Automotive greatness did not come inherently to Horacio Pagani. His story begins in 1955 in the meadows of Casilda, Argentina, a long way from Motor Valley – the stretch of Italian asphalt, where the supercar brand now manufactures its vehicles next to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. 

The Pagani family was one of makers, hence they earned their livelihood by combining their hands, creativity, knowledge, raw materials, and pure effort to create anything they could. Pagani began to sketch and carve car models out of wood at the age of 10 years. The vehicles around his neighbourhood and car magazines became his inspirations. As a university student, he began working at a local shop in order to gain knowledge. By 1977, the 22-year-old Horacio Pagani, has his own space, funding and first two projects: a dune buggy and “the first real Pagani” - a Formula 2 race car called Limitada Santafesina – except the Renault engine, everything else was created by Pagani. 

Regardless of his university degree being in Industrial Design, it was his obvious flare for mechanical engineering which got him a job offer to work in Renault’s racing division and that is where he met the Argentinian Formula 1 racing hero, Juan Manuel Fangio. A little more than a year later, Pagani was hired by Lamborghini to work as an unskilled labourer in the brand’s Italian plant, but it would not be long before he was promoted. He climbed the Lamborghini ladder over the years, eventually going on to lead the development of carbon fibre concept “Countach Evoluzione” in 1987, a revolutionizing lighter-than-ever chassis. 

Modena Design was found in 1991 when Pagani raised his own funds independently when Lamborghini denied financing to Pagani in order to manufacture the carbon fibre he was working on. He and his team made carbon-fibre parts for Ferrari’s Formula 1 team. After the first Gulf War, in 1993, began production of their first vehicle, the Fangio. Soon after, in 1991, Pagani Zonda C12 made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, he continued returning to Geneva with the Zonda S. In today’s time, there are dozens of Pagani variants, special editions, one-offs that include but are not limited to the F, F roadster, Cinque, Cinque Roadster, Tricolore, Kiryu, GR, Nero, Oliver Evolution and Aether Roadster. 

But, record broke when in 2011, Pagani launched Huayra, named after Huayra Tata, the god of the wind in Incan Culture, another stunning machine, suited with aerodynamics which gets the hypercar to 100kph in a mere 2.8s and goes up to the speed of 383 kph. Many believe that it’s the most beautiful car of all time with astonishing performance, which was debuted again in 2017 as a roadster. 

Horacio Pagani’s biggest inspiration for his commitment to form and function comes from another inventor who brought science and art together to amaze the world form time and time again during his era, maybe the most famous ‘slashie’ of all time, Italian engineer, sculptor, designer and mathematician, Leonardo Da Vinci. It was due to his efforts and determinisation that got him where he is. He worked hard, believed in his dreams and became an automotive excellence. Pagani says, “It’s far better to let the machines, the invention, the art speak for itself.”