When he’s not moaning about living in Switzerland and being branded a Hoon by Australia’s top judge, Lewis Hamilton can usually be found behind the wheel of the world’s fastest cars, both in his professional and private life.
But his latest acquisition is simply one of the most astonishing (street-legal) things we’ve ever seen. Hamilton has a renowned love for expensive new cars, and has recently invested £1.6million in a custom-built Pagani supercar, which is based on the frankly ridiculous Zonda 760 RS. It’s apparently being dubbed the ‘LH’, and will be fitted with a manual gearbox. It reportedly has a 760 horsepower engine, whilst much of its other features, taken from the RS, are expected to stay the same.
The Zonda-R, similar to how the LH should look.
Extravagance is important when Lewis wants to buy a new car. According to Evo magazine, Hamilton told Pagani bosses “My company car has a paddle-change gearbox, so when I drive for fun I want a manual." The Zonda 760 RS has a carbonfibre body and a 7.3-litre, AMG-built V12 engine... but we’re not too keen on its outward appearance, if we’re being totally honest. It’s definitely not as nice as his 205mph McLaren MP4-12C, which he drives to Lidl in on a daily basis to get his loaf of bread, milk and Freddos for Nicole Scherzinger (probably).
The Zonda-R in action.
It looks very ‘boy racer’. But, saying that, that’s probably what appeals most to Hamilton, who’s been on the wrong side of the law for being a bit too ‘enthusiastic’ on public streets on more than one occasion. Hamilton was witnessed "deliberately losing traction" in his silver Mercedes-AMG C63 by Victoria Police a couple of days before the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, and was also suspended from driving in France for a month in 2007, after being caught reaching speeds of 122 mph on the French motorway. Naughty boy.
Other than that though, he’s brill and won the Formula One World Championship in 2008. Lewis’s next race will be the Spanish Grand Prix in Montmelo, between 11-13 May. He’s currently 8th in the leaderboard on four points, and needs loads more wins so he can afford more Zondas. Go Lewis, woo, yeah!
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