Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Zonda was Pagani‘s first model, and it debuted in 1999. Twenty years later they finally moved on. Somewhere in the middle of that time frame, they produced this, the track-only Zonda R. How many were built? Depends on where you look. RM says this is the fifth of 10 produced.
While it shares the name and general look of the road-going Zonda, the car is essentially its own thing with a carbon chassis, a ridiculous rear wing, and power from a 6.0-liter V12 that dates back to the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR. Significantly tweaked, it makes 740 horsepower in this application.
This car went back to Pagani after it was first sold to be upgraded to “Revolucion Specification,” which added another 30 horsepower, some weight savings, downforce upgrades, and other bits. The car now has an estimate of $4,800,000-$6,800,000 (with a range like that, it seems like they have no idea what it’s “worth” other than a lot). Click here for more info.
We kick off in January with RM Sotheby’s in Arizona where the top sale was this 2018 Pagani Huayra Roadster that sold for $2,370,000.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
All of our feature cars sold, with the V-16 Cadillac leading the way at $1,105,000. Following that was the Hispano-Suiza at $445,000 and the Shelby Series I at $91,840. Other sales included the Chalmers for $61,600, the Locomobile for $58,240, and the Kaiser for $10,080. Click here for complete results.
Next up, Gooding & Company, also in Arizona. This auction proved that bedroom wall car posters are key indicators of what’s going to skyrocket in value. In this case, it was a 1995 Ferrari F50 that outsold a Tucker at $3,222,500. It also way outsold the 250 GT Cabriolet that brought $1,462,500.
We move on to Barrett-Jackson, where the top sale was a charity lot: the first mid-engine Corvette. A 2020 Stingray that hasn’t even been built yet. This red pre-production car crossed the block, but the actual first one will be black.
Photo – Barrett-Jackson
I couldn’t even tell you what their overall top sale was that wasn’t a charity lot because the results page isn’t sortable :(. I have strong feelings on these moonshot charity auctions, but I will keep them to myself.
Every car we featured sold, which is no surprise because this entire sale is 99.9% reserve-free. The Superbird brought $313,500, the L88 Corvette $330,000, and the Kuzma-Offy $165,000. The Aerocar went for a lot less than I anticipated, bringing only $275,000. I think, had it sold 15 years ago, it would’ve gone for much more.
On the other side of things were the Lawil at $12,100 and the Bremen Sebring at $7,700. Click here for all of the results.
Finally, we have Bonhams at Retromobile. The top overall sale was this 1931 Bugatti Type 55 Supersport that sold for $5,045,740.
Photo – Bonhams
Other big-dollar sales among our feature cars included the Pegaso for $782,089, a previously-featured Delahaye for $227,058, a previously-featured Talbot racer for $964,997 (less than half of what it sold for in 2014), and a BMW-Glas prototype for $229,581.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. | November 30, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Pagani Zonda was first introduced in 1999. It seems like forever ago. And it was. The first chassis has already gone through a restoration. It’s successor, the Huayra, went on sale in 2012. But Horacio Pagani kept producing limited-edition (mostly one-off) Zondas for customers through 2017.
This car, which is the 131st of 140 Zondas built, was special-ordered by a private customer. It’s based on the Zonda Cinque but has some different parts and is one of Pagani’s “760-Series” Zondas, which are all bespoke, one-off creations (and some of them, which are still being constructed, are actually built using earlier Zondas as donor cars).
Power is from a 749 horsepower 7.3-liter V12. It was delivered in 2018 to its first owner, who is now selling it. I guess customizing a supercar can only hold your interest for so long. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 6, 2017
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The vowel-laden Huayra is Pagani’s most recent model, going on sale in 2012. Only 100 coupes were built, with a Roadster version supposedly going on sale this year. That means, if you buy this car, you will own 1% of all Pagani Huayra Coupes.
Horacio Pagani‘s engine deal is with Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division and they supply the 6.0-liter twin-turbo V-12 that sits behind the driver. Horsepower is rated at 720 and the top speed is 238 mph. This 4,900 mile example is #78 of the 100 built. Huayras feature gullwing doors and active aerodynamics that make it a supercar that can do more than just fly in a straight line.
Pretty much each example was built-to-order and no two are quite alike. This one was delivered new to San Francisco and is being sold by its first and only owner. Costing around $2,000,000 when new, this is (I think) the second one to come up for auction (Gooding & Company has another one in Arizona this coming January and RM had one a few months ago in Monterey). The estimate is $1,900,000-$2,300,000… so with the as-new price in mind, it will be interesting to see if this brings a solid return on investment. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Brooklands, U.K. | December 3, 2012
The Pagani Zonda began like so many ill-fated attempts at supercar production – as a dream and sketch by its designer, Horacio Pagani. The company was founded seven years prior to production beginning. But that time wasn’t wasted and Pagani wasn’t just any junior high kid wanting to go fast. He was already rich and had a lot of techncial know-how, having worked at Lamborghini and owning his own composite research company that made him a lot of money. The Zonda is a legitimate supercar – and a legitimate car.
The Zonda was well-designed and it is supercar pretty and supercar fast. This one owner car was built in 2003 as a Zonda S 7.3, which used a 7.3-liter AMG-built V12 making 547 horsepower. It could do 208 mph and cost around $500,000. This was the bread and butter Zonda variant. However, in 2009 this car was involved in an accident and sent back to Pagani for repairs. While being repaired, it was also updated/upgraded to Zonda F specification (it is listed as a 2003/2010). Other limited-edition Zonda models were also in production and bits and pieces of some of them were included on this car, including pieces from the Zonda Cinque and Tricolore.
Power is now at 594 horsepower and the upgrades cost a whopping 77% of the original purchase price! It is truly a one-of-a-kind Zonda, a model that is now out of production. The pre-sale estimate is $800,000-$950,000. For more information and photos, click here. And for the rest of Bonham’s auction lineup, click here.
