Italy's Motor Valley provides fertile ground for supercars

If Tuscany has chianti, the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna has "Motor Valley", an area that boasts one of the highest concentrations of luxury sports cars and motorbikes in the world. The so-called Land of Motors, covering around 1,000 kilometres squared between Bologna and Modena, is home to Lamborghini and Ferrari, Maserati and Ducati, in addition to less well-known brands.

Every year -- with a hiatus for coronavirus -- industry types and fans flock to Modena for a weekend to talk business and admire the spectacular cars and bikes displayed around town.

Among those on show this year was a Pagani Huayra, a futuristic hypercar produced just a few kilometres away in Pagani's base at San Cesario sul Panaro, where vehicles are made to measure -- and start at a cool 2.6 million euros ($2.8 million).

Christopher Pagani, the son of the founder and communications chief,  said it takes between eight and nine months to manufacture a car, with customers normally waiting two years between order and delivery.

"In 2022 we are producing some 40 to 45 cars. They are all special because every customer has the opportunity to get in touch with us, visit us, and go on this journey," he said.

In the factory -- dubbed the "workshop" -- a few dozen mostly young people work in the hushed and ordered environment of a science lab.