by Wallace Wyss –

Aston Martin seems very prolific of late, having new models each year. At the recent July 9th Sunset Plaza car show, held off of Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, Cailfornia, a rare Zagato bodied coupe was shown, the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato.

Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato

Here’s my take on the car, based on a quick walk around.

FRONT: Grille cavity for the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato is big enough and car manages to hide any clue that it’s got “safety energy absorbing bumpers.”

The near horizontal chin spoiler is nicely integrated. The hood evens are well done, well integrated and don’t look “added on” as in many a lesser priced car. But the front turn signal lenses look exceedingly cheap, like the lid of a coffee ordered at McDonalds.

SIDE: The side view is pleasing but breaks no new ground. It is curious that the roof wraps around to the side so much, unnecessarily so in this writer’s opinion. The side venting is functional, having a hot air exhaust vent behind the front wheels but the side sculpturing is a little too much like a far less costly car, the Camaro. The trim on the side vent is tasteful and up to date, having a stainless steel look.

REAR: It is nice to see the choice of a single taillight per side in the rear, similar to Ferraris of the ’60s (275GTB for example) but the little fins surrounding the LED taillights are grotesque like a prop from a sci fi movie of the Fifties. Still they came out of the much praised Vulcan show while the wing mirrors are closely related to the units developed for the One-77. The rear under tray is dramatic the way it sweeps up from the side and then goes across, all in what we are presuming is carbon fiber.

Readily apparent from the rear is the “double bubble” roof. A Zagato trademark since the early 1950s, the roof humps originally arose from the need to accommodate racing helmets while still having a minimum impact on the aerodynamic profile.

INERIOR: I neglected to view the interior but studying pictures on the net, I am puzzled by the random patterns in the bucket seats and odd rectangular shape of the steering wheel (better hope that there’s not too many turns lock-to-lock). In their press release Aston says “Herringbone carbon fibre is paired with shadow and anodized bronze and optional aniline leather to give the facia, vents and rotary dials a rich material quality. The Vanquish Zagato is also defined by the unique ‘Z’ quilt pattern stitch used on the seat and door sections, as well as the celebrated trademark Zagato ‘Z’ embossed on headrests and stitched into the centre console.”

On the open car, which I saw only in pictures, the decision to cover the rear aerodynamic fairings behind the bucket seats in leather matching the car interior is something I have to see in person; would have rather had body color.

There will be only 99 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagatos made and I don’t know how many will come to the U.S. It is rated at 592 hp and can do 0-to-60 mph in 3.5 seconds.

All in all, I’d award it a 95 point rating on a 100 point scale, it mostly being the front turn signal lenses and fluted taillights that hold me back from full applause.

We found a price at a site called Business Insider of $800,000 to $850,000 and are presuming that the more expensive is the open car.

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

 
 
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss is a fine artist whose portraits of Italian cars will be available at Concorso Italiano in Monterey August 19th. Those who won’t be there can obtain a list of available prints by writing him at Photojournalistpro2@gmail.com

 
 
 
 

Summary

Article Name

Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Breaks Cover in West Hollywood

Description

There will be only 99 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato made and I don’t know how many will come to the U.S. It is rated at 592 hp and can do 0-to-60 mph in 3.5 seconds.

Author

Wallace Wyss