Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Category	Endurance racer concept/ 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)	Same as front
Length	4572mm
Width	2000mm
Height	1300mm
Wheelbase	2642mm
Engine	Aston Martin DBS V12 6.0, all alloy, quad overhead cam, 48 valve 5,935 cc V12, 10.9:1 CR, FR Layout
Transmission	6-speed Manual Transmission
Fuel	120L
Tyres	Yokohama
Competition history
Notable entrants	Aston Martin Racing
Notable drivers	Ulrich Bez Marek Reichman Chris Porritt
Debut	53rd ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup VLN round at the Nürburgring
Races 6

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is an endurance racing concept car made by Aston Martin in collaboration with Zagato to celebrate a 50 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]

Like the Aston Martin V12 Vantage on which it is based, the V12 Zagato is powered by a 6.0 L V12 engine with 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque.

Design

Designed at the Aston Martin Design Studios in Gaydon,^[2] The chassis - engineered by a Chris Porritt-led team including veterans of Astons’ One-77 project - features a retuned version of the regular V12 Vantage’s double-wishbone suspension .^[3] The concept features a new handcrafted aluminium body with a front similar to the one of the Vantage and a heavily modified middle, roof and rear section uniting both of the companys design DNAs. Another extra is the endurance racing fuel tank carrying up to 120 litres of fuel.^[4][5]

Production

Following a large interest by customers Aston Martin announced they would build a homologated version of the car, producing only a limited run of 150 at the Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon.^[6] Starting delivery in the second half of 2012, the Zagato was priced at around £330,000 excluding local taxes.^[7]

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 sprinted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011 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.^[8]

On October 17 "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 LF A 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 team mates. 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 team-mate Dr Ulrich Bez.

References

External links

• AMOC.org Aston Martin Unveils New V12 Zagato
• Official car site

Aston Martin V12 Zagato