220mph in the Pagani Huayra prototype

Made of over 4,700 new parts, the Huayra shares not one single bit with the Zonda. Most novel are those huge gullwings, which are not only deliciously extravagant but also make the Huayra far easier to get in and out of than the Zonda, a car that required the flexibility of a malnourished Chinese gymnast to enter or exit gracefully.

But, I wonder, as the needle edges towards 350kph, don't they rather reduce the amount of solid, structural roof above your head? See the Huayra with its doors extending upwards, and it's painfully apparent that only a six-inch wide, inch-deep strip of carbon fibre connects front of car to back. I wonder how much defence this will offer if the Huayra decides to launch itself roof-first into something unyielding. Like, say, Southern Italy.