Ask the average person what Pagani Zonda Tricolore means and they’ll probably guess it’s a delicious Italian dish. However, ask someone at the Geneva auto show, where said Pagani Zonda Tricolore is debuting, the same question and they’ll likely guess it’s a special edition of one of Italy’s most spectacular supercars.
In this case, they’re both right. Pagani’s one-off Zonda Tricolore is both a savory treat and a spectacular sports car, built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Italy’s Frecce Tricolori, the nine-plus-one aerobatic training squadron based at Rivolto Air Force Base in northern Italy.
Like most Paganis, the Zonda Tricolore is built mostly out of titanium, magnesium, and carbon fiber, and its blue and gray carbon-fiber body panels, with red, white, and green stripes running up the hood, pay homage to the Frecce Tricolori’s Aermacchi MB-339-A/PAN aircraft and the Italian flag. The coolest touches, however, are the Zonda Tricolore’s bright-gold 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels, as well as the spacey, green-tinted canopy, which offers quite the view of the gleaming blue-and-white interior.
Nestled amidships is the familiar (to a Pagani owner, anyway) Mercedes-Benz AMG 7.3-liter V-12 engine, which sends some 670 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox from Cima. The brakes are giant carbon-ceramic units from Brembo, while the exhaust is made of heat-resistant Inconel and lightweight titanium. Pagani says that the near-2700-pound Tricolore is capable of hitting 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and 124 mph in just 9.6. Lateral acceleration is claimed to be an eye-tugging 1.45 g.
Who’s the lucky chap that gets to perform those stunts on a daily basis? Your guess is as good as ours. Pagani didn’t specify who the car will go to, or for how much it will be—or has been—sold for. But if the company’s past special editions, such as the Zonda Cinque roadster, are anything to go by, it won’t sticker for much less than $1.8 million.
