First Glimpse of the Pagani Utopia Roadster

Many are drawn to the open car's romance—a vision of high speed, moonlight drives with the top down, the roar of a purebred sports car engine, and the wind tugging at your hair. This is an experience like no other that hearkens back to when the days of sports cars were simple—big engines, open roadsters.

This August, during Monterey Car Week, Horacio Pagani will unveil his latest creation: the Utopia Roadster. The Utopia Roadster is a product of 25 years of Pagani evolution in supercar design after the Zonda and Huayra. Having always been a rare commodity, the cars from Pagani will probably continue the tradition with the Utopia Roadster being produced in dozens rather than hundreds or thousands.

Pagani has a very long history of partnering with Mercedes and its AMG division for engines. This exposed them to the ability to influence the development of the Pagani-AMG twin-turbo V12 in the Utopia. This V12 represents, by far, the best-build quality and deepest engineering of any AMG engine to date. It makes its 864 horsepower at 6000 rpm; the 811 lb.-ft. of torque comes from 2800 to 5900 rpm—plenty of oomph, available down low where one doesn't have to rev to high rpm levels.

The Utopia Roadster is offered with the choice of either an automated manual gearbox with paddle shifters or a more traditional 7-speed manual with single-plate clutch. The latter, although slower than a dual-clutch system, plays its part in making the car feel rather analog and engaging.

Weighing 2822 pounds and with a top speed of 217 mph, the Utopia Roadster is planned for both impressive acceleration and cornering. Although this can't compete with the highest top speeds of Bugatti, it offers a form of driving focused on handling and acceleration from zero to high speeds.

For driving enthusiasts who prize enjoyment behind the wheel above outright performance, the Utopia Roadster is the perfect open-top sportscar. Tailored to a man who wants more than mere performance—drivers desiring to surround themselves with an exciting driving experience—the Utopia Roadster is the perfect open-top sportscar.