Italian supercar maker Pagani could unveil a new vehicle on December 17. In a short teaser video released on Twitter, Pagani shows a couple of new features developed for an upcoming supercar and says we should "hold on tight" as we are about to "celebrate Air Speed" later this month. We have no clue what that actually means, but let's have a closer look at the features showcased in the video.

The new Pagani supercar features an aeronautical theme

The first feature shown in the teaser is a blue device with the words "Airflow Sensor. Handle with Care" etched next to its. What is it? Well, we're most likely looking at a sensor probe that measures the amount of air flowing into the engine. You'll find sensor probes like this on airplanes, but Formula One car cars also use them nowadays. Judging by the blue-tinted carbon-fiber surface below, the sensor is probably mounted on the car's roof or hood.

The teaser video also gives us a glimpse at the instrument cluster, showing what appears to be a speedometer. However, it's no regular speedo, as velocity is not measures in mph or km/h, but in knots. A unit of speed equal to one nautical miles per hour, it's commonly used in both maritime navigation and in aviation.

On top of the analog dial measuring knots on the outer edge, the gauge also includes a "Mach speed" digital readout, another aviation measuring unit. Commonly known as the speed of sound, Mach 1 is achieved at 767.269 mph, far beyond the current top speed car record at a little over 300 mph. The digital readout also includes decimals and the teaser shows the car hitting Mach 0.12, which is a not-so-spectacular 92 mph.

But what is it? Well, so far we can only guess that whatever this is, it will feature a strong aeronautical theme. Pagani's "air speed" caption may seem a bit cryptic, but it's actually inline with the company's habit of using wind-themed names for its cars, including the Zonda and Huayra.

Is this the replacement for Huayra?

The Huayra is already eight years old as of 2020 so it's about time to see a replacement}. We do know that Pagani is working on one and that it was supposed to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2020. With the event cancelled and production and development slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pagani probably delayed everything until 2021. Reports claim that the new supercar will continue to feature the AMG-built V-12 engine like the Huayra, with an electrified version to arrive a few years later.

On the other hand, it wouldn't be surprising for Pagani to unveil a new version of the Huayra. The Italian firm usually rolls out several special-edition versions of its supercars, which eventually leads to the core model remaining in production for more than 10 years, like the Zonda did. Pagani has already unveiled 11 special-edition variants of the Huayra, but that's still far off the massive amount of limited-edition and one-off Zondas it has built in 20 years. At this point I think it's a 50-percent chance that we will see yet another special-edition model in December 17.