The Aston Martin ZAGATO was launched at the London Motor Show way back in 1958.  Despite the great success and immense popularity of the ZAGATO, it was subjected to numerous changes by Aston Martin in order to make it compete with the Ferrari 250 GT. However, only 1185 vehicles rolled out under the ZAGATO name up till 1959 from the workshops and its modifications kept coming in batches from 1959 to 1963.

Engine And Exteriors

The ZAGATO was fitted with an aluminium L6 3.7 liter engine which provided an output of 240 horsepower. The ZAGATO was also equipped with the Dunlop disc brakes and offered a 5 speed manual and 3 speed automatic transmission. Another feature of the ZAGATO which left onlookers spellbound was its state of the art body.  The car featured an extremely fast paced and super stylish body and the technology used in its engineering was years ahead of the competition. The frame was also made from steel tubes which were sheathed in aluminium. The unique design of this futuristic concept vehicle made it extremely light which vastly helped in improving the dynamics of the vehicle. It also boasted of a top speed of 250 kph.

Changes Made In The ZAGATO After Its First Launch To Make It Compete With The Ferrari 250 GT

In order to make the ZAGATO compete with the Ferrari 250 GT in the auto markets, Aston Martin subjected the vehicle to numerous changes.

The bodywork was completely revamped to make the car look much more aggressive and streamlined.

Steel body parts were also replaced with aluminium and glass inserted light weight Perspex was placed instead of the the car bumpers. Due to these few changes, the machine was able to lose as much as 40 pounds from its weight, which greatly helped in increasing the speed as well as the dynamics of the vehicle.

The ZAGATO was also provided with air intakes on its bonnet and closed fairing head lights.

The ZAGATO was also provided with air intakes on its bonnet and closed fairing head lights.