VIDEO: Pagani Zonda R at Monza

Somehow the engineers at Pagani have managed to capture the sound of roaring thunder and bottled it into a car. How else does one explain the aural delights escaping from those four steel canons masquerading as tailpipes in the Zonda R? From the moment the engine is started up one realises that very special things are happening under the hood.

Indeed 750 special horses are awakened when all twelve cylinders finally fire up. As the Zonda R moves out of its confines in one of the pit garages at the famed Monza race track one can almost feel the driver's heart skip a beat while imagining the million thoughts going through his head. It sounds like he almost stalls it as he takes to the track. Supercars of this nature are notorious for their heavy clutches but this one is a 6-speed sequential gearbox. No mystery there; even Formula One cars do stall their similar transmission setups.

This car must be a massive handful to control and you see at the 1:33 point in the video clip the Zonda R nearly gets out of shape through the combination of slippery surfaces and all that power during kickdown. On the straights at full throttle (under the conditions) the car can only be compared to something like a full-bred Le Mans Prototype racer. What it must be like under clear blue skies...