Zagato Ferrari 575 GTZ

1971 surprised everyone with a new chapter in the collaboration between Ferrari and Zagato. More than twenty years had passed since the 166 Panoramica when the two big names appeared together again, on the 3Z built for Luigi Chinetti on chassis no. 2491 GT. Designed by Giuseppe Mittino, who had been in charge of projects and design at Zagato since 1970, this 12-cylinder model was decidedly angular and aggressive. It featured several original solutions such as the mobile lids with slits like those on the helmet of an ancient suit of armour, that hid the front light clusters, and the position of the rear lights recessed into the body. The car reflected Zagato’s philosophy of the moment - styling with clean, strong lines on geometric volumes - which had already been adopted successfully on the Alfa Romeo Junior Z, the first wedge-shaped car of its day.

330 GTC CONVERTIBILE 1974

In 1974, Chinetti commissioned the 330 Convertibile Zagato. Zagato’s tenth car based on a Ferrari chassis was inspired by the 3Z Spider, albeit with significant changes. The name Convertibile reflected the type of body, which this time was fitted with rear pillars and a “targa” type removable rigid roof. The tail was higher and heavier and did not slope down as it did on the blue version. The front headlights were visible, but veiled with an innovative darkened plexiglas cover that was rectangular and flush with the body. The rear light clusters were also modified and recessed in smaller niches than before. The car, which was a light red, looked strong and marginally heavier than the Spider, which was probably Chinetti’s intention, so as to bring out the Convertible element. The catastrophic Oil Crisis in the mid Seventies started the inevitable decline of this type of personal luxury item. And the 330 Convertible was the only one of its type.

348 ELABORATA 1989

In 1991, the enterprising spirit of Carrozzeria Zagato and the mutual attraction between Ferrari and the design firm produced the Ferrari 348 tb Elaborazione Zagato. Anything that was superfluous was removed in favour of functionality: the fake front air inlet on the basic model was replaced by a solid grille holding two additional headlights and a small black horse. The legendary double bubbles returned, and the shell of the door mirrors was redesigned, together with the handles of the doors and the rear hatch. Other novelties were the bonnet (into which a porthole of safety glass was inserted so that the engine could be seen even with the bonnet closed, anticipating an important feature of later Ferraris), the new circular rear light clusters without their plastic grille, another element later borrowed by Ferrari, and star-shaped wheel rims by OZ painted black with a chromed external profile.

F.Z.93 1993

Andrea Zagato’s first Ferrari was built in 1993 based on the Testarossa and was known as the FZ93 or Ferrari Zagato 1993The lines recalled those of a fighter aircraft or a stylised Formula one car, particularly the front and rear ends where one could catch a glimpse of the nose and fins of a racing car. The bonnet resembled a Formula one model both for the design of the central part and for the fact that it did not point down to the road like all traditional “super cars” but was “suspended” above the front bumper. The front end had two large air inlets, similar to those under the wings of a fighter plane. The first example had two-tone paintwork, black in the lower part of the body and red on the top and the remainder. It later appeared with more homogeneous all-over red paintwork.