It's the dream of driving with the top down, of high speed, white moonlight blowing past, deep growling sports engine; freedom, this thing is nostalgic.

T his August, during Monterey Car Week, Horacio Pagani will unveil its Utopia Roadster, his latest masterpiece. The Utopia Roadster builds on 25 years of Pagani's supercar evolution after the Zonda and Huayra. Like every previous Pagani model, the Utopia Roadster will have a reserved allocation, likely in dozens rather than hundreds or thousands.

Pagani has had a long relationship with Mercedes and AMG, and now he has teamed up again to design the Utopia's twin-turbo V12 engine, an engine probably at the top of AMG's engineering skills. This V12 engine makes 864 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 811 lb-ft of torque from 2,800 to 5,900 rpm, with serious urge at low revolutions without forcing the engine up to that point.

The Utopia Roadster is available either with an auto-manual gearbox supplemented by paddle shifters or with a classic 7-speed manual and a single-plate clutch. The manual is slower than the dual-clutch today but has a raw feel which is entirely analog and does make for a richer experience at the wheel.

Weighing in at 2,822 pounds and able to hit a top speed of 217 mph, the Utopia Roadster is designed for rapid acceleration and sharp cornering. Admittedly, it doesn't have the same level of top speeds as the Bugatti, but focusing on ride-handling and swift acceleration makes it quite a thrilling car for spirited driving.

For those whose joy in driving comes more from the excitement of it all rather than pure performance metrics, the Utopia Roadster is a perfect open-top sports car- and designed for just that kind of driver: someone who wants to go faster not just in power but in the way it's felt, an exciting immersive driving experience where it comes alive as opposed to just a high-powered engine.