Car Throttle

Aston Martin highlights from their stand in Hall 5 included the worldwide debut of the Aston Martin Zagato and refreshes of current model lineups such as the Virage, V12 Vantage and DBS Carbon Edition Coupe which was seen in a shimmering orange paintjob. The V12 Zagato is available in in two editions depending on whether you want it for racetrack use or general road use. Power comes in at 510bhp and 420lb-ft of torque thanks to a trademark Aston V12 engine unit. This is attached to a rear mid-mounted auto manual gearbox. And with those credentials, it's no wonder that the fantastically designed Zagato can do the 0-60mph sprint in 4.2 seconds. Astons have never been super rapid thanks to their heavy-weight nature, but the Zig

At the Geneva Motor Show in 2009, the Perana Z-One sportscar was first shown. The project was done in partnership with Zagato, responsible for the car's styling, and the Perana Performance Group based in South Africa. Many cars shown by design houses like Zagato or small manufacturers are one offs never see the light of day. Or, production is planned but never happens. The Perana Z-One seemed like a very feasible project though, and PistonHeads reports the car has entered production. Not going to enter production soon, or planned production, but as we speak. We're always eager to welcome new sports cars, and the car is slated to make an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. Deliveries in the United Kingdom are slated

Italian coachbuilder and stylist Zagato has a long history with Fiat. They've rebodied plenty of Fiats in their time, and at the Geneva show Zagato showed off the latest collaboration between the two brands: the Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato. From the windowline down, the Coupe Zagato is standard 500.  But Zagato restyled the upper half of the car to be more of a slick-back coupe and less of a hatchback, and the styling blends surprisingly well.  It has a touch of Renault Megane Coupe about the rear side glass, but it's a very nice styling exercise. The famous Zagato double-bubble roof (which is there to allow clearance for race helmets) works very well here, and the way the roof blends into a spoiler is a slick

The coachbuilding industry lives! The Zagato Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa has been introduced. No, not at Beijing, but at the Italian show Concours Villa D'Este. A classic car buff will recognize that profile, which takes cues from Alfa Romeo predecessors the TZ1 and TZ2. The TZ3 marks a continuation of that lineage. The car is based upon and powered by the 8C Competizione. As expected, it best the styling of the 8C Competizione, but it isn't designed to. Nonetheless, it is a design stunner, winning best of show in the concept class. The TZ3 Corsa isn't a new model line, but rather a special one-off model commissioned by German car collector Martin Kapp. Alfa Romeo says it is a "special celebration... of the Alfa Romeo Zagato common tradition: Scuderia Ferrari of

The revival of coachbuilding is upon us, and Zagato, a favorite in the previous heyday of coachbuilding, is leading the charge. Manufacturers are even beginning to work with the companies again, like Bentley did with the recent Flying Star shooting brake, built by Italian coachbuilding firm Carrozia Touring Superleggera. Now Alfa Romeo is announcing a new model, based on a certain Alfa Romeo. Can you guess which one? We can - the 8C Competizione. It looks like the 8C from this top down teaser view that Zagato provided. Topping the 8C Competizione in the styling department is going to be hard - near impossible. It is just strikingly beautiful Italian design at its finest. While styling might not be able to be topped, performance can. As such,

Today, Maserati is a purveyor of what I like to call automotive pornography. They produce two products - the almost criminally good-looking Gran Turismo and the equally seductive Quattroporte.  Both sell for north of $100k, are chock full of Ferrari bits, and are absolutely wonderful, top-notch modern supercars.  This hasn't always been the case. Maserati returned to the US market in 2002, after leaving without saying goodbye in 1991.  They, like Alfa Romeo, were basically chased out of the US thanks to persistent rumors of suspect reliability as well as a less than favorable exchange rate which artificially inflated prices.  Many say that the reason for Maserati's failure in the US was the Biturbo.  Let's take a look at that car (and it's derivatives) and return to

If you like Italian design and/or coachbuilding, this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy will be a real treat. The event, very similar to our own Concours de Elegance, kicks of on April 24th and 3 coachbuilders (2 Italian) are said to be debuting new vehicles. Bertone,  Zagato and British sports-car manufacturer Morgan are the companies. Legendary designer Stile Bertone's rumored debut is a highly anticipated V8-powered 2-seater in the vein of 2008's B.A.T 11. Speculation is that Zagato will be debuting the finalized production version of the Perana Z-One (pictured). I wonder what changes the car will get on it's way to production. If true, it will be the only production vehicle debuting at the show (which will also have displays from many other companies). Morgan's

Zagato is a Italian coachbuilder and design house steeped in tradition. Most of the time, the vehicles they produce wear another manufacturer's badge and are Zagato's interpreration of a specific model. With the Perana Z-One, Zagato is creating it's own, self-branded vehicle. While it's own creation (and self-branded) the Perana Z-One is a result of the design houses's collaboration with a South African performance and production company, Perana Performance Group. The proportions are perfect, helping to lend the V8 sportscar a perfect 50/50 weight distribution. While good looking, it's not particularly unique in the world of automotive design. I'm thinking more along the lines of the original Anteros (a coachbuilt vehicle based on the Corvette). To my eyes at least, this isn't a truly Italian design. The clean flow of lines

A new Zagato is set to be introduced at the Geneva Show, and it's a looker! Renderings and sketches have been introduced showing us a preview of the latest model to come from the coachbuild manufacturer. Welcome back coachbuilding! The flexibility afforded by new technologies and processes have brought back the classic art yet again, and it really shows with cars like this new Zagato. After recently debuting an altered Bentley Continental GTZ and collaborating with Spyker on the C12 supercar (an amazing vehicle), Zagato is ready to introduce an vehicle of it's own. For the Perana, the Italian coachbuilder is teaming up with Africa's Perana Performance Group for a run of 999 vehicles. The design is low slung and well proportioned. There is perhaps a bit too much visual clutter with all