Zagato: Over a Hundred Years of Achievements. The Cars with the Z that Monopolised Victory in the 50s and 60s

Today, Marketing would call Zagato’s decision in the 1950s — to concentrate its entire activity on the creation of Gran Turismo cars for competition — “positioning.” And in truth, none of the many Italian coachbuilders had managed to give itself a precise vocation. Not even the celebrated Pininfarina, devoted far more to elegance than to lightness, had a real positioning. Nor did the other “great,” Bertone, which chased spectacle through models designed by towering figures such as Giugiaro and Gandini. At Zagato, in Milan, there was only one great designer — always the same, always unchanged — not embodied by any single person, but by the obsessive constraint of making the cars as light as possible, as aerodynamically effective as possible, and with the lowest possible centre of gravity.
The Maserati A6G Zagato was born from the meeting of Maserati’s mechanical soul and the light, sporting bodywork of Zagato. Built in very few examples, it combines elegance with a racing spirit embodying the Gran Turismo idea.
From this was born the Zagato style — rooted in Milanese rationalism — which impressed upon the bodywork an aesthetic of purity and simplicity. To seek, in other words, the optimisation of aerodynamic efficiency in every last detail, so as to guarantee the highest possible performance in competition. “Form follows function” — that was the concept. A concept which became, as we have seen, a lucid and enormously successful strategic positioning. It was in those years that the work of Zagato found, beyond its extraordinary commercial success — every GT racer wanted a car made by Zagato — the recognition of the most prestigious prize in Industrial Design: the Compasso d’Oro. The car chosen as its symbol was the Fiat-Abarth 1000 Coupé Zagato, absolute queen both on the circuit and on the hillclimb — a beautiful, extraordinarily fast berlinetta that Zagato had drawn from the humble Fiat 600, whose mechanics had been transformed by Karl Abarth.
The Fiat Abarth 1000 Zagato Bialbero is one of the most elegant icons of Italian motor sport. In 1960, it claimed the prestigious Compasso d’Oro, uniting aerodynamics, lightness, and an unmistakable style.
Beyond the transformation of production cars from Lancia, Fiat, and later Alfa Romeo — one need only think of what the Giulietta SZ was capable of, literally unbeatable — Zagato also worked directly with the manufacturers in the creation of the automobile itself. This is what happened with Maserati, for the 2000 A6G, and with the OSCA 4000 V12 Zagato. Ferry Porsche himself wanted Zagato to make his 356 Carreras into winners — and they duly dominated their class in the World Championship.
It was in these years that Zagato left Milan definitively to open its new headquarters in Rho, on the boundary of Alfa Romeo’s new Arese factory. It was the 16th of June, 1962 — and fate arranged that at precisely the moment this new, technologically ambitious Zagato was taking its first breath, there was born Andrea, son of Elio, who today leads the company as its third generation.
The Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ, built by Carrozzeria Zagato in 1960, is an extremely light sports coupé with an aluminium body that proved itself fiercely competitive and victorious in Gran Turismo competition.
The choice to be close to Alfa was not accidental. The celebrated Milanese house — a historic partner of Zagato — entrusted the coachbuilder with the study and development of its racing GT cars, as well as the design, assembly, and finishing of its bespoke models. It was an activity that Zagato had for some years already been carrying out for Lancia, under the designation “sport.” The story of Zagato’s successes continues…
The Porsche 356B/1600GS Carrera GTL Abarth was born from the collaboration between Porsche and Carlo Abarth, with a lightened aerodynamic body designed by Zagato for competition. Presented in 1960, it distinguished itself in endurance racing by winning 3 years in a row, Targa Florio, Le Mans and Nurburgring.