A curious incident unfolded last weekend at Monterey, California’s renowned event dedicated to performance and classic cars. Italian manufacturer Pagani had its Utopia hypercar on display, inviting attendees to get a closer look. But things took a turn when a visitor inadvertently triggered the car’s fire suppression system, rendering it inoperable until a thorough inspection.
At first glance, alarmed spectators believed the vehicle was on fire as what appeared to be smoke emerged from its engine compartment. However, Pagani officials quickly clarified the situation. An attendee had unknowingly activated switches inside the car that are designed to initiate the fire suppression system.
This mechanism, aimed at dousing any potential engine fires in their infancy, automatically releases a special extinguishing substance from integrated canisters. These controls, Pagani explained, are familiar to the hypercar’s owners but aren’t generally known by the wider public. The unsuspecting visitor likely triggered them out of sheer curiosity, not realizing their purpose. The resulting “smoke” was actually the substance from the fire extinguishers in the engine bay.
The Pagani Utopia hypercar is a marvel of engineering, boasting a twin-turbo 6.0-liter V12 engine, originally from AMG, but extensively refined by Pagani. The powerhouse delivers 864 horsepower and 1,100 Nm of torque. And for those looking to snag one of their own, they might be out of luck – all 99 planned Utopia units have already been sold.
