It’s ruthlessly quick… and now roofless too

A quick search for the meaning of the word “utopia” throws up the description of “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect”. Most would just acknowledge things for the way they are and accept that perfection is impossible. However, Horacio Pagani was one of the few who had the vision and commitment to turn his imagination into reality. On 27 February 2025, I had the pleasure of entering the insightful mind of Mr Pagani and viewing his interpretation of a perfect car through the launch of the new Pagani Utopia Roadster in Singapore at ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove.

First, the bad news. With a price tag of €3.1 million (S$4.35 million) before options and only 130 of these exclusive Roadsters being made, you’re probably thinking that you’ll never even get the chance to lay your eyes on one. But fret not, as our local Cars ‘N’ Kopi automotive meet and Eurokars Auto have worked some magic together. If you’re willing to sacrifice some of your precious Sunday morning sleep, you can catch the Roadster at Dempsey Hill this Sunday, 2 March from 7:00am to 11:30am. We’ve also been told that there’ll be exclusive Pagani merchandise for sale, so be sure to bring some spare change with you!

Another Pagani showcased at the launch was an equally stunning right-hand drive Utopia Coupé, a customer car and the first to be delivered in Southeast Asia. Finished in a two-tone Bianco Benny and exposed carbon colour scheme that is neatly complemented by a bold Rosso Scuro centre stripe, it draws heavy inspiration from the fabled Pagani Zonda Cinque. Its sleek black Aeroblade Wheels also give the car a fighter jet-esque appearance.

But back to the subject of the matter. The Pagani Utopia Roadster on display is finished in exposed multi-layered carbon fibre developed in-house by the Pagani Atelier and painted in a stunning colour dubbed Habanero Red. The colour drastically transforms from red to maroon depending on the light conditions. Two colours for the price of one, I suppose! This launch car also has been equipped with the optional Sport Pack which amplifies the use of Pagani’s very own Carbo-Titanium material for the gear-lever knob, gear shift paddles, and floor mats in the interior. On the outside, the movable flaps and roof of the monocoque get this same treatment. Notice the two sets of contrasting rim designs on either side of the car, which displays the different wheel options for customers to choose from.

After seeing the car in the flesh for the first time and taking in the uncanny number of details, I can declare that to call this car “beautiful” is an understatement. As always, it features its signature rear-opening clamshell that reveals a masterpiece of a 6-litre twin-turbocharged Mercedes-AMG developed V12, which sounded sensational when the team started and revved the engine for everyone to hear. Now, with a removable carbon fibre roof at their disposal, the driver can fully absorb the symphony of the car’s powerplant.

What makes the design language so unusual is that it doesn’t even look like an “average” 2020s exotic hypercar. It’s more of what you would get if you time-travelled back to the eighties and asked designers of that period to sketch their impression of a hypercar from four decades into the future.

Oh, you’re probably thinking right about now that I’ve forgotten to include some numbers. So here’s some: it’s got 864 horsepower and 1,100 Nm of torque from 2,800 to 5,900 rpm, and is (unfortunately) electronically limited to 350 km/h. It’s undoubtedly fast, but here’s the thing: for a car like this, you probably don’t care too much about these numbers, and if you do, you really shouldn’t.

This is because Paganis were never engineered to bolt from 0-100km/h in the blink of an eye or storm down the Autobahn at a gazillion miles an hour. Instead, it’s a brand that perfectly fuses art and automotive to showcase the absolute capabilities of human craftsmanship while its engineers work towards maximising driving engagement and pleasure over outright speed. As Pagani themselves say, “blending advanced technology with timeless design”.

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This is a realisation I experienced firsthand when I had the privilege of sitting in the driver’s seat. Step inside and you immediately feel like you’ve been teleported into another dimension.

There aren’t any gigantic, soulless screens to ruin the interior’s aesthetic that are all too common in new cars nowadays. Instead, you are refreshingly greeted by solid buttons, elegant gauges and meticulously crafted switches. The Grecale and Huayra Signature leathers on the dashboard and seats are also stitched to perfection. Not to mention, it bears the option of a holy-grail gated manual transmission, where the mechanicals have been cleverly exposed for you to view the transmission’s inner workings while shifting. Needless to say, I was really, really reluctant to get out of the car.

Overall, this is what I would describe as an automotive artpiece. It’s an artwork created with the finest craftsmanship and the most minute attention to detail that just so happens to be drivable, where it is engineered to evoke raw driving emotion, and the speed and power it possesses are merely a welcome bonus. Unfortunately, I wasn’t rich or famous enough to be able to drive it and experience it myself, but based on the mere two hours I had soaking in the looks and the sounds, I would say that Horacio and his team involved in this car’s development have succeeded in creating automotive utopia.

Text: Tan Kai Wyn
Photos: Clifford Chow