2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato Concept

Aston Martin will be celebrating the iconic DB4GT Zagato’s 50th anniversary with a new concept car developed in collaboration with the Italian design house Zagato. The concept car made its first appearance at the Villa D’Este Concours on May 21st, 2011 and will make its racing debut at Nürburgring on May 28th.

Dr. Ulrich Bez, Chief Executive said: "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. 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."

The original Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato made its first appearance in 1960 at the London Motor Show. It was essentially a much lighter DB4 GT that got worked on by the Italian Coachbuilder to include a 3670 cc straight-6 DOHC engine that produced 314 HP with a top speed of 154 mph.

Exterior and Interior

The new V12 Zagato is based on a V12 Vantage model, but incorporates the technologies applied in the One-77 supercar. The model is built on a handcrafted aluminum body, which allowed the team to easily model the car’s form. The result of this work is a car with a beautiful and muscular design.

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 V12 Zagato.

Director of Design, Marek Reichman said: "The Design team at Gaydon spent time refining the concept using a mixture of the latest computer based modelling techniques along with crafting traditional clay models to give a real world idea of proportion, stance and detail. The V12 Zagato is an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style. 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."

Engine

Under the hood, the V12 Zagato features a 6.0-liter V12 engine that delivers a total of 510 HP and 420 lb ft of torque. The engine is mated to a rear mid-mounted, six-speed automated manual gearbox with auto shift manual/select shift manual (ASM/SSM) electric hydraulic control system that sends the power to the rear wheels.

Pricing

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato will make its first appearance at the Lake Como, Italy at the Villa D’Este Concours tomorrow and then its first race debut will be at the Nürburgring 24 hour race on June 25-26, 2011. The model will be followed by a production version, in extremely limited numbers. Expect that production version to appear sometime next year.

Competition

The one thing limiting the Aston Martin V12 Zagato is the number of production units. Other models such as the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Porsche Turbo S will deliver the same performance as the Aston, but these models are available for anyone with the money to purchase them.

As a reminder, the Ferrari 458 Italia is powered by a 4.5 Liter V8 engine that produces 570 HP and sprints from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.4 seconds to a top speed of 202 MPH. The Porsche 911 Turbo S is powered by a six cylinder boxer engine with an output of 530 HP. It sprints from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds and can reach a top speed of 195 MPH.

Source : http://www.topspeed.com/cars/aston-martin/2011-aston-martin-v12-zagato-concept-ar109458.html