Aston Martin V12 Zagato

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is a British sports car/endurance racer made by Aston Martin in collaboration with Zagato to celebrate a fifty-year partnership since the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. Introduced in Lake Como, Italy at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on 21 May 2011, the Zagato was awarded with the competition's "Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes" which has also been won by the One-77 in 2009.[1] Zagato introduced the "Corsa" (race) version of the car in 2011 and the "Stradale" (road) version in 2012. The Stradale version doesn't have the black quick releases on the bonnet and boot that the Corsa has and the exhaust pipes of the Stradale version are further apart than on the Corsa version.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato
CategoryGrand Tourer
ConstructorAston Martin Lagonda LTD/Zagato
Designer(s)Marek Reichman
Technical specifications
ChassisBonded aluminium chassis, aluminium body, steel roll cage
Suspension (front)Independent double wishbone with fully adjustable Multimatic DSSV dampers
Suspension (rear)Independent double wishbone with fully adjustable Multimatic DSSV dampers
Length4,572 mm (180 in)
Width2,000 mm (79 in)
Height1,300 mm (51 in)
Wheelbase2,642 mm (104 in)
Engine5.9 L AM11, all alloy, quad overhead cam, 48 valve 5935 cc V12, 10.9:1 Compression ratio, FR Layout
Transmission6-speed manual
Weight1,450 kg (3,197 lb)
FuelPetrol
TyresYokohama
Competition history
Notable entrantsUnited Kingdom Aston Martin Racing
Notable driversGermany Ulrich Bez
United Kingdom Marek Reichman
United Kingdom Chris Porritt
Debut53rd ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN round at the Nürburgring
Races
6

Like the Aston Martin V12 Vantage on which it is based, the V12 Zagato is powered by a 5.9-litre AM11 V12 engine first used in the DBS which produces 510 bhp (380 kW; 517 PS), and 570 N⋅m (420 lb⋅ft) of torque.

Design

Designed at the Aston Martin Design Studios in Gaydon, the chassis - engineered by a Chris Porritt-led team including veterans of Astons Martins's One-77 project - features a retuned version of the regular V12 Vantage's double-wishbone suspension.[2] The design features a new handcrafted aluminium body with the front similar to the Vantage with differences in the roof and rear section. Another difference is the endurance racing fuel tank carrying up to 120 litres of fuel.[3][4]

Production

Following a large interest by customers, Aston Martin announced they would produce a homologated version of the car, producing only a limited run of 150 at the Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon.[5] Starting delivery in the second half of 2012, the Zagato was priced at around £330,000 excluding local taxes.[6] In the end, orders did not materialize at the rate envisioned and only 61 cars were actually made.[7]

Heritage Twins
V12 Zagato Heritage Twins

In April 2020, it was publicly announced that Aston Martin had partnered with British company R-Reforged to produce 19 pairs of coupes and convertibles (38 cars in total). The cars gain center-locking 19-inch alloy wheels and a deployable rear wing over the original version. Power from the 5.9L V12 has been increased to 600 bhp. Customers can choose between an automatic transmission or a 7-speed manual.[8]

Racing history

2011
Aston Martin V12 Zagato 'Zig', at the 51st VLN, 2011

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato made its racing debut at the 53rd ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN round at the Nürburgring on 28 May, the event for the car being a preparation and development experience ahead of the Nürburgring 24-hour race, to be held on 25–26 June.

Two V12 Zagatos competed in the 51st ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen VLN four-hour race on 11 June. Again as a test session ahead of the Nürburgring 24-hour race. Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez lead the driver team joined by the company's Nürburgring Test Centre Director, Wolfgang Schuhbauer plus experienced amateur racer Peter Cate in the first of the two V12 Zagato's. The sister car was driven by One-77 Chief Engineer Chris Porritt, experienced sports car driver Oliver Mathai and automotive journalist Richard Meaden. Competing in the SP8 category, the V12 Zagatos; near production standard cars with only essential safety and aerodynamic modifications required for racing, took 2nd and 3rd place in class, equating to 15th and 39th overall in field of some 150 largely specialist cars.

The two V12 Zagatos affectionately nicknamed "Zig" (green car) and "Zag" (red car) competed in the 39th ADAC Nürburgring 24-hour race, held on 25–26 June. The two factory backed cars both completed the race, finishing 5th and 6th in the SP8 class.

The red car also raced at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed on 1–3 July. Driven by Aston Martin head designer, Marek Reichman, the car recorded a best time of 61.21 to finish 15th in the overall shootout.[9]

On 17 October "Zig" was part of a collaboration between Aston Martin and Toyota at the VLN9 DMV 250-Meilen-Rennen. During the race drivers of both the V12 Zagato and Lexus LFA, which included the CEO of Aston Martin and President of Toyota, had an opportunity to drive both cars.

2012

'Zig' attended VLN3 as a test for the Nurburgring 24 hours, during which the car unfortunately sustained a puncture on the first lap, however went on the finish the race without any further problems.

Previously running in green livery 'Zig' was re-painted Gulf blue and black for the Nurburgring 24hours to match its GT3 teammates. The car had an excellent race and ran faultlessly throughout driven by Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez (D), chief engineer Chris Porritt (GB), Nürburgring Test Centre Director Wolfgang Schuhbauer (D) and journalist Richard Meaden (GB) and finished 26th overall and 2nd in class.

The same car also attended the Aston Martin Le Mans Festival, a support race for the Le Mans 24 hours. During the first stint had battled up to an impressive fourth position, having started from tenth, before handing over to his teammate Dr Ulrich Bez.

  • 2011 Aston Martin V12 Corsa Zagato
  • 2012 Aston Martin V12 Stradale Zagato

References
  1. "Aston Martin One-77 wins top design award at the Concorso d'Eleganza, Villa d'Este". AstonMartin.com. 22 May 2011.
  2. "Aston Zagato wins Villa d'Este". Autocar. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  3. "Aston Martin unveils V12 Zagato". AstonMartin.com. 20 May 2011.
  4. "Aston Martin V12 Zagato wins Concorso D'Eleganza Design Award at Villa D'Este, Italy". AstonMartin.com. 22 May 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011.
  5. "Aston Martin limits its Zagato line to One Hundred and Fifty". CoverCars. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  6. "Aston Martin confirms production of V12 Zagato". AstonMartin.com. 7 July 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011.
  7. "2013 Aston Martin V12 Zagato". The Bond Street Sale: Lot no. 21 (Auction Catalogue). Bonhams. 4 December 2016. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017.
  8. "Aston Martin Vantage V12 Zagato Heritage Twins by R-Reforged announced". Autoblog. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  9. "Goodwood Festival of Speed results" (PDF). Goodwood.co.uk. 4 July 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011.
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