Remember the V12 Zagato? No, not the new ‘Heritage Twins’ edition, the one before it…
Unveiled at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in 2011, this two-door sports car was a collaborative exercise between Aston Martin and the Italian coachbuilder specifically designed to celebrate 50 years of this hallmark relationship.
Built atop the British marque’s second generation Vantage, the V12 Zagato featured the same 5.9-litre ‘AMR’ powerplant and six-speed manual transmission found in not only its V12 Vantage counterpart but also the brand’s then-flagship DBS. A combination, in both the DBS and the Vantage anyway, that sent 510hp and 570Nm (420lb ft) to the rear wheels.
This though was not ‘just’ any other special edition. On the run-up to its debut, both Aston and Zagato pushed the V12 Zagato as a natural successor to the six models that had come before it, and in particular, the lightweight and more powerful DB4GT Zagato first unveiled at the London Motor Show in 1960. And which also has a ‘Continuation’ edition in-build, but you can read more about that HERE.
In an effort to “capture the spirit” of its predecessors, the V12 Zagato borrowed heavily from Aston’s limited edition One-77 supercar. With chief designer Marek Reichmann at the helm, the new bodywork featured shorter overhangs, deeper cut-outs in the front wings, more pronounced air intakes in the bonnet, a ‘double-bubble’ roof, and Zagato-savvy exposed circular tail light at the rear. Add a stonking rear wing and ‘Z’ monikers behind the front wheel arches (which are mirrored on the headrests inside) to complete the effect, and like the One-77 before it, the V12 Zagato bodywork was built using a combination of lightweight aluminium and carbon fibre. Production was even completed in the standalone facility built for the 7.3-litre V12 hypercar.
The model you see above and below though is even more exclusive than the 64 production examples built from mid-2011 onwards. Owned by Aston Martin itself until 2016 – at which point it was sold to its current owner after no little amount of persuasion – this example is one of only two pre-production models built to tour the world and rustle potential clients’ chequebooks. It’s also only one ever built with an all-aluminium bodywork.
Now re-finished in Aston Martin Racing Green as opposed to its original Titanium Grey – two of the four exclusive colours available to potential customers – this example is now for sale at Bell Sport & Classic in Hertfordshire in the UK. Though not confirmed, the team suggests this prototype, after some in-house work from Aston’s mechanics, may feature “a little more power than the standard car’s 510bhp.”
The price? ‘POA’, as one would expect for a genuine one-of-one Zagato. But bear in mind, given that each of the original 64 production models was sold for upwards of £330,000 (around $415K USD), potential bidders may need to dig even deeper than that.
*Images courtesy of Bell Sport & Classic
