Here’s Why Lewis Hamilton Hates The Pagani Zonda LH

The Pagani Zonda debuted at the 1999 Geneva Auto Show and has spawned a litany of unique one-off variants. The Zonda 760 Series consists of five custom-built Zondas for deep-pocketed clients. Lewis Hamilton is one of the lucky owners of a purple Zonda 760 with a bespoke manual gearbox, and it is the only unit to bear the “LH” name.

The Zonda 760 has a mid-mounted 7.3-liter Mercedes-AMG V12 engine with 750 horsepower and 575 lb-ft of torque. The high-strung V12 sends power exclusively to the rear wheels using a Hamilton-spec six-speed manual gearbox. According to Road and Track, Hamilton kept the car in Monaco after buying it in 2014. However, Hamilton crashed his beloved Pagani in 2015 after a toxic combination of fever, sleep deprivation, and “heavy partying.”

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Hamilton has since sold his Pagani Zonda 760 LH to a new British owner, and the reasons will surprise you. talkSport mentioned that Hamilton sold the Pagani to increase environmental awareness, the exact reason he sold his $29 million Bombardier Challenger 605 private jet in 2019. But in a 2018 interview with the Sunday Times, Hamilton also claimed his Zonda is “terrible to drive.” He added the Zonda 760 was the best-sounding car he has ever owned, but it was the worst-handling car he had ever driven.

Here’s the fun part: Lewis Hamilton made a considerable profit from his Zonda. Per a report by planetF1, Hamilton sold his Pagani for around €10 million ($9.9 million), about €8.6 million ($8.5 million) more than he originally paid in 2014. In addition, Hamilton is taking delivery of a limited-edition Mercedes-AMG ONE, which we reckon should handle better than the Pagani with its standard 4MATIC+ fully-variable all-wheel drivetrain.