Pagani’->ke66s Zonda->ke942 Prototype 2 is known by Pagani as "La Nonna," which means "grandmother" in English. It is a fitting name too, when you consider "La Nonna" has been used in the development of all Zonda models (except the R’s) up until Pagani built the 760. When developing new vehicles, "La Nonna" would play grandmother, by taking on new components for testing before they went into production. This included things like drivetrain, interior components and technology.

Once "La Nonna" had been fitted with Pagani’s latest and greatest, it would hit the road for some serious testing of these new components. Over its lifespan, it has been driven more than one million kilometers (more than 620,000 miles.) If grandmother approved of the new components, they were then used to build production models. The car itself has seen more changes than most long-running, mass-produced production vehicles on the road today, but that isn’t the end of its story – Grandmothers should be honored for their wisdom and experience, and that is the exact treatment "La Nonna" has finally received.

The one-million kilometer prototype has been fully restored and placed for viewing inside Pagani’s old factory showroom. As part of the restoration, the car was returned to its original paint scheme, which included a silver exterior and red interior with black accents. There have been some aesthetic upgrades, but nothing major that would take away from honoring this beauty. Once Pagani’s new factory museum is finished, "La Nonna" will be placed on display there where she can be honored for her great service over the years.

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Why it matters

It’s not that uncommon for manufacturers to throw old bodies on a new chassis design for testing purposes, but you don’t see Ford->ke31 or Chevy->ke199 with a single prototype that has been used to test most new components for each new iteration of a model. That’s part of what makes "La Nonna" so special, and I think it is great that it has been restored and put on display. Given the car has been restored, I highly doubt that the car will ever be used again to test new components, but you never know, Grandmother may be called into service again if she is really needed. One million kilometers is a lot, but it would be even cooler if she would be pushed to the two-million kilometer mark.

Pagani Zonda

Read our full review on the Pagani Zonda here.