Back in the late 2000s, Pagani’s official dealer in Hong Kong requested that Pagani build “the most extreme road-legal Zonda ever created.” Pagani was up to the challenge and, in 2009, Pagani issued a direct response to the request with the Pagani Zonda Cinque. The Cinque was produced in just five examples (with an additional five examples built in roadster form) and was built with the track performance standards of the Zonda R combined with the road-legal standards of the Zonda F.

The end result was a car that was more powerful than the Zonda F with the looks of something that should be chained up inside of a luxurious stable at the track. Furthermore, The Zonda Cinque was actually the first road-legal car that was supported by a carbon-titanium frame and the first Zonda to have a six-speed sequential transmission. Powered by a detuned version of the Mercedes-sourced 7.3-liter V-12, the Zonda Cinque was obviously a very special machine.

As of the time of this writing, seven years has passed since the Zonda Cinque made its official debut (and made five wealthy people very happy,) so let’s take a look back on one of the coolest Zonda’s ever made. After all, one could say it is a genuine work of art.

Continue reading for our full review of the Pagani Zonda Cinque.

2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque

Specifications
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  • Model: 2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque
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Pros
Cons

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Exterior

If you were to run across a Zonda Cinque, you would have no chance of mistaking it for anything but a Zonda. For the most part, the car was similar to the Zondas that came before it, but there were some new innovations that came along with the creation of the Zonda Cinque. First and foremost, the supercar got a front splitter that was significantly wider and there were new air inlets on the roof and rear bonnet to help feed even more air to the engine and the brake system.

Otherwise, the front end had that strong V-shaped formation at the very front. There was also the signature tri-headlight arrangement on each front corner as well as a small round running lamp in the outer corners of the air dam. There were new air inlets on the roof and rear bonnet to help feed even more air to the engine and the brake system. To the sides, there was a single flic on each end of the front fascia, and the tunneling below the doors to help channel air into what looks like a bottomless black hole. In front of the front wheel wells, there was an additional piece of cladding to help make up the side profile. The car rode on APP monlitic wheels that were forged in aluminum and magnesium and measured 19 inches in the front and 20 inches in the rear. The wheels were wrapped in 225/35-series Pirelli PZero tires in the front and 335/30-series PZero tires in the rear.

Around back the clear carbon finish from the front and sides engulfs almost the entire rear end. The car had the signature Zonda tailpipes in the middle with small honeycomb mesh on each side. There were three light units organized in a vertical stack on each side. The turn signals were on top, the reverse lights in the middle, and the brake and taillights were on the bottom. The big news here, however, was the adjustable spoiler perched on the top of the rear hatch and the new flat-bottom plate added to the bottom of the diffuser. The other major detail was the production number that is displayed above the engine on the hatch.

Interior

The interior of the Zonda Cinque was even more impressive than the exterior. Inside the car was equipped with carbon monocoque seats that were wrapped in leather and had a four-point harness. Furthermore, the car had a carbon-coated Molybdenum-chrome steel roll bars. Outside of this, there were healthy doses of clear-finished carbon fiber and leather everywhere. Most of the door trim was carbon fiber, but there was a leather insert in the middle that housed the 6.5-inch speakers and door handle. Just above the door trim panels sat a leather pull handle.

The dash was primarily carbon fiber, but there was some Alcantara on the face of the dash and across the storage area on the passenger side. More Alcantara was used on the steering wheel and the shifter boot. The entire center stack was a single unit housed the heating and ventilation controls, the radio system, and several toggle switches for controlling the exterior and interior lighting.

Looking down at the center console, the shift boot was small and positioned in the middle of a plate that was riveted to the console. Just ahead of the shifter was a knob that was used to switch between driving modes. Behind the shifter was a red “START” button that had a momentary toggle switch on either side that was used to control the windows.

The instrument cluster in itself was a masterpiece. The needle-type speedometer and tachometer was positioned directly in the middle. Above them was a line of 16 LED lights arranged in a horizontal layout that also acted as a tachometer. A fuel gauge sat to the left of the tachometer and a temperature gauge sat to the right of the speedometer. All of the idiot lights were located on the far right. The speedometer read up to 400 mph.

All told the cabin was a perfect mix of road and track. The interior was comfortable and inviting, yet it all the necessities to make it a real life track car. You really couldn’t do better when it comes to having the best of both worlds.

Drivetrain

The Zonda Cinque was powered by a Mercedes-AMG sourced, 7.3-liter V-8 that was detuned to deliver 678 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque. While using the word “detuned” might sound bad, it is important to remember that the Cinque was still more powerful than the Zonda F. All that power and torque was channeled to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential transmission, which was a first for any Zonda. This transmission quite literally plays a big role in combining the comfort of a road-legal car with the performance of a track-only car.

The car was equipped with a traction control system and anti-lock brakes from Bosch as well as an Inconel/titanium exhaust system that was coated with ceramic. To help keep the beast under control, it was equipped with a Brembo brake system has used six-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the rear. The same self-ventilating discs were used in the front and rear. All told, the car had a dry weight of 2668 pounds with a weight distribution of 47 percent in the front and 53 percent in the rear. Performance-wise, the car could hit 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and 124 mph in 9.6 seconds. Stopping from 124 mph will have you biting the steering wheel for just 4.3 seconds, a time that is reduced to just 2.1 seconds if stopping from 62 mph. Maximum acceleration with road tires was measured at 1.45 G, and the Cinque was said to have a top speed of more than 215 mph.

Pricing

When the Zonda Cinque debuted, it was priced at a whopping €800,000, which translated to about $1,246,599 at the exchange rates in 2009. That said, if any of the five that were produced were to be auctioned off, it would probably fetch a pretty healthy sum upward of $5 million, if not more.

Conclusion

The thing I find cool about the Zonda Cinque is the fact that it only exists because an official dealer requested a model that would meet the demands of the road and the track. It had features that were created just for it and inspired the company to build even better models in the future. By the way, Pagani has always had this mission to have a roadster version of every road-going model, so there were also five examples of the Zonda Cinque Roadster sitting in a garage somewhere across the globe. At the end of the day, the Cinque was a beautiful car; it was innovative, and it combined the best of both worlds. Talk about a driver’s car, right?