Pagani has always produced luxurious, fast, and well-built automobiles. Since the Italian company was founded in 1992 by Horacio Pagani, the manufacturer has turned out some of the best sports cars in Europe. Pagani, an Argentinean-born Italian, was Lamborghini's former composite department manager.
He founded Pagani Composite Research in 1988, and his company worked with Lamborghini on numerous projects, including the revamped 25th Anniversary edition of the Countach, the P140, and the Diablo. It was in the late 1980s that Pagani began designing his own car, the C8 Project.
In 1991, Pagani established the Modena Design company to meet the increasing needs for his engineering, design, and prototype services. His prototype car, set to be named Fangio F1, went under construction in 1992. By 1993, the car was being tested at the Dallara wind tunnel, where it received some very positive results.
In 1994, Mercedes-Benz had agreed to supply Pagani with V12 engines to use in his concept car. After a few years of fine tuning, the Fangio F1 was finally slated for production. But out of respect to the deceased Fangio, Pagani decided to rename the car. The name Zonda seemed fitting for the ultra-sleek, blazing fast sports car.
In 2005, Zonda's popularity was at an all-time high. The response from the public was impressive for a car that was only around for 6 years. Because of the high demand, Pagani announced that he planned to triple Zonda's production numbers within three years, and enter the U.S. market by 2007. In September of 2007, Pagani claimed a new record for production super cars. Using the Pagani Zonda F Clubsport, the Nurburgring was cleared in 7:27:82, a new record.
Though Pagani's company is independent, he has a working relationship with Daimler AG and other Mercedes' companies. After Pagani had rights to use Mercedes' M120 V12 engines, the models became increasingly advanced to keep up with the demand for speed and performance. The Zonda design was inspired by jet fighters and the famous Silver Arrow Group C cars by Sauber-Mercedes. Zonda's production run will end with ten track-only Zonda R model sports cars.