Peter Palmer: First Look: Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Concept

Fifty-five years ago, Aston Martin and legendary Italian coach builder Zagato joined forces to create the extremely sexy and expensive one-off concept, the DB4 GT Zagato. Unfortunately, the concept failed to gain enough attention and interest from wealthy car collectors to complete the planned production run of only 25 units.

However, late last year, one of the 19 built copies of the DB4 GT Zagato sold at an auction for an eye-watering $14.3 million.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Aston Martin and Zagato unveiled the 2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato, and all 150 production models were sold immediately. Now, the two legendary marques have joined forces again to create this one-off, drop-dead gorgeous Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Concept. The car was recently unveiled at Concorso d’ Eleganza Ville d’ Este in Italy.

What’s New

As of this writing, the Concept is just that, a concept in design study. But based on Aston Martin’s history, in the near future, this car will become the ideal candidate for an ultra-limited production run.

Like the 2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato, the Vanquish Zagato Concept came to life as a joint collaboration between Aston Martin design boss Marek Reichman and Andrea Zagato. The design of the Vanquish Zagato Concept is an evolution of the V12 Zagato and familiar characteristics like blacked-out A-pillars, jarring fender vents, and black-on-red color scheme return. The grille and the extended tail design elements are carried over from Aston Martin’s new flagship car, the DB 11.

As the name states, the Vanquish Zagato Concept is based on the regular Vanquish architecture. However, the Concept’s sexy body is made entirely out of light-weight carbon fiber.

Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Concept Front Fascia

Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Concept Rear Fascia

Performance

Like the regular Vanquish, the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Concept is powered by the same naturally aspirated 5.9 L V12, but the new engine ups the output by 24 horses for a total of 600 horsepower. The engine is mated to a new-and-improved eight-speed semi-automated transmission.

Based on the amount of weight reduction compared to the standard Vanquish, the Vanquish Zagato Concept should be able to knock off a tenth or two off the Vanquish’s estimated run of 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.

Availability

Based on what we have learned from Aston Martin’s history and the development of the 2011 V12 Zagato, the Vanquish Zagato Concept will eventually become an ultra-limited production model. And just like the V12 Zagato, I can safely say that all production models will be spoken for even before the first car is delivered to the customer.

I would be shocked if that doesn’t happen.

Pricing for the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Concept has not been announced. The 2011 V12 Zagato retailed for more than half a million dollars, so expect the Vanquish Zagato’s price to evenly split the difference between it and the one million dollar One-77.

*Rahul Raman is the Founder of CARS 360 Mke, an automotive news outlet. He is a regular contributor to Automoblog and the author of our First Look series.