine making a whooping 618kW at 5,900 rpm and 1,100Nm from 2,000 rpm to 5,600 rpm. It’s paired to a transversely mounted 7-speed sequential automatic transmission. Braking power comes in the form of self-ventilated Brembo carbon-ceramic disc brakes (410 x 38 mm with 6-piston one-piece calipers up front and 390 x 34 mm with 4-piston one-piece calipers at the rear.