Opinion seems to be divided in the motoring fraternity over the new Zagato-flavoured Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Well here's our opinion, and the right opinion; if this car doesn't make you salivate over these two pages until the whole article is a wad of papier-mâché, then we know a great therapist over on the Beach Road, otherwise there's always the Al Amal Psychiatric Hospital. Tell them wheels sent you, they'll know what to do.
Presumably, by now your drool has rendered this spread unreadable, but on the off chance that you haven't a smidgen of 98 Octane flowing through your veins and need educating, we'll continue anyway.
For the 50th anniversary of the gorgeous DB4GT Zagato, Aston Martin has prepared a one-off collaboration with the famed Italian design house in order to bewilder well-heeled visitors to the Villa D'Este Concours on the shores of Italy's Lake Como. And these people are so well-heeled in fact, that it takes a shock of profound proportions to engage bewilderment. No problem, because the new Zagato is so outrageously spectacular, before you even realise that the Gaydon carmaker plans to actually take it racing at the Nürburgring 24-hour race in June, and even produce road-going examples once they get enough interest, which they will without a doubt.
Taking inspiration from numerous Zagato/Aston creations of the past, the new car aims to be the ultimate interpretation of the marque's ultimate Vantage. Work began last year as nothing but a few sketches, then Aston's design director Marek Reichman took it further, creating models and computer renderings. They could've done it all on a Mac of course, but to get a real sense of proportion and stance, Reichman insisted on clay models to perfect the detailing. It's not as if the V12 Vantage is a pup in the first place, but together with Zagato, the new creation looks vastly different. The grille is typical of the Italian design house, larger than life and as ostentatious as the rest of its cues. It‘s convex and sits protruding as the furthest point out of the front end, just like it did on the original DB4GT Zagato. The double bubble roof is, of course, a given feature on any Zagato, and you'll notice that the rear shoulder is straight off the DB4GT too. The only difference is the chiselled crease at the top of the arch line, to give it a more distinct relationship with the angular letter ‘Z'. The rest of the lines are all very organic, until you move round to the back of this all-aluminium handcrafted body. Some say the light recesses and the lamps themselves are stolen from Ferrari, but we'd argue it's forgivable when they look better on an Aston…
The detail in the handiwork is astonishing too; everything is formed using an English wheel and traditionally crafted body bucks, with the front wings alone comprising seven aluminium pieces, and the roof five pieces.
Underneath it's an unchanged V12 Vantage, delivering 510bhp from a 6.0-litre V12 and 570Nm of torque. Mounted in the front, but aft of the axle, it's a mid-ship car with perfect weight balance. The transmission sits in the rear axle, and is a six-speed automated manual ‘box rather than the Vantage's standard manual item. With a limited slip differential and semi-slick tyres, the dynamics of this Zagato promise to more than match its sublime design talents.
Now collect yourself off the floor, and focus on the rest of this issue. Hmm, maybe we should have put this right at the back, ease you in, instead of kick you straight in the guts with a shock to the senses as brutal as the beauty of an Aston by Zagato.
Oh well, you might need to visit Al Amal anyway. Sorry.
The original
Aston's V12 Zagato is a modern descendant of a number of past collaborations, such as the V8 Vantage Zagato and DB7 Zagato, but mostly it's a 50th anniversary commemoration and a successor to the DB4GT Zagato.
Aston's director of design, Marek Reichman, put it best, "The original DB4GT Zagato was a true icon, powerful and graceful; the new design is a true representation of the spirit of DB4GT Zagato. The muscular organic forms define the thoroughbred nature of the car's racing credentials."
The first DB4GT Zagato was unveiled to the public in 1960, and that one also saw its destiny on the race track, spending much of its life lapping the competition at the hands of legends Jim Clark and Roy Salvadori. Those two guys aren't around any more to lend their driving prowess to the Gaydon flag, but the V12 Zagato still has chief executive Dr. Ulrich Bez on its roster for the ‘Ring challenge, as well as Adrian Fernandez, Darren Turner, Chris Buncombe, Harold Primat and Stefan Mücke. So, it's in good hands then.
