Aston Martin And Zagato Reveal V12 Collaboration

British class and Italian flair has come together once more with the latest in a long line of collaborative specials: the Aston Martin V12 Zagato.

The V12 Zagato marks the 50th anniversary of the pair's relationship, which began with the unveiling in 1961 of the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato - a tricked-out version of the Italian-bred, British-built DB4.

The companies say there's a little bit of each past collaboration in the V12 Zagato, with inspiration coming from not only the DB4GT, but also the DB7 Zagato and V8 Vantage Zagato cars.

This latest special is based of course on the V12 Vantage, bringing its own bespoke styling and a hand-crafted aluminium body.

"The V12 Zagato is an elegant yet brutal design which reflects the great balance between race performance and pure Aston Martin style,” Aston Martin's Director of Design Marek Reichmann said.

“The original DB4GT Zagato was a true icon, powerful and graceful; the new design is a true representation of the spirit of DB4GT Zagato," he added.

Like the V12 Vantage (see our review here), the new Zagato is powered by Aston's 5.9 litre V12 engine, producing 380kW and 570Nm of torque. 

The Zagato is lighter than the 'regular' V12 Vantage however, giving it a 0-100km/h time of "under" 4.0 seconds - compared to the Vantage's 4.2 second sprint.

As with most of the pair's limited-edition offerings, the V12 Zagato will see track duty with two cars destined for the upcoming Nurburgring 24-hour race. A limited number will also be built for real-world duties, although a specific figure has not been confirmed.