Capricorn reveals second 01 Zagato prototype

There’s a point in the hypercar world where words stop meaning very much. Prototype. Vision. Concept. All fine, until someone actually bolts the thing together and drives it. That’s why the Capricorn 01 Zagato is starting to feel worth paying attention to – because two of them have now been built, and a third is already being assembled.

The second 01 Zagato was shown this week at Salon Rétromobile in Paris, just three months after the first car appeared at the Zoute Grand Prix in Belgium. In a corner of the industry where some “new” cars barely progress beyond a render, Capricorn is seemingly making drivable metal - well, mostly carbon fibre, but you get the picture!

Both cars are engineering prototypes rather than finished customer builds, but they’re fully functional, and they’re already feeding into calibration and testing ahead of production. First deliveries are pencilled in for 2026, with total numbers capped at just 19 coupes. Price? €2.95 million before tax. If you have to ask, etc.

What makes the 01 Zagato interesting isn’t the price tag or the limited numbers, though; it’s the refusal to chase modern hypercar fashion. This is a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive machine with a supercharged 5.2-litre V8 pushing over 900PS, driving the rear wheels through a five-speed dogleg manual gearbox. There are no paddles, no hybrid boost, and, hopefully, no “digital experience”.

Capricorn says it’s chasing an “analogue” driving feel, and for once that doesn’t sound like marketing filler. With a dry weight target of under 1,200kg, an all-carbon monocoque and pushrod Bilstein suspension developed at the Nürburgring, the numbers suggest something properly focused rather than theatrically fast.

The second prototype wears different colours inside and out, but more importantly, it reflects mechanical updates learned from running the first car. That rapid build-test-build loop is very much Capricorn’s thing, it seems.

Capricorn isn’t a lifestyle brand that’s decided to have a go at building a car. It’s a German engineering group founded in 1933, with decades of experience supplying lightweight and high-precision components to motorsport, aerospace and niche automotive manufacturers – including Formula 1 engine hardware. This car isn’t a sideline; it’s a shop window.

Design-wise, the Zagato involvement does a lot of the heavy lifting. The Italian coachbuilder has been shaping exotic metal since 1919, working with the likes of Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, and the 01 wears its heritage lightly. The double-bubble roof is there if you’re looking for it, but the overall shape feels like a case of function first.

The Paris show also marked a new partnership with the Supercar Owners Circle, which tells you exactly who Capricorn expects to be buying these things. Sales will be handled exclusively by the Louyet Group, and Capricorn says only a few build slots remain.

Whether any of us ever see one on the road is beside the point. What matters is that the Capricorn 01 Zagato feels refreshingly real. It really all comes to how it drives, though, and not how loudly it launches.