Having lived through the Bush years, my eyes always gravitate to any increased flag-waving nationalism. So while you may have just seen a new Pagani Huayra R, I immediately noticed a larger Italian flag on the side.
Here is an original C12 S roadster. When you look at the original Paganis, you see precisely zero Italian flags on them. Why did it not need an Italian flags to let you know it was Italian? Because it’s a bright yellow supercar that stands about half an inch off the ground with a V12 behind the seats. The whole car is indication enough as it is that yes, it’s Italian.
Pagani is about the most Italian car company out there, performing demo runs in the side street behind the factory. It could not be more Italian, even though the founder was born in Argentina.
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The first Pagani I found with an Italian flag on it was the 2009 Zonda Cinque. Can you spot the flags? They’re right there, on the wonderfully delicate side mirrors.
The most direct, of course, was the Zonda Tricolore, named both for the flag itself and the Italian version of the Blue Angels, which also goes by the name.
Even that car, named for the flag itself, did not have as big of a red-white-green scheme as this new Huayra R. Look at this big flag! There’s even a flag color scheme on the diffuser.
The added comedy is that in addition to finally coming out with an R successor for the Huayra to the Zonda, it has also made a new Huayra Tricolore. At first glance, it looks like we have even less flag than before. But then you look again and!
There’s an even bigger flag on the side! The flags refuse to get smaller. I can understand that America will never go back to a state when we don’t have hundred-foot-tall flags at every edge-of-town car dealership, but Pagani?