Llinyn Top 12 Ceir o 2012: Pagani Huayra

Breathtaking successor to the Zonda was one of craziest and most exciting cars we drove all year. The 720bhp, 230mph Pagani Huayra was probably the wildest and certainly the fastest car that we drove this year. But then they dont tend to do things by halves at Pagani. Never have done, never will.
The legendary Zonda that preceded the Huayra (pronounced why-raa) was one of the worlds maddest, most iconic supercars, so replacing it was always going to be tough. Especially since Horacio Pagani had decided that he wanted to sell his new car in America (unlike the Zonda), which meant that all sorts of noise and emissions regulations would need to be adhered to this time round.
In the event, what Pagani came up with was breathtaking – quite literally, given the fact that the car had to have a turbocharged engine in order to ensure it of a 10-year shelf life. But the Huayras 6. 0-litre twin-turbo V12, designed and engineered specifically for the car by AMG, isnt exactly your run-of-the-mill force-fed engine. This is a monster of a powerhouse in every way imaginable, and it defines the Huayras personality every bit as much as its beguilingly aerodynamic lines or its actively aero-enhanced chassis do.
On the road, the latest Pagani feels heart-stoppingly fast, especially in the mid-range, when the effects of 738lb ft of torque do their best to blast your internal organs straight out of your back whenever the throttle is floored. Only the brave or genuinely stupid reach for the button that turns the traction control off, for although the Huayras mid-engined chassis is exceedingly well mannered most of the time and is aided in its cause by over 400kg of active downforce above 150mph, its still a rear-wheel-drive monster thatll bite your arm off in a heartbeat if you treat it badly.
As ever with Pagani, the cartoon-like interior of this car provides almost as much entertainment as the driving experience. In both cases, some will find what the Huayra offers too extreme. But given that Paganis order books are now full for the next three and a half years, there are also plenty who think otherwise and love the Huayra for what it is: one of the worlds craziest, most exciting cars. You can count us among them.