Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster news - Cinque hole - 2009

See more Cinque Roadster pics

If you thought Pagani had milked the Zonda for all its worth, think again. This is the new Cinque Roadster, a roofless version of the Cinque Coupe, based on the track-only Zonda R. Like the Coupe, the Roadster has a carbon-titanium body, which means it's more rigid than concrete.
 
And because carbon is so strong, Pagani hasn't had to faff about making the Roadster as tight and honed as the Coupe - give or take the odd chassis tweak. Which means it weighs exactly the same at 1201kg. That's good news for the power-to-weight ratio, because behind the driver sits a 678bhp Mercedes V12.
 
Pagani's engineers were obviously kept awake at night, thinking up new ways to keep this thing agile. Everywhere you look there's high-tech stuff, from the magnesium-aluminium wheels to the magnesium-titanium suspension. There's even a ceramic coated exhaust (Wedgewood, we believe).
 
It's a very special bit of kit, then, and only five will be made. So what's stopping you? Not the £1.1-million price tag, surely?
 
Now watch James give the Zonda a thrashing, with a little help from the Stig: