The story behind the creation of the most powerful Pagani Roadster in history.
The Pagani Huayra Roadster BC is the most powerful roadster in Pagani's history and was conceived by accident.
In 2016, Pagani released a more hardcore version of the Huayra supercar with the initials BC. The Huayra BC was only available in coupe bodywork, but buyers immediately began paying money for the open-top version, though Pagani did not announce its arrival. As company founder Horacio Pagani explains in a recent video explaining the development of the Roadster BC.
The car is based on the same recipe as the Huayra BC hardtop. The use of composite materials, such as Pagani's patented Carbo Titanium and Carbotriax, has made the BC 66 pounds lighter than the standard Huayra Roadster. The dry weight is 2,755 pounds, roughly the same weight as a Ford Fiesta, Francesco Perini, Pagani's manager of concept, composite materials and mechanical development, says in the video.
However, the Roadster BC's power output is much higher than the Fiesta's. The engine is Mercedes-AMG's familiar 6.0-liter V12 twin-turbo, which in this case makes 790 hp and 774 lb-ft of torque.
Mated to this V12 engine is a seven-speed Extrac automated manual transmission that shifts in just 75 milliseconds. According to Pagani, this is twice as fast as the Huayra Roadster's standard gearbox.
Like other Huayra variants, the Roadster BC features a spoiler and flaps to create maximum downforce. Pagani has also added a new underbody flap for this latest model. According to Pagani, the Roadster BC can generate up to 1,100 pounds of downforce at 174 mph.
Prices start at $3.4 million, and production is limited to 40 examples. This is double the number of Huayra BC coupes built by Pagani, but it is unlikely that any production quotas will be maintained.
Pagani is working on a successor to the Huayra model. It is expected to appear in 2021 under the codename C10. Initially it will be equipped with the traditional Mercedes-AMG V12, but Pagani is also working on an electric version.
It should be noted that the Huayra Roadster BC won't necessarily remain Pagani's most powerful roadster. The company just unveiled an 827-hp Huayra track car, so it wouldn't be surprising to see a roadster version eventually.