Can the Pagani Huayra BC Escape the Shadow of the Iconic Zonda?

Even if you “only” get the plain old base model, there isn’t really anything the Pagani Huayra lacks. It’s a powerful, rare exotic that’s as much a rolling piece of artwork as it is a performance car. But for buyers who want one that’s a little better suited for track use, Pagani recently introduced the Huayra BC. Named for Horacio Pagani’s close friend and first customer, Benny Caiola, the Huayra BC is lighter, more powerful, and more track-focused than the regular Huayra, featuring extreme active aerodynamics, suspension, braking, and tire technology.

But no matter how much Pagani improves the Huayra’s performance, the iconic Zonda is still out there, casting a long shadow over its successor. After all, it’s hard to displace a legend in people’s hearts. If any version of the Huayra could do that, however, it will be the BC. The question is, can it? To figure that out, our own Jethro Bovingdon hops behind the wheel to push Pagani’s limited-edition hypercar to its limits.

To begin, Bovingdon heads to Pagani HQ to take a behind-the-scenes look at the engineering that went into the Huayra BC. Eventually, though, it’s time to take the car for a drive. And what better place is there to start than the back roads of rural Italy? If the Huayra BC has the same kind of character that made the Zonda so special, you can bet it will come out on a winding, empty country road. Then it’s time to head to the supercar’s natural habitat: the race track. Located south-east of Milan, the Autodromo di Franciacorta gives Bovingdon the chance to see how the Huayra BC drives when it’s pushed far harder than you could ever safely do on a public road.

At the end of it all, does the ultra-exclusive Pagani Huayra BC manage to win Bovingdon over, or does he still long for the Zonda and its 7.3-liter naturally aspirated V-12? Watch the whole episode below to find out!

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