Pagani's new Huayra 70 Derecho is a rolling work of art, and it's stunning
Named after a storm, and it looks every bit as dramatic
Nobody makes cars quite like Pagani, and the new Huayra 70 Derecho is fresh proof. Making its world premiere at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, this bespoke creation from Pagani's Grandi Complicazioni division is less a car than a piece of wearable, drivable sculpture, and it looks absolutely epic. The Festival of Speed is fast becoming the place for reveals like this, as we explored in our look at how Goodwood got so big.
A birthday present for the boss
The Derecho carries real sentiment. It is the second of just three Huayra 70 cars created to celebrate the 70th birthday of founder and chief designer Horacio Pagani, the man whose lifelong obsession with cars we recently wrote about when he finally bought his dream Ferrari 275 GTB4. Its name refers to a derecho, a rare and powerful storm that generates intense straight-line winds, a metaphor Pagani chose for a car that advances with continuity, precision and pure impact without ever deviating from its path.
That livery, up close
The Derecho's exterior is the star. It wears an exclusive Pearl Orange and blue scheme developed specifically to show off Pagani's intricate fish-bone carbon-fibre weave. A deep, transparent Inky Blue covers the lower sections and the interior monocoque for a sense of lightness and forward motion, while Pearl Orange defines the main body, glowing with warm golden reflections in direct sunlight. Solid-milled aluminium components anodised in Glossy Titanium act as jewellery for the bodywork, a finish mirrored in the brand-new Huayra 70 Titanium wheels.
An interior like no other
Inside, Pagani does what Pagani does best. Ceramic White leather is paired with Tricolore Blue, joined by sartorial bespoke contrast stitching, and the colours flow through in beautiful detail: the 12 o'clock stripe on the steering wheel and the exposed gear knob are both painted in Pearl Orange to echo the exterior. As ever with Pagani, the exposed gearlever linkage and machined details are as much art as engineering. It is exactly the kind of obsessive craftsmanship we admired in Bugatti's porcelain Mistral Blanc Eternel.
The wider Pagani display
The Derecho does not travel alone. Pagani's Goodwood stand also showcases the Zonda F Roadster and the Utopia Roadster, while the famous hillclimb gets the full sensory treatment from the elegant Huayra Codalunga Speedster and the track-focused Huayra R fitted with the optional Tempesta package. Horacio Pagani called presenting the Derecho at Goodwood a privilege, invoking his usual muse, saying the goal is harmony between form and function, intellect and craftsmanship, just as Leonardo da Vinci taught.
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Even in a world of jaw-dropping hypercars, Pagani operates on another plane entirely. The Derecho is proof that Horacio Pagani and his Grandi Complicazioni team treat a car as a canvas, obsessing over the weave of the carbon, the glow of a paint under sunlight and the exact shade of a single stitch. That it marks his own 70th birthday makes it all the more special, a personal celebration turned into rolling art. We would happily stand and stare at this for hours, and at Goodwood, plenty of people will. Simply gorgeous, and a fitting tribute to one of the great modern car makers. It is our highlight of this year's Festival of Speed.
