Announced in the UK, the V12 Zagato will be a limited production model of 150 examples that celebrates designer Zagato's 50th anniversary with Aston Martin.
Aston Martin spokesman Marcel Fabris says the V12 Zagato - a specially-styled and hand made version of the company's V12 Vantage - will start production later this year. It will take over factory space left as Aston Martin completes its production of 77 examples of its $3 million One-77 supercar, one of which will be delivered to its sole Australian buyer in April.
"Mechanically, the Zagato is identical to the V12 Vantage," Fabris says. "That made it quite easy for us to comply the car for Australia."
Changes include an entirely new body - which takes 2000 man hours to build - and cabin, new wheels and retuned suspension to adjust for the Zagato's lighter weight. The Vantage will sell for 330,000 pounds sterling in the UK but rises to just under $1 million in Australia because of taxes and other charges. But Fabris says it's still ell priced compared with a few years ago.
"When we announced the One-77 the Australian price was $4 million," he says. "Because of the strong Australian dollar, that price is now less than $3 million."
The V12 Zagato will be publicly debut at next month's Geneva motor show. It is made of hand-formed aluminium body panels with carbon-fibre features. Aston considers the Zagato as "the pinnacle of the Vantage range".
"It is also the latest expression of a successful creative collaboration that has given rise to a series of striking GT cars over the last half-century, the original and most iconic of which being the DB4GT Zagato," the company says in a statement. "Not only does this masterpiece rank amongst the most desirable, collectable and valuable cars in history, its 50th anniversary provided the inspiration for the V12 Zagato."
A concept of the Zagato was shown in May 2011 at the Villa d'Este concours in Italy where it won first place in the Concept Cars and Prototype class. The concept car and a second car made the V12 Zagato's world racing debut at the Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race where both cars finished.
"After an overwhelmingly positive response from customers, the decision was made in July 2011 to build a strictly limited run of V12 Zagatos," the company says. "Since then, Aston Martin's design team has worked to refine the sports cars detailing and aerodynamic performance while staying faithful to the original design concept."
Creating each V12 Zagato is a process that takes about 2000 man-hours to complete. Like the One-77, the new coupe is constructed from a combination of hand crafted aluminium and carbon fibre. The bonnet, signature double-bubble roof and doors are hand-crafted aluminium, while the front and rear fenders, door sills and boot lid surround are made from carbon fibre. It is then painted - there is a choice of four colours - with a process that takes about 100 hours to complete. The car's cabin is trimmed in "Seven Bridge of Weir" hides in semi-aniline finish to offer durability while preserving the natural texture of the leather.
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