Pagani Zonda Review
The following review was provided to us courtesy of Adam Kaplan from Hunter Holden
Driving the Zonda is a surreal experience.
You expect it to be difficult, after all, supercars are supposed to be quirky. They're supposed to be difficult to see out of. They're supposed to have hideously offset pedals and be claustrophobic and built for Italians with long arms and short legs. Well, I hate to disappoint you but the Zonda is none of these things.
Starting the car is a joy, the initial bark from the 7.3l V12 through the 4 centrally mounted exhausts is inspiring. It's as sharp as a razor....with a deep purposeful throb added for effect. You just know that this car means business. In fact you'll be tempted to turn it off and push that starter button again and again just to relive that initial rush.
The clutch, brake and accelerator pedal, as well as being beautifully crafted, are perfectly weighted and moving off requires no special thought. The steering feel transmitted through the perfectly sculptured steering wheel is superb. Looking out between the front wheel arches and gently gripping the steering wheel, you have absolutely no doubt that this is a car that you're going to enjoy controlling.
For a car with such Herculean performance and body rigidity, the ride is incredibly supple, the suspension simply absorbs rough roads without any fuss and very little harshness is transmitted to the occupants....not at all what you'd expect of a supercar. The fact that it does this whilst at the same time offering no noticeable body roll, even when cornering extremely hard, is simply amazing.
And whilst the enormous torque would allow you to trundle along in 6th all day, even at 60kph, the sheer aural delight gained from blipping the throttle on downshifts ensures that you end up changing gears far more often than is required.....you just can't help yourself.
So what's it like to drive fast.........perfect is the first word that comes to mind. The awesome power is obviously the first thing you notice when driving the Zonda hard, the urge simply never ceases. No matter what gear you're in, just change up to the next one, floor it and the car continues to accelerate faster and faster. On the other side of the ledger the brakes are exactly what they need to be for a car with such extreme performance, solid and reliable and with a stopping time from 200kph to standstill of 4.5 seconds, hitting the anchors hard is just as inspiring as meshing the accelerator pedal against the carbon fibre firewall.
The other surprise is that the steering feel remains constant throughout the entire speed range, because the Zonda is so rock solid at extreme speeds, and we're talking over 300kph here, there's no feeling that you need to grip the steering wheel tighter to keep a hold of it, it's actually just as relaxing at warp speed as it it around town, probably even more so because you're not worried about any other traffic keeping up.