For the last day of my trip, I planned only one thing: the Horacio Pagani Museum and Atelier. I didn’t really know what to expect, or how much time to plan as I had never been in a car factory before. Very short summary of my visit: I was mind-blown. I learnt so much, and both of my guides, Ilaria and Sebastian, were so welcoming and knowledgeable that it honestly made one of the best carhappy experiences I have had so far!
The cars were beautiful, but to be honest I was even more amazed by the person behind them. What was clear for me after 5 minutes was that Horacio Pagani is a man possessed. Possessed by the idea of building the most beautiful car in the world. I would not even say obsessed, because he is on a completely different level.
When he learnt about Motor Valley (the area with all car and motor manufacturers in the Emilia-Romagna region), he decided that he would move there and make the most beautiful car in the world. Some years passed and guess what: he did just that! He also went into aviation, and making prosthetics, because apparently he felt that it is his duty – sounds a bit like Tony Stark to me. Just to emphasize the above point, this man has built his Empire without ever completing university. It was a turbulent time in Argentina, when he was young and it was impossible for him to finish his degree – but he is a car designer!
Instead, he had always done what he loved. He made model cars from the materials he could find at home when he was a kid and later he built a Formula 2 car with a friend and entered it into the championship! This was obviously a formative experience as it was the first time that he build an actual car (a successful one), and made connections in the racing world – this led him to get to know the 5-time Argentinian F1 champion Fangio, who took a liking to him and wrote recommendations to his European friends, including Lamborghini, where Pagani eventually landed a job.
Not that you need any more proof, but when he was already in Italy, he was convinced that using special composites, e.g. carbon fiber in cars was the way forward (and how right he was!). But Lamborghini at that time had other priorities, so Pagani took a big step: he bought an autoclave (the oven for composites), and started his own company, Modena Design. Which later led to Pagani Automobili, where Pagani actually designed his own cars and the rest is history.
The museum is relatively small, only one small movie theater with a video about Horacio narrated by a friend of his, then a hall with different types of Zondas and Huayras. There are no Utopias yet exhibited because those prototypes are still needed for production. The room goes through the history of Mr. Pagani and the cars with a vantage point on the side of the hall to be able to take a picture from above. I loved all the cars, and my favorite was the Huayra that played a human-built evil transformer in Transformers 4: Age of Extinction (this realization also made me watch the movie when I got home).
Then came the atelier, and I know I called it a factory earlier, but given that what happens in there is not mass producing but ART, it is called an atelier. Horacios main inspiration was Leonardo da Vinci, who combined art with science – this is the direction that the design takes as well: everything has to be useful, yet beautiful. The era of Renaissance is also a returning theme, as the atelier is made to resemble a Renaissance workshop with the feeling of a town square (there is even a clock tower that chimes every hour).
It really is magical! Every car is assembled by hand and can be customized to the tiniest detail. You can make the most insane requests and they will make it happen: do you want Horacio Pagani’s signature in Swarovski crystals? Done! Want the gear shift’s button to be shaped like a futball? Done! Golden and platinum leaves on the livery made by an artist? Done! (And mind you, these requests were real.) So if you order a car, it will be 100% tailored to your needs and wishes! All the cars are one of a kind because of this, but also because they are manually assembled.
I feel like I asked all the questions in the world from Ilaria who took me around. In the museum once again I considered becoming an aerodynamicist – especially that 2 of the 3 type of Paganis have wind-related names: whole Zonda is a type of wind in Argentina, Huayra (Tata) is the quechuan wind god. While in the atelier, a sudden interest in composites hit me – I never have found it exciting, but I can see the beauty of them now.
I have to tell you that it was one of the most educational and interesting carhappy experiences I have ever had – I learnt so-so much, and I don’t think I will ever shut up about Pagani cars…
Some practical advice for you: Do the guided tour and do not miss the atelier! It might be a bit pricier, but I promise you that you are in for a treat. I don’t think you will see anything like this anywhere else in the world. I think the experience can be fun for people who are not very much into cars, and also for children, who can get their own activity book and do some fun things during the visit.
As for getting there – I arrived by bus from Modena, which meant that from the bus stop I had to walk 25 minutes by the side of the road (which at this point seemed like a returning have of this trip), it is doable, but not the most comfortable. I was pleased to see that the museum had lockers (you would think this is pretty standard today, but it is not) – and you don’t have to worry about coins either. I went on a weekday and it wasn’t very crowded, I’m not sure about the weekends.
All in all, it was a great experience (I spent approximately 3 hours there), and if you are in the region I highly recommend doing a trip there, it is very much worth it. I’ll admit that it was not my top priority to visit it, but I was wrong – such a special place, such a special brand, should be on your list!
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