Thursday, 9 June 2011

Aston Martin V12 Zagato debuts, wins top Villa d’Este award

Monday, May 23rd, 2011 @ 9:45 a.m.

To honor the anniversary of one of its most valuable heritage models, Aston Martin teamed up again with Italian design house Zagato to debut a new design – the Aston Martin V12 Zagato.

Unveiled last weekend the Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza in Cernobbio, Italy, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato will make its racing debut later this month at Germany’s Nürburgring circuit, where it will compete in a four hour race. Later this summer, Aston Martin hopes to put two V12 Zagatos into the 24 hour Nürburgring race.

“The DNA of both Aston Martin and Zagato has combined successfully to make some of the world’s most desirable collector cars in the past and in this special anniversary year of the DB4GT Zagato it is appropriate to explore a modern collaboration,” said Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez in a statement.

“Now is the right time for a new Aston Martin Zagato and in combining our design intelligence I think we can create something fitting of the iconic DB4GT Zagato that has gone before and since established itself as one of the most famous Aston Martins of all time.”

With flared fenders and an aggressive front spoiler, it’s obvious that this Zagato-penned creation is designed for the race track. Its red paint scheme isn’t typical for a British racing car, but it does seem to fit with the Italian flair of a Zagato design. The two-door is made entirely from aluminum, including the Zagato-typical double-bubble roof.

Underneath its hood, the V12 Zagato features a 6.0-liter, 510-horsepower version of Aston Martin’s V12.

The introduction honors the first time Aston Martin and Zagato worked together. Just 16 DB4GT Zagato coupes were created in the early 1960s. Of those, three were lightweight racing models piloted by competition’s greats – Jim Clark and Roy Salvadori, among others.

Today, DB4GTs are worth well into seven figures, with the lightweight models listed as some of the most valuable cars ever made.

Award-winning
After its debut at the Concorso d’Eleganza, the V12 Zagato was awarded with the show’s top prize for concept and prototype cars.

“We are thrilled to see that this car conquered people’s hearts.,” Bez said in a statement.

“With the V12 Zagato we managed to add just another successful chapter both to the history of Aston Martin and the future of our brand. This is an exciting car, powerful and incredibly beautiful.”


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