Aston Martin has just unveiled the production version of its V12 Zagato which is headed for its official debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. The vehicle is being built to mark the 50th anniversary of the lovely DB4 GT Zagato, first shown in 1961 but entering showrooms half a century ago.

The Zagato was previously seen as a racer at the 2011 Villa d’Este concours and at the 24-hour Nurburgring race last year. Not much has changed in transitioning the vehicle from a prototype racer to the road-going production version with Aston Martin taking the V23 Vantage running gear and redressing it in a sharp exterior created by CPP in Coventry.

Following in the tradition of the exclusive One-77, the V12 Zagato will take more than 2,000 man-hours to manufacture thanks to hand-hewn body panels, including the hood, roof and doors and in line with its exclusivity, Aston Martin will only be building 150 of them. Aston Martin has created four new colours especially for the V12 Zagato, and paint alone takes 100 hours to complete. Inside, it takes a full seven hides to cover the cabin in hand-stitched, quilted leather.

The V12 Zagato rides on the same underpinnings as the V12 Vantage, which means buyers can look forward to a 6.0-litre V12 engine with 510 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, while a six-speed manual transmission puts the power to the ground.

Aston Martin CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez, says that the V12 Zagato is “a celebration of both Aston Martin’s heritage and its future. Our relationship with Zagato stretches back more than 50 years. Together in that time we have created a series of very special cars. The first – the DB4GT Zagato – is a true icon: fast, beautiful and incredibly desirable. In the V12 Zagato I believe we have captured the spirit of that car and combined it with a confident twist of modernity to give it a character all of its own.”

Source: Autoblog, Car Magazine