The new Pagani Zonda F has claimed the outright lap record at BBC TV Top Gear's test track, taking half a second off the record holder - the awesome Maserati MC12. Launched at the 75th Geneva Salon back in March of this year, the new Pagani Zonda F - in hands of Top Gear's anonymous test driver known to viewers as "The Stig" - posted a fastest lap of 1 minute 18.4 seconds, bettering the Maserati MC12's time by half a second, and the Ferrari Enzo's lap by 0.6 seconds. The new Zonda F (the 'F' designation pays homage to legendary Grand Prix driver, Juan Manuel Fangio) boasts 602bhp from its 7.3-litre AMG-tuned, Mercedes-Benz V12, compared to the 'standard' Zonda S which has 550bhp on tap. Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond enthused about the Italian supercar's carbon-ceramic brakes, while stating that the carbon-fibre weave of the integral body parts had been changed in order to save weight, that the Zonda F driving "experience is shattering", and that the car is a perfect "combination of precision and power."

However, demonstrating that supercar performance can be enjoyed at a fraction of supercar prices, the Ariel Atom 3000 - which has no doors, windscreen or roof - holds the fourth fastest time around the test track (1 minute and 19.5 seconds). Weighing less than 500kg and with 300bhp available, the Atom costs GBP35,000.

Pagani Zonda F

The 1st March 2005 saw the unveiling of Pagani Automobili's latest evolution of the Zonda supercar, the Zonda F. Company boss Horacio Pagani takes up the story: "Juan Manuel Fangio was much more than a great champion. His accuracy, his uprightness, and his human and technical sensibility were among his qualities, typical of the old-time men, they have been for me, an example and an inspiration source.
 

"Very often, I ask myself how something so material, like a drawing or a technical choice, can express and convey the philosophy of such a men. The name of “el coche”, the way he used to call the car, should have been Fangio F1. He followed the project with a strong enthusiasm, according to his ideas the F1 had to be innovative, safe and had to be powered by a Mercedes-Benz engine. He then passed away and as a sign of respect I did not dare to call the car Fangio F1 and I decided to name it Zonda, 'el viento de los Andes'. Today, after years spent in a rigorous search for perfection, the result is the Zonda F, a car that I wish to dedicate to Juan Manuel Fangio, the man who has made everything different."