Horacio Pagani (auto executive)

Horacio Pagani (born 10 November 1955) is an Italian Argentine businessman and engineer in the automotive industry. He is the founder of Pagani Automobili S.p.A., an Italian specialty auto-maker.

Horacio Pagani
(second from the right, white jacket), 2012
Born
Horacio Pagani

(1955-11-10) 10 November 1955
Casilda, Argentina
NationalityArgentine, Italian
OccupationAutomotive entrepreneur; Founder and CEO of Pagani

Prior to founding his own company, Pagani worked for Renault and Lamborghini.

Personal life

Horacio Pagani was born in Casilda, Argentina to Luca and Maria Pagani. His father, Luca, was a baker from Italy.

Career

Pagani took an interest in engineering while still living in Argentina. However, he felt from the beginning that the rural town in which he was born would not be adequate for the engineering career he dreamed of. He opened a small shop where he worked at a very young age, gaining valuable experience in craftsmanship.

The turning point in Pagani's life came when he was hired by Renault to improve the body of a racing car. His work offered staggering improvements and Pagani was able to showcase his talent. After having success in this sort of small scale, Pagani visited Lamborghini and met with the company's chief technical director Giulio Alfieri. In 1982, he decided to move to Italy and he was hired by Lamborghini. Pagani began working basic jobs such as sweeping the floor, however he was able to work his way up the company.[1]

At the age of 20, Pagani had designed and built his first F3 racer.[2] He was a chief engineer at Lamborghini and he built the Countach Evoluzione concept. He tried to persuade Lamborghini to buy an autoclave so they could extend the production of the carbon parts for the Evoluzione. They refused, saying that Ferrari did not have an autoclave, so Lamborghini didn't need one. Pagani borrowed the capital to buy his own autoclave late in 1987 and then, in 1991, he broke away from the company and founded his own consultancy called Modena Design which continues to make carbon fiber composites for Formula One cars and clients like Daimler, Ferrari and Aprilia.[2][3]

Pagani Automobili Modena was founded by Pagani in 1992.[4] The first car he produced was the Zonda which took seven years to complete.[2] His second car produced is the Huayra. It is named after Huayra Tata, the god of the wind in Incan Culture.

References
  1. "Horacio Pagani and his dream in carbon-fibre – Ultimatecarpage.com – Powered by knowledge, driven by passion". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  2. Richard Lofthouse (6 July 2004). "Perfection takes vision and patience. According to Horacio Pagani supercars should be lightweight, functional and beautiful". The Independent.
  3. Darius Sanai (10 November 1999). "Focus: Car world's fabulous baker's boy". The Independent.
  4. Matt Davis (18 November 2002). "A Wish Called: Supercars dreamers could learn a lot from Horacio Pagani and his dream supercar". AutoWeek.

Bibliography

"Pagani, the Story of a Dream". Roberto Morelli, Hugo Racca, 2010. ISBN 978-88-905083-1-8

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