The Pagani Huayra Epitome Is The First Ever Manual Huayra

When the Pagani Utopia was revealed in 2022, a great deal was made of the fact that its 6.0-litre, twin-turbo AMG-built V12 could be hooked up to a good old-fashioned manual gearbox. Of course, this might have miffed off a few owners of the firm’s previous car, the semi-auto-only Pagani Huayra, who craved three pedals in their own cars.

One of the many things Pagani’s good at, though, is never truly killing off its old models. While the Utopia has taken over the centre stage from the Huayra, there’s still plenty of opportunity for the old car to make a splash. Take this: the one-off Huayra Epitome.

Created for a wealthy client, it’s the work of Grandi Complicazione, Pagani’s bespoke division – its equivalent of McLaren’s MSO or Lamborghini’s Ad Personam. That name literally means ‘Big Complications’, which hints that few things are out of the question for this Skunkworks team if you throw enough money at it.

The AMG V12 in the Epitome is in the same state of tune as in the Utopia, meaning 852bhp and 811lb ft of torque. Its redline has been lifted to 6700rpm.

Grandi Complicazione has gone to presumably grandi efforts to fit it with the Utopia’s seven-speed, Xtrac-built manual transmission, which the old Huayra was never designed for. Oh, and it’s got an open gate, just like an old Ferrari. Yes. Also featuring in this impressive drivetrain are a triple-disc clutch and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential.

It’s not just the powertrain that’s new, though. The Epitome’s suspension geometry has been completely reworked in order to eliminate as much pitch, dive and roll as possible, and the dampers have been fitted with a new “super soft” mode that works at up to 93mph to smooth out particularly rough roads – something Pagani knows all about, being based in northern Italy.

A six-way titanium exhaust not only should uncork some more noise but also helps activate a Brawn GP-style blown diffuser for extra downforce. We imagine this will lead to the Red Bull RB17 and  the LaFerrari successor lodging very vocal protests, before quietly copying it themselves.

Much of the bodywork has been redesigned. A new front splitter and that gigantic rear wing further increase downforce, and it’s all finished in bare blue carbon fibre over an interior filled with buttery, buttery tan leather.

With its three-pedal setup, optimised aero and trick suspension, the Epitome may well be the ultimate example of a roadgoing Huayra, the best of the best. If only there was a word for such a thing…