19 Aug 02
Of course, the DB7 Zagato is not an all-new car - that would have been impossible in the 14-month total development time - but a special-bodied model based on the open-top DB7 Volante structure, itself already engineered for extra rigidity. Aston will send the basic body of each car to Zagato, where it will be shortened by some 21 cm, the unique steel roof with its 'double bubble' design and the bespoke seamless rear end (only possible in a hand-built panel) fitted, and then it will return to Aston in 'body-in-white' unpainted form for trimming and finishing. At 60 kg lighter than the standard DB7, with an extra 20 bhp to make around 440 bhp from its 6.0-litre V12 and a modified limited slip differential, it promises improved performance - "0-60 in under five seconds", says Fisker. Suspension and brakes are also revised. On the inside, it will have instruments similar to those of the Vanquish, and unique untreated leather upholstery, designed to wear and age around the owner, just like a classic car's. "When you grow with the car it becomes yours", says Fisker, "you have a relationship with your car, it becomes your car like your shoe, it fits you after a while. I think it is important to bring emotion back into cars, there are too many products out there which are just transportation nobody cares about".
Making just 99 of these cars signals Aston's intentions of exclusivity, not only in terms of differentiation from fellow PAG brand Jaguar, but from Porsche, Ferrari and even Bentley, whose new coupe will appear immediately. But there is a more pragmatic aim, as well: the DB7 has been on sale a while now, and has been somewhat overshadowed by the Vanquish. Making the Zagato puts the spotlight back on the range, in a very upmarket interpretation of mainstream "special edition" tactics. However, this car also experiments with some future Aston themes. "We want to redefine what luxury is", says Fisker. "Anybody can put leather and wood in a car. So for us, luxury in the future is to give things to people you can't get in a normal car and you might not even want to have in a normal car, such as completely natural leather, because that will wear quicker. It also brings something back that is traditional and British in a way, that is tailormade, this handcraft. We want to re-emphasise the special build." Expect then more special-bodied Astons - there are heavy hints that there will be a Zagato edition of the upcoming 'baby' Aston, currently codenamed AM305, for a start. In the meantime, Andrea Zagato has another project on the way. "First of all I wanted to do an Aston because that is a tradition and because we are really attached to Aston. But now I really want to do something with Alfa. I feel I have to do it". An Alfa Romeo Zagato supercar is to be unveiled at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show.
