I know it’s not Thursday, but I thought I’d share the following throwback Fifth Gear video with you all. It features Tiff Needell reviewing the Pagani Zonda R.
I initially wanted to put it on this site just because it profiles a badass car. However, I started to think about it a little more.
That’s when I realized that even though the clip is from a few years in the past, it gives all of us gearheads reason to believe the future of the automobile is going to be great – at least in terms of the cars produced by a certain Italian manufacturer.
The original Pagani, the Zonda, was around for over a decade. In that time, it spawned numerous special editions and high-performance versions, each one seemingly more hardcore than the next. That’s evidenced by Tiff’s breathy, spent gushing over the Zonda R after he worked it out on a racing circuit.
That track-only car’s 6.0-liter Mercedes-Benz AMG V12 produced 750 horsepower, which powered a Zonda lighter than its less-focused ancestors.
Pagani’s latest model, the Huayra, is only 20 horsepower shy of that, thanks to its twin-turbo Mercedes-AMG 12-cylinder power plant. Of course, the Zonda R remains a more track-oriented vehicle, but that’s the point: Just as the Zonda grew more powerful and extreme, so too will the Huayra.
I just don’t know if Tiff will be able to take it when that happens.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
