The weekend is finally upon us and that means the 2011 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is kicking off, along with all that comes with it. Yesterday we saw a sneak peek at the new Ferrari Superamerica 45, built under the automaker’s Special Projects division and destined for a home in New York.
Today we have another coachbuilt supercar revealed, the Aston Martin V12 Zagato.
As we previously reported, the new project is a bespoke race car based on the V12 Vantage platform, and is just the first outcome of a new collaboration between Aston Martin and legendary Italian design house Zagato. It also marks the 50th anniversary of when Aston Martin and Zagato first worked together on the DB4GT Zagato.
Not surprisingly, the new Aston Martin V12 Zagato is described as a modern interpretation of the original DB4GT Zagato race car. Work began in 2010 with initial meetings between Aston Martin and Zagato where sketches incorporating the design DNA of both companies were discussed and a decision was made to proceed with the project.
1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato
It is now destined to enter a number of races and will eventually spawn a closely related production version--if demand is sufficient to justify the limited build. Its first battle will be at the VLN race at the Nurburgring on May 28, and eventually it will compete at the grueling Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance race on June 25.
Featuring a new handcrafted aluminum body, the V12 Zagato delivers a beautiful and muscular design not possible using pre-formed panel techniques. Each front wing alone comprises seven separate pieces of aluminum, combined and then hand finished to give one flowing form. Another iconic Zagato design cue is the double bubble roof created in this case from five separate pieces, illustrating further the intensity of craftsmanship involved in the construction of the car.
Under the hood sits the V12 Vantage’s now familiar powerplant, a 6.0-liter V-12 pumping out 510 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque.
The 2011 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este officially kicks off tomorrow and will also see the reveal of the aforementioned Ferrari, as well as another Zagato creation, the Dodge Viper based Alfa Romeo Zagato TZ3 Stradale.
_______________________________________
