Few supercars go to the extremes of performance and design that the Pagani Zonda does, and that extreme nature has earned it as many opponents as it has fans. But both sides can agree it's an impressive and highly capable machine - however they feel about its looks. The Zonda Cinque takes the car's extreme ethos to a new level, as it is essentially a Zonda R made for the street.
The Pagani Zonda R was designed as a 750hp track-only race car, limited to 10 units ever to be built, priced at €1.2 million and made almost exclusively of carbon fiber. It has yet to reach production, however. The Zonda Cinque, believed to wear the same body the Zonda R will eventually be fitted with, is even more exclusive and every bit as capable a performer. Those with a talent for foreign tongues have already noticed that the Cinque's name is the Italian word for 'five' - because only five of the street-legal racers will be built.
Powered by a slightly detuned version of the 7.3L V12 engine found in other Zondas that produces 678hp (505kW) and 780Nm of torque, the Cinque makes the run from 0-124mph (0-200km/h) in just 9.8 seconds with a top speed of over 350km/h. It's a relative bargain at just €800,000 and with the limited-edition nature, the car will likely only appreciate in value. The car looks a lot like the Zonda F that set a record time at the Nurburgring in October last year, a feat it achieved with a mere 650hp. The extra 28hp on tap gives the 1,210kg Cinque a power-to-weight ratio of 3.9lbs/hp or 2.4kg/kW.
In the brain of the Zonda Cinque is a special ABS and traction control unit designed by Bosch, along with controls for the robotized Automac sequential gearbox. Sticky Pirelli PZero rubber wrapped around 19x9" front and 20x12.5" rear wheels mean the car may tend a bit toward steady-state understeer in high-speed corners thanks to the disparate contact patches at either end, which is sure to make the lawyers happy, and might just keep some less-skilled but wealthy enthusiasts out of the hedgerow. Lateral acceleration is nevertheless rated at a maximum of 1.45g - race-car territory, on street tires - while the brakes shut the show down from 200km/h in just 4.3 second and from 100km/h in 3.1 seconds.
For more background on Pagani and its cars, check out our review of the Zonda F Clubsport.
Reader Comments
Fri May 30 2008 7:57 AM
CK says
I had the chance to sit just in a Zonda F and I must say this is the most beautiful car build. The materials und attention to detail is just amazing. It had a clear & matt coated carbon fiber body and just looked to good to be driven. And more power is always good, right? Will be quiet interesting see Paganis take on a stripped down sport interieur. By the way this is the only chassis to handle the power of those big Merc engines properly.
Fri May 30 2008 11:13 AM
CarFanaticsUnleashed says
Wow! One of my favorite supercars ever, became even more insane!
How wonderful, I'm giggling with those specs juggling around in my head.
750 bhp is enough to send a small child into orbit!
Hopefully I can get my hands on one of those 10 units...
And the price could turn into a problem...
Fri Jun 6 2008 5:44 AM
HECTOR says
You can buy the ENTIRE Ferrari lineup with the same money it will cost you to buy this car. Indisputably brilliant though it is (and taste being a subjective thing) would you really choose to have this car in your garage over the Enzo, the 599, the F430 + the California?
Fri Jun 6 2008 7:09 AM
burke says
Hector, I'd rather drive a different Ferrari every weekday :-)
Fri Jun 6 2008 7:30 AM
Alan says
HECTOR, if i have the money i would choose this over the entire Ferrari line up. It is better than all of them and is much more exclusive. Although personally I'm not all that keen on recent Ferrari anyway, i think they've become too electronic, too play station like.
Fri Jun 6 2008 8:07 AM
admin says
Hector - what are you talking about? Second hand Enzo's on their own go for around $1m+. And it’s almost impossible to buy a 599 for less than 400K because of demand.
Anyway, I have had the pleasure of visiting the Pagani factory and meeting the founder. Visiting from Australia, I turn up to the factory on the outskirts of Modena in my rental Lancia Ypsilon and look up to see an Australian flag flying above the factory. Which other company would do that?
Walking in to the main assembly area of the factory - barely larger than 20x20m - I see 2 Zondas, one black and the other yellow, and the founder Horacio Pagani wheeling out a massive 7.3L Mercedes V12 to fit in to the yellow one. That's right, the founder still helps to build every single car.
A couple of days later I visited the Ferrari factory, and while many things are still hand made, it’s very much a production line.
The Zonda is built in a factory barely the size of Ferrari’s canteen. Once you meet the man behind the cars and drive one, you too will understand why they are special.
Fri Jun 6 2008 9:10 AM
CK says
Hector you can't get all the Ferrari's you mentioned for that money. The cheapest Enzo on sale here will cost you nearly the same. I also quite like Ferrari's but the Zonda is a different league. The attention to detail in this cars is just unbelieveable. Ferrari doesn't offer anything that is comparable to that. I just like to mention the screws in the fins of the 599 GTB^^
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