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Who is Horacio Pagani?
Argentine-Italian businessman and engineer Horacio Pagani was born in Casilda Santa Fe, Argentina, on 10 November 1955, making Scorpio his zodiac sign. He’s perhaps only known for being the founder of the Italian manufacturer of hypercars and carbon fiber components Pagani Automobili S.p.A, which makes and sells some of the most expensive cars in the world. The company was launched in 1992, and today has headquarters in San Cesario Sul Panaro, Italy; it’s mostly popular for its car Pagani Zonda, although it also manufactures Pagani Huayra and Pagani Utopia. Utopia’s the newest amongst these and is yet to be sold, as its manufacturing was only announced on 12 September 2022, as a successor to the Huayra.
Education and early life
Horacio was raised in Casilda by his mother Maria and father Luca Pagani; his mother was a housewife, and his father the owner of his own bakery. Horacio’s yet to speak about having siblings, which has led his fans to believe that he’s an only child.
Horacio fell in love with cars at a very early age, and in his early teenage years began buying automotive magazines on a daily basis. He was 15 when he designed and constructed a mini moto all by himself, and it was in the same year that he matriculated from a local technical school, as well as constructed a working buggy with the use of Renault parts.
Aged 16 in 1972, Horacio enrolled at The University of La Plata, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in industrial design in 1974; he then continued his education at The University of Rosario in 1975, graduating with a Master’s degree in 1977.
He also attended The Royal College of Art in London, England in 1982, and The Art Center in Pasadena USA in 1983.
Horacio’s career
Horacio was still living in Argentina when he became passionate about cars, but soon learned that his small town was inadequate for him to pursue his dreams there; he still opened a small car shop there, and was 19 when he built his first Formula 3 car.
The turning point in his career was when he was hired by Renault to alter the body of a racing car; the adjustments that Horacio made improved the car tremendously, and he then went on to meet Giulio Alfieri, the chief technical director of Lamborghini. As he was hired by Lamborghini, Horacio moved to Italy in 1982; he was initially sweeping floors, prior to working his way up in the company.
After building the concept for Lamborghini Countach Evoluzione, Horacio was promoted to chief engineer; he then tried to persuade the company to purchase an autoclave machine which would produce more carbon parts for his new car, but they refused. He went on to raise the money himself, bought the machine in 1987, and it was in 1991 that Horacio quit Lamborghini and focused on Modena Design, his own company which makes carbon fiber components for F1 cars, as well as for car brands Aprilia, Ferrari and Daimler.
Pagani cars
Pagani Composite Research was founded back in 1988, and it initially only served to work with Lamborghini, as Horacio was still employed there at that time; it helped Lamborghini with their P140, LM002 and Countach 25th Anniversary Edition concepts, as well as with the legendary Diablo.
Horacio started working on his first car in the second half of the ‘80s, and it was initially referred to as ‘C8 Project’, prior to being renamed to Fangio F1. His car was ready for testing in 1993, and the following year saw Pagani sign a contract with Mercedes-Benz, after they agreed to supply the company with V12 engines. The final car was renamed to Pagani Zonda C12, and it was presented to the public for the first time at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show; it was revealed in 2005 that Pagani was to triple its production of Zonda, and that they would be entering the US market two years later.
Zonda today has a number of models, including Zonda Cinque, Zonda Tricolore and Zonda HP Barchetta.
On 25 January 2011, Horacio revealed that Pagani was working on Zonda’s successor, Pagani Huayra; it was shown for the first time at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, with its body being made from carbotanium. Only 100 Huayra’s were produced, each costing more than $1.25 million; some of its versions include Huayra BC, Huayra Roadster and Huayra Dinastia.
Love life and marriage
Horacio rarely speaks about his love life in public, and thus not many details about it have been disclosed.
He fell in love with Argentine entrepreneur Cristina Pagani while he was still living in Argentina, and after he was hired by Lamborghini, the two moved together to Italy and eventually married there. Cristina went on to give birth to their sons Leonardo and Christopher Pagani, and the boys, when they became older, advised their father against accepting offers by Lamborghini, but to continue being focused on his own company.
Horacio and Cristina eventually divorced, but the dates of their wedding and divorce remain undisclosed; it’s known that Horacio has another child, but no details about his/her mother have been revealed.
Horacio seems to be unattached as of August 2023, was once married to Cristina Pagani and has two sons with her, as well as another child with another woman.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Horacio’s travelled all around the world, mostly for work as he’s visited many car manufacturing companies, and spoken to numerous car designers and engineers, so that he could expand his knowledge and make the Pagani cars even better; one of his favorite cities to travel to is Monaco.
Horacio’s followed by nearly 300,000 people on his ‘SoyPagani’ Instagram page, on which he’s posted over 1,200 pictures and videos, with most showing him spending time with his friends and family.
He’s a huge fan of soccer, and one of his favorite clubs is Juventus, in Torino Italy.
Robert Duvall’s one of his favorite actors, and some of Horacio’s favorite movies include “The Judge”, “Get Low” and “A Night in Old Mexico”.
Appearance and wealth
Horacio’s age is 67. He has brown eyes and is bald, he’s 5ft 9ins (1.76m) tall and weighs around 160lbs (74kgs).
Horacio’s net worth’s been estimated at over $100 million, as of August 2023.
