Zagato has a historical past of considerably polarizing designs, and the brand new Zagato AGTZ Twin Tail, primarily based on the present Alpine A110 compact sports activities automotive, continues that development. This little machine has an extended nostril and detachable lengthy tail cone, ostensibly to make it extra aerodynamic, but additionally to remind fanatics of the long-gone days when Alpine ran the A220 on the 24 Hours of Le Mans in lengthy and quick tail configurations. This new modular sports activities automotive from Zagato is a fantastic retro-futurist view of that Le Mans effort.
For 1968, Alpine debuted its new A220 lengthy tail in an try and take the general honors at Le Mans. The thought was that the lengthy tail would assist with aerodynamic effectivity and stability on the lengthy Mulsanne straight. Only one of many 4 French-entered Alpines would end the race, a distant third-in-class to Porsche’s considerably comparable philosophy 907 langheck. Once Le Mans was over, the workforce set about chopping the massive lengthy tail from its A220 to make it extra nimble and higher arrange for hillclimbs and shorter circuits. Without its lengthy tail, the A220 was rather more profitable, grabbing just a few podium locations for the sporty shorty.
Inspired by this story, Zagato needed to recreate this story in a contemporary street-going sports activities automotive “in theatrical style.” The fashionable A110, a completely fashionable mid-engine icon, which may in all probability completely lambast its A220 forebears on the observe with out altering out of its loafers, was fitted with a brand new Sixties race automotive go well with.
It doesn’t seem that Zagato has accomplished something to the Alpine underpinnings of the AGTZ to make it extra succesful than the usual automotive. No efficiency metrics of any form are attributed to the AGTZ Twin Tail, so I’m pressured to imagine that it merely carries on with the Alpine A110’s Nissan-based 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 249 horsepower.
The common Alpine A110 prices about $70,000 at present alternate charges, placing it toe-to-toe with Porsche’s 718 Cayman. If you need the Zagato model, nonetheless, it’ll run you a bit over ten instances as a lot. That’s proper; Zagato is asking for over $600,000 to switch the bodywork of an Alpine. Admittedly, the A110 is already an excellent automotive, so the AGTZ Twin Tail in all probability drives higher than most different coach-built supercars. It in all probability received’t be sooner, although.
Source: jalopnik.com