For gearheads, few things in life are as painful as damaging your pride and joy. One Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta owner must be having a particularly tough time after his $17 million beauty was involved in an unfortunate traffic collision. In the video below, the 1-of-3 Pagani can be seen making its way down a Croatian street, moments before spearheading an oncoming Ford Fiesta.
High speed doesn't appear to be a factor here; the HP Barchetta accelerates down the road but, suddenly, the rear end steps out and sends the supercar into oncoming traffic. The damage to the driver's side looks rather substantial. The rear wheel has been ripped off, damaging the pricey carbon fiber body, rear facia, and what appears to be exhaust components.
The front hasn't escaped unscathed, either. The impact appears to have ruined the front wheel, while the quarter panel is torn. Sufficed to say, these repairs will come with an exorbitant repair bill. The Fiesta certainly took the brunt of the accident, with both driver and passenger airbags deploying. Aside from the battered bodywork and a bruised ego, no one was injured.
According to Croatia's Vercernij publication, the accident occurred on Friday evening. The Pagani was part of a 60-car strong event known as the Supercar Owners Circle Croatia 2022. The rally caused quite a stir in the capital city of Zagreb where, moments before the accident, the Pagani and several other exotics stunned onlookers and supercars alike. A picture shared by the Supercar Owners Circle shows the Zonda in better days.
Details surrounding the accident remain scant, but local authorities told the news outlet that "the damage is only material [and] the procedure is ongoing." Video footage shows the damage being covered up with a black cover and, shortly afterward, the bruised Italian was escorted away on a tow truck.
We're guessing this is the end for the innocent Fiesta, but the Pagani will likely be subjected to a months-long repair program and will, hopefully, look good as new again. Even though the driver wasn't speeding, the HP Barchetta is a tricky piece of machinery to pilot. 789 horsepower is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. All that power, a featherweight mass, and basic driver aids mean you need to have your wits about you.
Sadly, the mangled HP Barchetta is just one of many supercars that 2022 has claimed. Just two weeks ago, a one-of-one Lamborghini Aventador SVJ was destroyed in a fiery crash. Not long before that, the one-of-a-kind Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan sustained some serious damage out on the racetrack when the driver lost control and sent the cherished Italian hurtling into a tire wall.
While all these incidents are unfortunate, it's nice to see these ultra-rare vehicles being enjoyed in the way they were designed for. In the meantime, perhaps the owner of the Zonda HP Barchetta can lick his wounds by placing an order for the equally striking Huayra Roadster BC - if he doesn't already own one, of course.