![]() | |||
Category | Grand Tourer | ||
---|---|---|---|
Constructor | Aston Martin Lagonda LTD/Zagato | ||
Designer(s) | Marek Reichman | ||
Technical specifications | |||
Chassis | Bonded 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 | ||
Length | 4,572 mm (180 in) | ||
Width | 2,000 mm (79 in) | ||
Height | 1,300 mm (51 in) | ||
Wheelbase | 2,642 mm (104 in) | ||
Engine | 5.9 L AM11, all alloy, quad overhead cam, 48 valve 5935 cc V12, 10.9:1 Compression ratio, FR Layout | ||
Transmission | 6-speed manual | ||
Weight | 1,450 kg (3,197 lb) | ||
Fuel | Petrol | ||
Tyres | Yokohama | ||
Competition history | |||
Notable entrants | ![]() | ||
Notable drivers | ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
Debut | 53rd ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN round at the Nürburgring | ||
|
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.
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.
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]
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]
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]
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.
'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.
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with expensive grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character James Bond following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film Goldfinger. Their grand tourers and sports cars are regarded as a British cultural icon.
The Aston Martin Vanquish is a grand tourer introduced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin in 2001 as a successor to the Aston Martin Vantage (1993).
The Aston Martin DB9 is a grand touring car produced by Aston Martin from 2004 to 2016 in a single generation.
Zagato is a coachbuilding company. The design center of the company is located in Terrazzano, a village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy.
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is an Italian automobile coachbuilder. Originally established in Milan in 1925, Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods. The business folded in 1966. In 2006 its brands and trademarks were purchased and a new firm was established nearby to provide automotive design, engineering, coachbuilding, homologation services, non-automotive industrial design, and restoration of historic vehicles.
Ulrich Helmut Bez is a German businessman and was, until the end of 2013, chief executive officer of Aston Martin motorcars when he stepped down to serve as non-executive chairman.
The Aston Martin DBS is a grand tourer produced by the British manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda Limited from 1967 to 1972.
The Aston Martin Vantage is a series of hand-built sports cars from the British automotive manufacturer Aston Martin. Aston Martin has previously used the "Vantage" name on high-performance variants of their existing GT models, notably on the Virage-based car of the 1990s. The modern car, in contrast, is the leanest and most agile car in Aston's lineup. As such, it is intended as a more focused model to reach out to potential buyers of cars such as the Porsche 911 as well as the exotic sports and GT cars with which Aston Martins traditionally compete.
The Aston Martin Rapide is a sports saloon car, built by the British marque Aston Martin from 2010 to 2020. It has four doors and four seats. It was first presented as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in 2006 and the production version was shown at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Aston Martin DBS is a grand tourer based on the DB9 and manufactured by the British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin.
The Maserati 450S is a racing car made by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati for participating in FIA's endurance World Sportscar Championship racing. A total of nine were made.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ was a sports car and racing car manufactured by Alfa Romeo from 1963 to 1967. It replaced the Giulietta SZ. In 2011, the name was reduced from Giulia TZ to TZ in the new TZ3 model.
The Aston Martin One-77 is a two-door, two-seater flagship sports car built by the British car manufacturer Aston Martin. The car was first shown at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, although it remained mostly covered by a "Savile Row tailored skirt" throughout the show. It was revealed in full at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, and deliveries began in 2011.
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este is a Concours d'Elegance event in Italy for classic and vintage cars. It takes place annually near the Villa d'Este hotel in Cernobbio, on the western shore of Lake Como in northern Italy. Since 2011, the event has taken place in the second half of May.
The Aston Martin Vantage N24 is a race car introduced by Aston Martin in 2006, based on the V8 Vantage road car. In late 2008, Aston Martin debuted an updated version of the N24, with the newer Aston Martin Vantage GT4, which featured a larger 4.7-litre engine.
The Alfa Romeo 4C is a mid-engined sports car that was produced by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo. Unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the 4C was initially only available as a coupé, with a spider body style coming a few years later in 2015. The name 4C refers to the straight-four engine.
The Aston Martin CC100 Speedster is a concept car produced by the British car company Aston Martin to celebrate its 100th anniversary, announced in May 2013 at the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring race. Only two were produced and both were sold to very loyal customers. One of the owners plans to keep it in his private collection, while the owner of the second car plans to get regulatory approval so it can be driven on public roads.
The Aston Martin Vantage is a two-seater sports car built by British manufacturer Aston Martin since 2018. It replaces the previous model which had been in production for 12 years.
The Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato is a limited production car based on a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4.
The 2021 Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie was the 44th season of the German endurance series run at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and second run as the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS). The season began on 27 March and ended on 9 October.