Zagato marks the end of an era with custom Ferrari 550 GTZ Barchetta
Ferrari 550 GTZ – Click above for high-res image gallery
When Ferrari took the wraps off the 550 Maranello in 1996, it represented an important step in the company's evolution. Replacing the aging F512M (nee Testarossa), the 550 Maranello marked a shift back to front-engine V12 GTs for Ferrari – the niche market for which the company became known. But if the 550 Maranello was a pivotal product for Ferrari, the 550 Barachetta Pininfarina was even more desirable.
Characterized by its open-top format with rear cowling and leather-trimmed roll hoops, Ferrari only made 448 examples of the open-top 550 before the model line was replaced by the 575M. Another 559 drop-top Superamericas were built on the 575M's basis, but the rarest example was the solitary 575 GTZ built by Zagato for one Yoshiyuki Hayashi, an avid Ferrari collector in Japan.
For better or worse, the window of opportunity that, for a time, allowed coachbuilders like Zagato to create specials like the 575 GTZ is now closing, with Ferrari's own customization program bringing the carrozzeria tradition back to the Maranello gates – to the exclusion of others. But not before the Milanese design house gets in one last hoorah, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the first such collaboration between the two Italian houses of rolling style.
Taking five pristine examples of the aforementioned 550 Barachetta as their basis, the 550 GTZ borrows the shape from Hayashi's 575-based coupe and gives it a roadster body style. There's no word on whether any modifications have been carried out on the coupe's mechanicals, but the rolling stock appears to have carried over unchanged if that's any indication. All five examples have reportedly been spoken for at a price of £1 million ($1.6 million) apiece, which may seem like a lot for a car long since replaced, twice, but hardly too much to ask for historic artifacts of automotive Italiana.
Gallery: Ferrari 550 GTZ Barchetta by Zagato
[Source: CarsUK]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
sam 7:38PM (10/29/2009)
Are you serious? U G L Y.
This is for people with no taste and to much money.
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Hike15 7:33PM (10/29/2009)
Beautiful.
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UCJR 7:44PM (10/29/2009)
Go, Speed Racer, go!
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M7 7:44PM (10/29/2009)
Horrible as usual
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POV 7:49PM (10/29/2009)
I love Zagato's quirky designs but this one is disappointing even more so as it's the last one... The rear however is really nice.
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larry raines 7:50PM (10/29/2009)
looks like a copy of the Lightning GT
http://www.lightningcarcompany.co.uk/gallery.php#
especially the front fender vents, and the grill, and the headlights, and the overall proportions, except its a convertable
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Neil 8:02PM (10/29/2009)
Looks a bit like the old Panoz Esperante.
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Visnick 8:26PM (10/29/2009)
Looks like the bastard love child between a Ferrari California and a Z8
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dal20402 10:58PM (10/29/2009)
The standard open 550 looks way better in every respect.
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montoym 12:38PM (10/30/2009)
Agreed.
The 550 (and 575) are amongst my favorite Ferrari designs of the past 20-30yrs. To me, they are just beautiful cars, I cherish anytime I see one moreso than when I see just about any other model.
This one, not so much.
craighead 4:17AM (10/30/2009)
It's like a kitcar in reverse...
They've taken a Ferrari and made it look like a cross between a Corvette and a Panoz Esperante.
Blech.
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Phil 11:15PM (10/29/2009)
lose the original rims and abandon that soft top. come on, zagato, you're better than that.
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MX5 Roadster 11:32PM (10/29/2009)
Congratulations Zagato, your effort to rebody 5 beautiful 550 Barchettas turns out a design with all the grace of a second-tier rebodied Corvette whose true cachet is roughly 2% of the ridiculous purchase price...on a good day. Bravo! Gold chains FTW.
To add to the hilarity, the watermark on the photos is perfect irony.
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rotarymandan 12:25AM (10/30/2009)
I have never liked any of Zagato's cars more than the original models.
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Dondonel 1:52AM (10/30/2009)
Not all of them were duds, see Lancia Flaminia built by Zagato, much better than the original IMO:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Wikilanflz.jpg
MX5 Roadster 9:11AM (10/30/2009)
Zagato has never been a real favorite of mine, but they have had their moments of brilliance.
They made one of the world's most timeless/beautiful designs, the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin_DB4_GT_Zagato
To see the company going down with this hideous Barchetta is a travesty.
Idesign39 1:55AM (10/30/2009)
Peter A. Torkild commends Ferrari for their creative efforts. This car may not be all things for all people, but the fact that they are providing a reasonably creative new vehicle is better than resting on their older designs. If I had any suggestion for improvement, it would be to not follow the lines of other cars, and add some luxury to the comfort factor.
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john riley 7:03AM (10/30/2009)
It is spelled Barchetta.
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Nick 8:57AM (10/30/2009)
Love the look of this. Still out of my price range!
http://soundfx.dtdns.net/
http://taller.3d-game.com/
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JZeke 9:52AM (10/30/2009)
I always thought Zagato was at its best making brutish and slab sided monsters like the 80s Aston Zagato or Alfa SZ. Sure the DB4 Zagato was stunning, but it seems they really hit their stride making some challenging slabs later on.
This is neither gorgeous like a the DB4, nor cubist-erotic like the Aston. Its bulbous and blah, like a discarded 90s concept car.
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