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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Alfa Romeo green lights Dodge Viper-based TZ3 Zagato?

Thursday, Mar 31st, 2011 @ 10:41 a.m.

With the exception of the 8C, Alfa Romeo’s lineup over the last decade or so has hardly focused on high-end performance cars, but that could change soon if new reports out of Europe are to be believed.

A one-off shooting brake designed by design firm Zagato at the request of a wealthy German owner could make production – but not over the Italian running gear one might expect. Instead, according to AutoBild, a production version of the TZ3 might actually use the running gear and platform from the recently-discontinued Dodge Viper, including its 600 horsepower, 8.4-liter V10 engine.

It might sound like blasphemy, but Dodge is hard at work on a next-generation Viper, which is being co-engineered by teams from within Fiat’s portfolio – Maserati, Alfa Romeo and, of course, Ferrari. For Chrysler part-owner Fiat to green light a platform, CEO Sergio Marchionne wants to see global appeal under at least one other marque.

The original TZ3 debuted last year at the Villa d’Este Concours, where it was presented as a descendant of the racing-oriented TZ and TZ2 models from the 1960s.

The TZ3 Stradale, as German media reports it could be called, will be larger and heavier – by as much as 1,200 lbs. – than the current Viper. Reports also suggest that it might forgo the Alfa Romeo badge for a Zagato logo.

According to AutoBild, the TZ3 Stradale will debut in production-ready form later this year at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance before entering very limited production in 2012.

References
1.’Alfa TZ3 headed…’ view

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