2002 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato

Zagato is responsible for some of the most exclusive and interesting rebodying jobs ever to grace tarmac. Beauty being in the proverbial eye of the beholder, some have had greater affection for their designs than others, but they're certainly intriguing. Some recent examples have included the custom Ferrari 575 GTZ and Maserati GS, but the Milanese coachbuilder's work has branched far out of the Italian peninsula, including the unfortunately stillborn Spyker C12 Zagato, as well as a stable full of British cars for Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and, of course, Aston Martin (among others).

The carrozeria has announced plans to prepare a coachbuilt Bentley according to the latest reports. The news arrives on the heels of Bentley's announcement that it would increase its in-house customizing efforts, which at the time ruled out turning to outside coachbuilders. This still appears to be the case, as a spokesperson for the automaker told us that to his knowledge, Bentley has not been involved with the Zagato project. No further details are known at this time, we're looking forward to scoping out what Zagato has in store for the Flying B badge. If we had to guess, a Continental will be the subject of the transformation. Stay tuned.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

Zagato eyes Bentley for latest project originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 09 Dec 2007 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hot on the heels of our Top 10 Coachbuilt Supercars comes the announcement from Zagato that the Italian carrozeria will be reviving the stoic Diatto marque with a small run of the Diatto GT Ottovu. First shown at the Geneva show as the Diatto Ottovu Zagato, the GT will step out of the concept box and into limited production of 99 examples.

Those coming new to the game might not be familiar with the Diatto name, but it has a loyal and, as it turns out, wealthy following who have motivated (and likely bankrolled) the brand's revival by commissioning the new GT from Zagato. Once a contemporary of Bugatti and Maserati, Diatto started out some 170 years back, producing horse-drawn carriages, then moving on to luxury train cars before becoming one of the first automakers in the world and finally vanishing from the industry in the inter-war period.

Reviving the classic Turinese carmaker, the Diatto GT Ottovu is based on a steel frame with an aluminum body with a front-mid engine layout driving the wheels behind the four-passenger cabin. Motivation comes courtesy of Ford's 4.6-liter V8, supercharged and tuned by Roush and Cosworth to produce 530 horsepower, although Zagato says up to 650 would be possible. As it is, the GT Ottovu is claimed to hit 60 in the threes.

As for the styling, the concept looked better in person than in the pictures, and Zagato clearly went for an elegantly understated design approach. That being said, it still falls short of taking many breaths away. Zagato called the bespoke leather interior "sober, smart and comfortable"...which may as well have applied to the overall design. If it tickles your fancy, though, it will be available through specialist dealers in the United States as well as Europe, but don't expect that kind of exclusivity to come cheap.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

Gallery: Diatto GT Ottovu

Gallery: Zagato Diatto Ottovu

Zagato puts Diatto GT Ottovu into limited production originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sometimes the past deserves to remain in the past, but once in a while the automotive industry reaches into its history to resurrect something worthwhile whose demise was regrettable and whose return is welcome. The return of coachbuilding is one example of an industry trend we're glad is making a comeback.

Coachbuilding was popular decades ago among the extremely wealthy for whom the ordinary offerings of the automotive industry weren't anywhere near exclusive enough, so they had special bodywork fitted to regular cars to make them their own. Contemporary coachbuilt motors follow the same formula: an existing car fitted with new bodywork, and often customized mechanicals, for the most discerning and obscenely wealthy clients. Results have varied, but variety, as the saying goes, is the spice of life. Here we've chosen our ten favorite examples.

Continue reading Autoblog's Top 10 Coachbuilt Supercars

Autoblog's Top 10 Coachbuilt Supercars originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 21 Jul 2007 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.