Zagato is back with its next coach-built project and it’s a doozy. A far cry from slapping a double bubble roof and a set of circular rear lights on an Aston Martin, the AGTZ Twintail is a totally rebodied Alpine A110, created as a tribute to Alpine’s stunning Le Mans cars of the 1960s. Specifically the AGTZ takes inspiration from the long-tailed A220 of 1968.
Yes in terms of the unforgettable style of that long-tailed car, but also because the A220 was a car that went under the knife quite a bit during its life, using numerous engines and featuring numerous bodywork configurations. As a nod to that, the AGTZ happens to be two cars in one.
If you look closely, you’ll see a very neat panel line on the long-tail version that hints to it being a section rather than its own version. It’s actually an add-on for the standard car, that you can remove or re-fit at any time. That tail section adds some 200mm to the length of the car, going from 4,305mm as standard to 4,802mm in long-tail configuration. That is unmitigated madness and we utterly adore it.
All of the bodywork is made entirely from carbon-fibre, so while the exact process of removing the long-tail rear end hasn’t been detailed, at least it’ll probably be light.
Even besides that, the AGTZ really is a comprehensive workover of the A110 base car, with not a single standard panel that we can spy. Maybe the diffuser and exhaust on the short-tail configuration? But then you also note that there are two sets of bespoke rear lights – not a cheap endeavour.
The front lights too are totally bespoke, being as large and as curvaceous as they are. Look closely and you see the current Alpine light signatures have actually been incorporated. Clever stuff.
So what about the oily bits? Well Alpine often says the 1.8-litre turbocharged engine and dual-clutch transmission aren’t far off their limits in the standard A110. So while nothing has been said about if the mechanicals have been modified, we suspect minimal changes if any at all. Not a problem for us. We are curious what the changes mean for the diminutive weight of the A110, however…
Is this just a one-off show car designed to show Zagato at the peak of its modern powers? Not a bit of it. This is a car you can actually order and buy, with Zagato working with Polish dealer La Squadra. Just 19 examples are to be made, costing no less than £665,000 if you’re taking delivery in the UK.
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