MY MY MY, THE HUAYRA

Pagani is preparing to move to its third iteration of V12-powered, ultra-focused yet daily-usable supercar. Richard Lane reminds us what makes it so special

- Richard Lane

You realise, when confronted with an actual Pagani in actual life, that supercars are like stadium rock. Bear with me here. In this day, music is at our fingertips and omnipresent, just as we're inescapably fed pictures of fast, gleaming cars on the internet. Complacency sets in; contempt if you've contracted the virulent condition known as Supercar Fatigue Syndrome. Yet every so often you find yourself inside the stadium, being forcibly reminded what a life-affirming affair it is when thousands upon thousands congregate to see the show. Not in a million years could digital reproduction replicate that buzz.

This, in effect, is the situation when snapper Max Edleston and I arrive at Goodwood Circuit to collect our Huayra BC Roadster for the afternoon. Possibly like yours, my brain has been plied with and addled by gigabytes of supercar-flavoured media in recent years but it has been a while since I saw one of Pagani's wonders up close, and the effect isn't just invigorating but spellbinding. Normality is briefly and sensationally restored. Have true supercars, no longer so mysterious to us, still got it? Damn right they have. You just need to meet them in person, especially those made in San Cesario sul Panaro, near Modena, just 15 minutes from Horacio Pagani's old haunt at Lamborghini.