Rekindling a partnership that dates back over 50 years, the BMW Zagato Coupe ($TBA) wears its Italian design heritage proudly. Details are scant on this shapely coupe, which features Zagato "z" letters in the signature kidney grille, 19-inch alloy wheels that recall propellers, and a double-bubble roof. We can only guess that it's based on the Z4 roadster, but it doesn't really matter, as this is the only one that exists.
Designed in collaboration with Zagato, the Zagato Coupe is a unique take on the idea of a BMW two-seater built for sport and style. It's not just a raw rolling shell, either: BMW has already put the Zagato Coupe through its paces in high-speed testing.
The idea behind the BMW Zagato Coupe was a "vmax concept," built to embody high-speed aerodynamics in a road-legal form. A very long hood, rearward cabin, and Kamm tail give the Zagato Coupe classic proportions, while the details are pure future-modern. According to Washington Post, As Zagato chief designer Norihiko Harada puts it, "For me, the BMW Zagato Coupé holds a very special magic. It exudes a certain spontaneity which, when combined with the type of unconventional solutions typical of Zagato, lend the car a very individual elegance."
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| BMW Zagato Coupe (Photo: Top Gear) |
Overview
There's no word on the engine powering this thing, but it ultimately plays second fiddle to the stunning coachwork. Let's guess at something 3.0-litre shaped, with pistons arranged in a straight line. Many horses. Many torques. A nice sound. Probably.
Anyway, this new BMW conjures up the very essence of the coach-built racers of old, and realigns Munich with its Italian connection; tailor-made BMW 328 coupes featuring Italian coachwork were made for late 1930s racecars and the Mille Miglia, while BMW went to ISO founder Renzo Rivolta to help with the dinky little Isetta. Italian hands were also prominent in the BMW 3200 Michelotti Vignale, the BMW 700, the BMW 3200 CS Bertone and of course, the iconic BMW M1 supercar.
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| BMW Zagato Coupe (Photo: Uncrate) |
So this new Zagato Coupe keeps that flame burning with its entirely hand-built body, with Zagato engineers crafting the lines out of aluminium sheet metal and moulding it flank by flank. Apparently, the brief for the car was a ‘Vmax concept'; a road-registered, aerodynamically optimised car ready for driving.
Clearly taking its base from the Z4 (though BMW doesn't mention it), it gets the classic BMW face, and the contours of the bonnet sweep into a classic Zagato double-bubble roof, right back to that familiar vertically-cut rear end for which the company has become famous. We're told it was formed from a single mould, complete with a rear bumper that feeds down into a large diffuser.
