At the 2011 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Zagato teamed up with Aston Martin and to come with a very impressive V12 Zagato supercar. But this year, the Italian design company changed its course and teamed with BMW to provide an equally fabulous Zagato Coupe.
The first collaboration between the two companies was in 1939 with the creation of the first BMWs sporting tailormade Italian metalwork: a coupe based on the BMW 328 for the upcoming race season. Zagato was responsible for designing impressive cars like the BMW 3200 Michelotti Vignale (1959), the BMW 700 (1959), the BMW 3200 CS Bertone (1962), and the BMW M1 (1978). The new Zagato Coupe continues this impressive tradition.
The BMW Zagato Coupe combines design cues from both companies and has been entirely hand built. You will notice that the car’s extremely long bonnet is definitely a BMW element, but the radiator grille and the headlamps have definitely received the Zagato treatment. The car features a very cool Rosso Vivace paint that ranges from something close to black all the way to a brilliant red, depending on the light.
Exterior
Viewed from the front, the new Zagato Coupe is definitely a stunning interpretation of the classic BMW face. It has twin circular headlights, a kidney-shaped radiator grille, and BMW’s logo, as well as a pair of air intakes that are used to cool the engine beneath. The traditional BMW radiator grille, however, has received the Zagato treatment. The matte kidney frames were inspired by Buckmister Fuller geodetic structures and being that this is a Zagato creation, it gets a "Z" letter on the kidney grille.
The bonnet is perfectly continued through to the double-bubble roof as the lines of the body continue on to the rear of the car; design lines signed by Zagato. The rear end has also been designed in a traditional Zagato 2 seater style, while the flanks adopt the classical BMW Roadster lines.
The side air vents mimic the form of the bonnet intakes and extend their dynamic agenda to the car’s flanks, while the powerful flourish above the rear wheels is picked up and passed on by the spoiler, injecting the whole area with additional dynamic impetus.
The car’s rear features the clearest evidence of Zagato’s influence: it is formed almost without a single joint and offers a powerful, solid form and purposeful design language. A transparent panel divided into three sections offer the Zagato Coupe an even sportier look. For an even more powerful stance, a prominent rear bumper feeds downwards into a large diffuser.
The final element on the Zagato Coupe are those impressive 19-inch light-alloy wheels in a classically sporty five-spoke design.
Interior
The BMW Zagato Coupe’s interior was structured by BMW, while Zagato designed the exclusive concept for the color and materials concept. The horizontal lines in the instrument panel and doors were all fitted by hand and fit perfectly with the exclusive leather trim in a light and dark shade of grey. The instrument panel, doors, and seats received red decorative stitching to match the car’s exterior paint, and the letter "Z" has been embroidered into the seats.
Engine
BMW hasn’t revealed any details on the engine for the Zagato Coupe, but considering the bonnet received extra air intakes, we expect something big.
When Can I Drive One?
Another thing BMW failed to mention is if and when this model would be put into production. We hope, at the very least, it will be offered in limited production.
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