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While it's been experimenting with the idea of an EV hypercar since 2018, Pagani has told TopGear that battery power is not in the playbook for the visible future. The Italian marque argues that the current battery technology is too heavy to accomodate a lightweight hypercar such as its latest Utopia, though the possibility of an electric vehicle from the brand is not completely lost.
Christopher Pagani, son of company founder Horacio Pagani, says that development is still ongoing, but nothing will officially hit the road until EVs get lighter. "Our goal is to create something that has to be lightweight. Looking at Pagani, what you see that is common with all the vehicles that we produce, they have to be lightweight." he said.
The automaker also wants to ensure that an EV would provide the same enjoyable characteristics as its gas-powered models, while remaining different from other electric hypercar players. "You have to have a special feeling driving it, which sometimes you can call ‘fun’. You can call it pleasure," Pagani said. "But the weight is definitely our first question mark. So probably, nowadays with the existing technology we cannot create the Pagani the way that we would like to do."
But despite the problems the current technology suffers from, Pagani is still exploring the benefits of going electric. "There are a lot of amazing things to innovate in an electric car – we're not afraid of innovation." Pagani also noted that "there is no need for us to stop" working on a battery-powered hypercar. It's only the initial quirks of EV tech that's putting the brand on hold, and it's waiting for things to iron out before it actually decides to launch something electric.
Pagani has a lot of time to figure things out too, as small companies like itself will be able to continue producing gas-powered cars in Europe until 2035. Until then, Pagani will keep its glorious AMG-sourced 6.0 liter twin-turbo V12. Speaking of Mercedes-AMG, Pagani looks to use its partnership with the German brand to supply batteries, motors, and other components, assuming an electric Pagani does truly arrive at some point. When asked about how this might work out, Pagani said, "We are having constant meetings with Mercedes-Benz and AMG, and we are evaluating it. They are our official partner at the moment so when we need [to build] a full electric car, we will take the final decision [then]."
The automaker isn't rushing to make an EV just to follow the crowd, either. If Pagani can build ICE-powered cars past 2035, it will. "We as a family-owned brand are not under pressure of jumping into something if we are not ready, or not 100 per cent convinced," he said. “We have a long timeline of cars coming, but for us, with the volumes that we produce, we feel very comfortable of where we are. We always kept our [volume] numbers very safe. We don’t follow the market, or fashion. We want to stay stable because at the end of the day, we have over 200 employees. We want them to feel safe. The decision we take, we take together.”
Image Credits: Pagani
Report
Jun 3, 2023
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Pagani Says Current Battery Technology Is Not Ready For Lightweight Hypercars
The AMG-sourced V12 will continue to be in service until at least 2035.
While it's been experimenting with the idea of an EV hypercar since 2018, Pagani has told TopGear that battery power is not in the playbook for the visible future. The Italian marque argues that the current battery technology is too heavy to accomodate a lightweight hypercar such as its latest Utopia, though the possibility of an electric vehicle from the brand is not completely lost.
Christopher Pagani, son of company founder Horacio Pagani, says that development is still ongoing, but nothing will officially hit the road until EVs get lighter. "Our goal is to create something that has to be lightweight. Looking at Pagani, what you see that is common with all the vehicles that we produce, they have to be lightweight." he said.
The automaker also wants to ensure that an EV would provide the same enjoyable characteristics as its gas-powered models, while remaining different from other electric hypercar players. "You have to have a special feeling driving it, which sometimes you can call ‘fun’. You can call it pleasure," Pagani said. "But the weight is definitely our first question mark. So probably, nowadays with the existing technology we cannot create the Pagani the way that we would like to do."
But despite the problems the current technology suffers from, Pagani is still exploring the benefits of going electric. "There are a lot of amazing things to innovate in an electric car – we're not afraid of innovation." Pagani also noted that "there is no need for us to stop" working on a battery-powered hypercar. It's only the initial quirks of EV tech that's putting the brand on hold, and it's waiting for things to iron out before it actually decides to launch something electric.
Pagani has a lot of time to figure things out too, as small companies like itself will be able to continue producing gas-powered cars in Europe until 2035. Until then, Pagani will keep its glorious AMG-sourced 6.0 liter twin-turbo V12. Speaking of Mercedes-AMG, Pagani looks to use its partnership with the German brand to supply batteries, motors, and other components, assuming an electric Pagani does truly arrive at some point. When asked about how this might work out, Pagani said, "We are having constant meetings with Mercedes-Benz and AMG, and we are evaluating it. They are our official partner at the moment so when we need [to build] a full electric car, we will take the final decision [then]."
The automaker isn't rushing to make an EV just to follow the crowd, either. If Pagani can build ICE-powered cars past 2035, it will. "We as a family-owned brand are not under pressure of jumping into something if we are not ready, or not 100 per cent convinced," he said. “We have a long timeline of cars coming, but for us, with the volumes that we produce, we feel very comfortable of where we are. We always kept our [volume] numbers very safe. We don’t follow the market, or fashion. We want to stay stable because at the end of the day, we have over 200 employees. We want them to feel safe. The decision we take, we take together.”
Image Credits: Pagani
