Work of Artifact
August 1, 2008
agato, the 89-year-old Italian design and engineering firm, has materialized some of the world’s most striking works of automotive art. Name the marque—from prewar Alfa Romeos to a bevy of modern Ferraris, with a few British (2003 Aston Martin DB7) and American (1967 Shelby GT 350) names thrown in for good measure—and the Milanese magic house has likely worked its wizardry on it at one time or another.
But the Zagato Lancia Aprilia Sport is a trick of an altogether different nature. Born in 1938 as a one-off, hand-built touring spyder for racer Eugenio Minetti, the car was a rakish bolt out of the aerodynamic future. With its sloped nose, elongated tail, and angled windscreens, this Aprilia Sport was no mere boulevardier, with Minetti enlisting its impressive services in grueling hill climbs. (No pretender, Minetti would go on to place fourth, with Piero Facetti, driving a Cisitalia 202 SMM in the 1947 Mille Miglia). The distinctive Aprilia Sport fast became Minetti’s calling card.
Then it vanished, most likely a victim of Allied bombs during World War II. "All that was left were two faded monochromatic photographs," says Paolo Di Taranto, Zagato’s communications chief. "But from just [these photos], we rebuilt the car."
This Zagato-bodied Lancia is available with a word placed in the right circles and €150,000 (about $235,000) at hand. The company aims to produce perhaps as many as nine vehicles, with the first example already sold to an Italian enthusiast, while fans in California and Japan await their turns.
But acquiring the car is, relatively speaking, the easy part. The story of this Zagato’s return, however, is a mite more complex and intriguing. The notion emerged more than two years ago, as Zagato executives discussed the best way to commemorate in sheet metal the 100th year of Lancia—today an Italian everyman’s car that in the past had its own slice of road racing glory.
"There have been many Lancia Zagatos in the modern era," says Di Taranto. One of the better known in the U.S. was the underpowered, but dashing, targa-topped wedge of the 1970s. "But this was the very first one. So [we thought] remaking this particular car might be the best way to honor our long association with Lancia," he explains.
The Aprilia Sport was a sage choice. Consider that company founder Ugo Zagato came from an aeronautical background and was among automotive pioneers when it came to applying curved, wind-cheating designs to ground-based transportation. His techniques—many present in Minetti’s special Aprilia Sport—included reducing the wind resistance from headlights as well as incorporating perforations on wheels for better brake cooling. In fact, if his 1937 masterpiece could sprout wings, it looks like it might take flight.
It wasn’t long before Andrea Zagato, the firm’s CEO, seized on the notion of recreating a piece of lore—the brainchild of his visionary grandfather. Realizing this dream would require taking the state of the visual arts of the period—photography—and applying to those two-dimensional images the pinnacle of third millennium technology, including advanced digitalization techniques, computer-assisted design software, and CNC machine hardware.
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