Like all of us, his mind is occupied by the huge change we’re seeing in the way cars are powered. ‘The closer relationship between the Motor Valley manufacturers is fantastic,’ he says. ‘The big topic of discussion is EVs. How can they be truly as exciting and engaging?’ If he’s expecting a definitive answer on this subject, the silence that follows is deafening. ‘Of course, we are working on an EV project,’ he continues. ‘But not because our customers want it. Quite the opposite. They actively say they don’t. From what we see and hear there is no real appetite for EV hypercars.
‘The biggest request we get – by a huge margin – is the manual gearbox, of course,’ says Horacio, almost with a shrug of his shoulders. The replacement for the Huayra model line, now known to be Utopia, features three pedals and a stick you stir around to play tunes with a V12 engine. Just the way God and Il Commendatore intended.
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We move on simply because we both feel the EV question is too knotty a problem to solve over a relaxed dinner. By the time the vanilla ice cream laced with balsamic vinegar is spooned into bowls (it’s delicious, by the way), conversation has moved to other cars. ‘What do you like right now?’ he asks. I’d just driven the 992 GT3 so blurted that out almost without thinking. ‘Porsche’s GT department really make outstanding cars,’ he agrees. ‘They are perhaps my favourite.’ Although I soon hear how he adores his Ferrari F12tdf and 458 Speciale. ‘The engine in the tdf…’ he says in awe, before his words trail away. He doesn’t need to finish the sentence.
Motor Valley Fest and the closer collaboration it signifies between the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Dallara, the local universities and specialists, brings with it mouth-watering possibilities. ‘How about approaching Ferrari to use their V12 engine?’ I posit. He smiles, then chuckles. ‘We are working more closely to protect our industry, to look at future solutions and train the engineers we need. But ultimately we are still… rivals, if you like. Our future remains with Mercedes.’ Even so, we both imagine, just for a moment, a 1200kg Pagani with the 819bhp screamer from the 812 Competizione. Enzo wouldn’t stand for such an idea, of course. But, behind the glasses, surely his eyes would be smiling.