Zagato Ferrari 575 GTZ

The first working Ferrari designed by Zagato was the 166 MM Panoramica. It was 1950, and among many experiments, Ugo Zagato was working on a series of “Panoramic” cars. The basic concept of this type of car was to optimise visibility and therefore driveability and interior comfort, by introducing a number of important features. The tail was given the difficult task of linking the central section of the car with the waistline and the sides which remained low and racy. The car emerged from a proposal put forward by Antonio Stagnoli to Ferrari himself, to have Zagato work on a chassis for a car that was destined from the start to race and to win. Apparently it all came about because Elio Zagato, a rookie pilot at the time and Stagnoli’s team mate, had seen the potential of a Ferrari Panoramica bearing his own surname.

166 MM BARCHETTA 1951

Stagnoli decided to change the body of the already competitive Panoramica into a “barchetta” inspired by a Formula one car of the day. The car looked like an extremely racy torpedo with four individual mudguards, similar to those of a motorcycle, over the large spoked wheels. The line had less personality than the previous version, both because of the type of car and because some of Zagato’s distinctive features were missing. However, the designer’s touch was obvious, and it was confirmed by the memories of Gianni and Elio Zagato. This Ferrari also notched up several victories, winning the Coppa d’oro in Sicily and Tuscany, the Varese- Campo dei fiori and the Bolzano-Mendola. The premises created by the first two Zagato bodies on Ferrari chassis were certainly promising, a fact confirmed in 1953 when the third Ferrari Zagato appeared: the open-bodied 166 MM.

166 MM ELABORATA 1952

The story of the creation of this car differs from that of the first two 166s, in spite of having the same number. This time, instead of starting from a chassis, Zagato started from an open body, in this case by Touring, to create a coupe, working in particular on the roof and the rear end. The car was built for Luigi Bosisio, who was part of the same stable as Stagnoli and Zagato: the Sant’Ambroeus. The car clearly conveyed its origins, particularly in the obvious veining that linked the front and rear wheelarches that was borrowed from the Touring 166. The rear axle protruded slightly more than on the Panoramica and was less aligned than the straightforward two-box design of the former model, with a lower tail that pointed downwards, a characteristic of this version.

250 GTZ BERLINETTA 1956

The Ferrari-Zagato story continued with a model that conveyed great class, the 250 GTZ. The car was commissioned by gentleman driver Vladimiro Galluzzi in 1956. Chassis no. 0512 GT was fitted with an indisputably elegant body, with the result that it was suitable for both racing and concours d’élégance. The decision to give it a refined two-tone grey and blue body, its compact, elegant lines, and the fact that it was a Ferrari Zagato, made it one of the most beautiful cars ever built. The 250 GTZ reiterated the same lines on a chassis of larger dimensions and a stance that responded to the car’s racing aspirations. The larger dimensions, the paintwork that separated the sides from the roof, the slightly different front and the large spoked wheels, transformed an unusual shape into an object of unparalleled beauty.

250 GTZ COUPE CORSA 1956

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