Driver's Notebook: An Exclusive Spin in Supercar Valley
June 4, 2002
In the hills high above Italy’s “Supercar Valley,” the tarmac leading from Modena to Zocca twists and turns like an amphetamine-crazed snake. During the heat of the day, the mountain pass is almost clear, but the severity of the bends makes even a single other car a major hindrance to a driver. Stuck behind an ancient truck or a rusting Fiat, you’ve got no more than 1,000 yards to make your move, and most of the time, less. If you don’t want to spend your day sucking smoke, you must be bold, decisive and fast. Very, very fast.
If you’re gripping the leather-clad steering wheel of the Pagani Zonda C12S, this is not a problem. Shift into second, nudge the wheel to the left, press the loud pedal, and go. The 7.3-liter, V-12 Mercedes AMG engine bellows, roars, yowls, then screams, unleashing a tsunami of seamless shove. Time and distance instantly and violently meld into a single entity. Less than two seconds later, the slower vehicle flashes by the passenger window as if pulled backward by a rubber band. Turn the Zonda’s wheel to the right, and you’re back on your side of the road, with room to spare.
Well, almost. As the brutal acceleration indicates, the Zonda is a fully paid-up member of the supercar club, and as such, it’s impossibly, ridiculously wide. At nearly 7 feet across, the car fills a standard lane of traffic. Luckily, the Zonda’s handling is so precise and predictable that maintaining lane discipline is easy—even at speeds that defy both law and logic. But in Italy, even trucks prefer the racing line. Driving a $350,000 car on a cliffside road that is only sporadically punctuated by pre-dented guardrails, with no run-off area whatsoever, provides an instant lesson in the meaning of the word “vigilance.”
And also “fun.” Take one sharp corner in the Zonda at speed, and you’re hooked. The steering and suspension are so direct and perfectly judged you wonder where the machine ends and your nervous system begins. A serious speed merchant can exploit the sweet-handling chassis to slide the massive machine around a bend. Mere mortals can enjoy the Zonda’s talents simply by keeping everything smooth and steady. Fast in, fast out. Get into a rhythm and you’ll soon know you’re in the world’s fastest car—that is, the car you can drive faster, and with more confidence, than any other. And if you somehow manage to overcook it, Mercedes’ ASR (Automatic Skid Reduction) waits patiently to help you out.
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