Monterey Car Week Visitor Sets Off Fire Extinguisher In Rare Pagani Utopia

At the recent Monterey Car Week, one attendee's dreamy encounter with the $2.5-million Pagani Utopia almost turned into the ultimate nightmare when the rare hypercar appeared to catch fire. It turns out that the smoke billowing from the exclusive supercar was fire extinguisher discharge from the car's fire extinguisher, not fire smoke as originally feared.

"A guest of the event was touching switches on the inside of the car and set off the engine's [self-contained] fire extinguishers," said Christopher Pagani, head of marketing for Pagani, in a statement to Road & Track.

It must've been utterly terrifying for the attendee, who likely thought they had unwittingly set fire to a high-priced exotic by simply poking around in the Utopia's breathtaking interior.

The shocking incident occurred at The Quail, the first time that the Utopia was on display in North America, and what was also a celebration of Pagani's 25th anniversary. With the smoke appearing to be coming from the engine bay - the Utopia's 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12 lump rests behind the cockpit - it's no surprise that onlookers feared the worst.

"Nobody knows what happened with it. It was really quick," said a witness by the name of Chris Corces. "It was coming from the engine but pretty close to the firewall. Very close to the back of the seat."

It's unknown if the unfortunate event significantly damaged the Utopia's exquisite, leather-lined interior. It would be a shame if that were the case, as the Utopia's cabin is a work of art with details like the exposed linkage for the gearshift lever and the steering wheel milled from a single block of aluminum.

Succeeding the Zonda and Huayra, the Utopia was revealed last year with Pagani's typical blend of meticulous detailing and hair-raising power. The evocative-sounding V12 produces 852 horsepower and is paired with a seven-speed gated manual gearbox. But for all its speed and fury, it's the Utopia's dramatic design with those butterfly doors that made it one of the highlights at Monterey Car Week.

At least this particular example wasn't completely destroyed.