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Performance / TDCN ORIGINAL

Pagani unveils Huayra 70 Anima, the final bespoke build of the series

The exposed blue carbon body with real diamond dust and platinum leaf is paired with an 851 hp twin-turbo V12 and a seven-speed manual.

Image: Carscoops

Pagani has revealed the Huayra 70 Anima, the third and final bespoke Huayra 70 build, at the Concours at Wynn in Las Vegas. It follows the Trionfo and Derecho models shown earlier in the year and arrives even as Pagani builds and delivers the Utopia.

The car was created through Pagani's Grandi Complicazioni personalisation programme, which lets customers specify highly customised one-off models. Pagani designer Lorenzo Kerkoc said the brand worked with the car's owner for more than a year, fulfilling the owner's childhood dream of creating a special car together with Horacio Pagani.

Exposed carbon, diamond dust and platinum leaf

The Anima's body is dominated by exposed carbon fibre panels covering the bumpers, doors, fenders, hood and engine cover. Pagani has built a reputation for coloured carbon fibre, and this example includes real diamond dust in the weave for a shimmering finish.

Hand-applied platinum leaf features on the front splitter, sections of the doors, the engine cover and the rear wing uprights. The bodywork is more outlandish than other Huayra models including the BC Roadster, with new bumpers, a distinctive rear diffuser, a unique rear wing and a roof scoop inspired by the Zonda Cinque. A six-pipe exhaust system with white ceramic coating and chassis components finished in Tricolore Blue and Argentina Light Blue complete the exterior.

The Huayra 70 Anima's exposed carbon bodywork and platinum-leaf detailing catch the studio light.
The Huayra 70 Anima's exposed carbon bodywork and platinum-leaf detailing catch the studio light., Image: Carscoops

851 hp V12 and a seven-speed manual

Power comes from Pagani's familiar AMG-sourced twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre V12, upgraded here to 851 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 811 pound-feet (1,100 Nm) of torque, with no electrical assistance. As in the other two Huayra 70 builds, the engine is paired with a seven-speed Xtrac manual transmission driving the rear wheels through an electromechanical self-locking differential.

The chassis uses double-wishbone front suspension with electronically adjustable, interconnected shock absorbers at all four corners. Carbon-ceramic discs and Brembo calipers handle braking, and the car rides on 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels with 265/30 and 355/25 Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres.

The manual gearbox is the detail that separates the Huayra 70 series from most hypercars of its era, and it is the same choice Pagani has made across all three builds rather than a one-off flourish.

A cabin finished like a tourbillon

Inside, the seats carry Inky Blue carbon fibre accents and milk-coloured leather, while diamond dust has been added to the steering wheel and gear knob. Exposed aluminium parts appear throughout the cabin, consistent with other Huayras of the past decade.

Pagani has not announced a price for the Anima, and because it is a Grandi Complicazioni commission built to a single owner's specification, it is not a series-production model with a list price. The same applies to production volume: the sources do not state how many Huayra 70 Animas will be made, though as the third and final Huayra 70 it closes out the series.

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Australia / TDCN ORIGINAL

JLR opens Defender Classic V8 commissions to Australian buyers from about A$403,000

The hand-built, Solihull-sourced restomod pairs a 298kW 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 with an eight-speed automatic, and Australian pricing starts at £209,000 before delivery and taxes.

Australians can now order a Land Rover Defender Classic V8 through their local Land Rover dealer, with prices starting at £209,000 (about A$403,205) plus delivery fees and local taxes. JLR says each vehicle is hand-built at Defender Classic from an original UK-built Defender produced between 2012 and 2016, then "fully remastered from the ground up".

The starting figure is only the beginning of the bill. Once delivery charges and local taxes are added, the tally could approach half a million Australian dollars for an off-roader whose donor vehicles left Solihull more than a decade ago.

What the money buys

Every Classic Defender V8 uses a JLR-made 5.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol V8 rated at 298kW and 515Nm, compliant with EU5 emissions standards. It drives through an eight-speed ZF automatic, selectable four-wheel drive, a two-speed transfer case, heavy-duty front and rear differentials and a torque-biasing centre differential.

The chassis work is equally thorough: solid front and rear axles with Eibach coil springs and anti-roll bars, Bilstein telescopic dampers, and an upgraded braking package with four-piston Alcon calipers and 335mm front discs paired with 300mm rear rotors. The original recirculating-ball power steering is retained.

JLR frames the result as a blend of "meticulous craftsmanship with modern engineering enhancements while remaining true to the character of the original vehicle". That is the pitch the price has to justify, and at roughly five times the cost of a new Ineos Grenadier, the spiritual successor to the original Defender, buyers are paying for hand assembly and bespoke specification rather than outright capability.

The Defender Classic V8 commissions bring hand-built V8 power and bespoke finishes to Australian buyers.
The Defender Classic V8 commissions bring hand-built V8 power and bespoke finishes to Australian buyers., Image: CarExpert

Body styles, colours and the ordering process

The programme currently covers Defender 90 Station Wagon, Defender 90 Soft Top and Defender 110 Station Wagon donor body styles, with more variants to follow. Buyers can choose exterior paint colours, hood colours, interior materials and lifestyle accessories, and a Sunset Gold Defender Classic V8 90 Soft Top is pictured and listed as available for immediate delivery.

Configuration runs through Defender Classic's online configurator, backed by one-on-one support from specialists at Classic Works in Coventry, UK, and Essen, Germany. The Australian route is the dealer network, so the commissioning conversation starts at a local Land Rover showroom rather than online alone.

Body style and colour choices are part of the commission process, with the soft-top shown here in silver.
Body style and colour choices are part of the commission process, with the soft-top shown here in silver., Image: CarExpert

What is still unconfirmed

JLR's claim for the 0-100km/h time is cut off in the published material, so the official acceleration figure has not been confirmed here. Nor has JLR announced when Australian customer deliveries will begin: the only timing detail available is that the pictured Sunset Gold 90 Soft Top is offered for immediate delivery, without a stated market attached to that availability.

The Australian dollar figure of A$403,205 is a conversion of the £209,000 starting price, not a locally set retail price, and it excludes delivery fees and local taxes. Australian buyers should therefore treat the final on-road cost as an open question until their dealer quotes it.

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