Pagani nearly hopped on the electrification bandwagon, nevertheless it shelved the project as a consequence of technical challenges and a scarcity of demand from its audience. Unveiled in 2022, the Utopia could have received a V8-electric hybrid system but as a substitute landed with a twin-turbo V12.
Chatting with our colleagues at The Drive, company founder Horacio Pagani explained that his team worked with partner Mercedes-AMG to search out an appropriate powertrain for the Utopia. The brand tested several options, including a hybrid drivetrain built around a twin-turbocharged V8. On paper, the setup sounds rather a lot just like the one present in a few of AMG’s models, including the GT 63 S E Performance unveiled in 2021.
An output of 831 horsepower and 1,033 pound-feet of torque makes the system supercar-worthy, but Pagani’s customers didn’t want it.
“In point of fact, nobody is thinking about a hybrid automotive. And I even have hybrids in my collection; I even have a Porsche 918 Spyder and a number of more. But when it is time for me to take a Porsche out for a spin, I’ll take my 911 R or my Carrera GT. Our clients think along those lines,” Pagani told The Drive in an interview. “I consider that should you ask people, most of them will say that a hybrid is something extraordinary since it has all the issues of an electrical automotive and all the issues of a combustion automotive — together with higher [development and maintenance] costs.”
Beyond the shortage of demand, the hybrid system’s motors and batteries added an excessive amount of weight. Pagani explained that the hybrid prototypes his team tested were chubby by anywhere between 900 and 1,100 kilos, and this extra mass would have limited the automotive’s appeal.
“Our clients didn’t want anything to do with it. We’ve got to construct what the client goes to purchase from us,” he said.
The demand problem also explains why Pagani hasn’t made an EV to tackle Rimac, for instance. It began experimenting with battery-electric technology in 2017, working with each Mercedes-AMG and Lucid, but “customers weren’t interested,” the brand’s founder said. In hindsight, not taking the EV route was a smart alternative: Demand for electric hypercars has dropped significantly, in response to Mate Rimac.
Pagani plans to make V12-powered cars for so long as possible. “We’re doing every part we are able to to maintain the V12,” he assured The Drive. The engine that powers the Utopia is homologated until 2031. Crucially, future evolutions are homologated as well, so there’s more to come back. Pagani also stays committed to the manual transmission: The Utopia and the Utopia Spider are each available with a seven-speed stick.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
