Elio Zagato, the son of Ugo Zagato who established the famous coachbuilders in 1919, has died aged 88.
After joining his father's struggling business in 1946, Elio became instrumental in the 'second generation' Zagato cars, which focused on developing the notion of the Gran Turismo, for racing and for road use. Many credit Elio with saving the marque from collapse around this time, and continuing to produce stunning designs even after Ugo's death in 1968.
The list of cars that came out in this era reads pretty impressively, with such gorgeous shapes as the Fiat 8V Elaborata Zagato, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato, the extremely rare Jaguar XK140 Zagato Coupe, Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Lancia Fulvia Sport Coupe, and the amazing 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Zagato all penned around this time.
Elio was also successful in the motorsport scene around this time. A true gentleman racer, he drove Zagato-built cars to 82 race victories (out of 150 entries), and five GT Championship titles.
As well as stunning coachbuilding work with cars from various marques, under Elio's stewardship Zagato was also responsible for several innovations in car design, including the 'coda tronca' style truncated tail, the 'double bubble' roof (now making a comeback in several recent designs from other marques), plexiglas windows, and a focus on wind-cheating aerodynamics.
2009 marks the 90th anniversary of the Zagato brand, and our thoughts today are with the Zagato family, their friends and employees.
Elio with Ada Pace at Monza in 1961
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1971 Lancia Fulvia
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1954 Fiat 8V Elaborata Zagato
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1956 Ferarri 250 GT Zagato
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