German engineering and Italian design seem like a perfect pairing, but it’s one that’s been sadly underutilised in the car world. There’s a new car on the way that’s set to marry the two, though, and it’s the first full-on hypercar to be designed by Zagato.
That’s a company you’re likely familiar with, having a history of some of the madder designs to ever emerge from the great Italian design houses. Recent work includes a whole bunch of low-volume Aston Martins, the Alpine A110-based AGTZ Twin Tail, and the Bovensiepen Zagato, a heavily reworked BMW M4.
Zagato AGTZ Twin Tail
The outfit it’s working with on this car, though, you might not have heard of, even though it’s existed in one form or another since 1933. It’s a German engineering firm called Capricorn Group, and nowadays, it supplies carbon fibre and high-performance engine components to motorsport, low-volume automotive and aerospace concerns.
From the one teaser released so far, we can’t tell a whole lot about the car the two companies are teaming up on, but that short, low bonnet is shouting mid-engined – not exactly a surprise on something described as a hypercar. And hey, gullwing doors!
Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato
The short press release issued alongside it promises that the car will be “what both parties envision a limited production series driver-focused lightweight hypercar to be,” and that just 19 units – all coupes – will be built. Capricorn CEO Robertino Wild (fantastic name) says: “We wanted to create something that feels technically advanced yet refreshingly analogue, a car that rewards the driver with a direct, uncompromised experience.”
It’ll be far from the first low-volume hypercar revealed in recent times to throw around words like ‘analogue’ and ‘driver-focused’ in the promotional materials – looking at you, GMA. And Oilstainlab. And Nilu. And Garagisti. And De Tomaso. And Giamaro. You get the point.
Bovensiepen Zagato
That tends to be shorthand for things like a naturally aspirated engine, a manual gearbox, and minimal driver assists and digital interfaces, so we’d expect at least a couple of those things to be true for the unnamed Capricorn car too. We’ll find out more on 10 October, when the full car, together with tech specs and a name, is unveiled at the swishy Zoute Grand Prix in Belgium.
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