The past week saw two major vehicle auctions held in the Middle East, one in Abu Dhabi and the other in Saudi Arabia, and in both instances the highest bid went to a Pagani Zonda.
The Abu Dhabi auction was held by RM Sotheby's on Saturday and coincided with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Despite a championship-winning Ferrari Formula One car driven by Michael Schumacher among the lots, the most expensive sale of the day was a one-off Pagani Zonda referred to as the Aether. The final bid came in at $6.05 million.
Pagani Zonda Aether
Over in Saudi Arabia, Silverstone Auctions held its first sale in the country, which coincided with the Riyadh Car Show. There, the highest bid went to another one-off Zonda, this one referred to as the Riviera, with the hammer dropping at $5,885,000.
The Zonda Aether was unveiled in 2018 and features the mechanical package of the 760RS and a roadster body similar to the Zonda Cinque. Power is provided by a Mercedes-AMG-sourced 7.3-liter V-12 tuned to hit a 760-horsepower peak. And, unlike most modern supercars, the Aether’s engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. A look at the odometer reveals the car has only been driven 1,400 kilometers (approximately 870 miles) since new. Interestingly, it was commissioned by the same person who commissioned the one-off Ferrari SP38 Special Projects car.
Pagani Zonda Riviera
The Zonda Riviera is a coupe that started out life as a yellow Zonda F. The owner in 2017 converted the car to 760RS spec and had new carbon fiber body panels added. It has just 900 km on its odometer.
The Zonda is a rare car and you barely ever see them coming up for public sale, especially now that values have skyrocketed. The last known auction of a Zonda was seven years ago, so it's no surprise this pair fetched such high bids.
