Huayra paves the way for Pagani sales in the U.S.

The Pagani Huayra will pave the way for the Italian company to begin selling its cars in the United States later this year.

Pagani Automobili said on Monday that the 700-hp Huayra will be sold through a network of dealers. But it did not say how many dealerships it would have, where they would be located and when sales would start.

The Huayra was engineered to meet U.S. safety and emissions standards--barriers that kept Pagani from selling its previous model, the Zonda, in the United States, although a few examples were brought in by private buyers.

The Huayra, pronounced "WHY-ra," has been under development for seven years. It gets a formal debut at the Geneva motor show in early March.

Here are details:

-- The engine is a twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12. The engine block is sourced from Mercedes-Benz and is shared with the SL65 Black Series. But Mercedes tuner AMG developed new heads, turbos, pistons and exhaust manifolds for Pagani. There will be two levels of tuning--a base 700-hp version with 664 lb-ft of torque, and a Sport tune with 730 hp and 811 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a seven-speed gearbox with paddle shifters. The gearbox is built by racing specialist Xtrac. The engine is mounted behind the seats, driving the rear wheels.

-- Pagani says the Huayra runs from 0 to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds.

-- The body is constructed primarily of carbon fiber, including the gullwing doors.

-- The Huayra includes active aerodynamics; motorized flaps at each corner of the car operate independently of each other. The flaps are deployed to increase aerodynamic downforce for acceleration, braking and cornering.

-- The front suspension is height-adjustable. That's important for clearing speed bumps in parking lots. Also, the height adjustment counteracts nose dive under hard braking.

-- The Huayra has a curb weight of 2,976 pounds.

-- The price is expected to be about $1.37 million.

By Dale Jewett