Zagato returns to this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este bringing a new car. This time they’ve teamed up with the Bavarians at BMW to make a one-off, road-legal, BMW Coupe. Pretty it isn’t, but then artistic things rarely are. BMW Zagato is quite special though. It looks like the illegitimate lovechild of the current BMW Z4 and Zagato’s Alfa Romeo Corsa.
The car has a three-dimensional, sort of sculpted design, especially at the front. In Zagato’s interpretation of the BMW’s headlights and kidney grilles, they are caricatured a bit, which is fair enough what with the car being a one-off and all. But they have not resulted in a completely desirable sight. We do like the sloping lines of the front wings though, and we also like the side vents.
From the sides all you notice is the car’s chunky rear wings. Looks like its heaps could use a breather. That lead us to the rear-end of the Zagato Coupe, which is the car’s party piece. There you can clearly see signs of the Italian designer’s hand with the transparent panel in its upper section familiar from other Zagato creations. Divided visually into three sections, the generous glass surfaces open up a line of sight to the lights and into the interior. Their dark tint gives the BMW Zagato Coupe an even sportier look. The double-bubble roof is another sign.
Other highlights include the 19-inch light-alloy wheels in classically sporty five-spoke design, and the special Rosso Vivace – an expressive shade of red – paint job.
The exterior might not appeal to everyone, but the revised interior can’t be faulted. Based on the Z4’s cabin, Zagato has revamped it with exquisite materials and high-quality details, such as leather and Alcantara upholstery and amazing red stitching all across the seats, door panels and dash. The seats also have a big ‘Z’ embroidered into the headrests. Two exclusive accessories – a hat bag and a travel bag – set the seal on Zagato’s colour and materials upgrade.
BMW Zagato Coupe is a one-off for now, but they made the Aston Martin Zagato, so we could expect to see this in limited production as well. Not sure we want to though!
