Zagato-bodied cars have achieved victories in prominent racing events. An Alfa Romeo 6C 1500, bodied by Zagato, won the 1928 Mille Miglia and achieved second place overall in the 1927 Mille Miglia. In 1929 and 1930, Alfa Romeo 6C 1750s with Zagato bodies won the Mille Miglia, with the latter event seeing Zagato-bodied cars take the first four positions. The list of victories includes eight Mille Miglia, four Targa Florio, four Le Mans, and four Spa Francorchamps OA victories. In 1938, 36 Zagato-bodied cars participated in the Mille Miglia, making up one-third of the participants.
Ugo Zagato was born on June 25, 1890, in Gavello near Rovigo. He began his coach-building career in 1919 after leaving "Officine Aeronautica Pomilio" to set up his own business in Milan. Zagato aimed to transfer construction techniques from aeronautics to the automotive sector, envisioning cars as lightweight structures with a frame in sheet aluminum, similar to an aircraft fuselage.
During the 1920s, Zagato focused on designing race cars. He worked with Alfa Romeo to design bodies for its G1, RL, and RM models. In 1925, Vittorio Jano, Alfa Romeo's Chief Engineer, asked Zagato to create a body for the Alfa Romeo P2's heir, the Alfa 6C 1500. Zagato’s design scored second place overall at the 1927 Mille Miglia and won the 1928 edition.
In the 1930s, Zagato continued to build aerodynamic cars, adopting inclined windscreens, more aerodynamic headlights, and convex boot lids. All Alfa Romeo 8Cs received coachwork from Zagato.
On August 13, 1943, an RAF bombing raid destroyed Zagato's coachworks on Corso Sempione road. He then found new premises at Saronno and continued to work on various projects, including trucks, military vehicles, and a futuristic 8C Monterosa.
Zagato has also worked on sports cars, touring cars, and other categories, including the Lancia Appia Sport, the Flaminia Sport and Super Sport, and the Fulvia Sport and Sport Spider.
Ugo Zagato was awarded the Compasso d'Oro in 1960 for the design of the Abarth 1000 Bialbero. In 2019, Zagato celebrated its 100th anniversary.
1919: Zagato founded by Ugo Zagato
1922: Fiat 501
1922: Diatto Tipo 25 4DS
1925: Lancia Lambda
1927: Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 achieves second place overall at the Mille Miglia
1928: Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 wins the Mille Miglia
1929: Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS and Maserati Tipo V4
1930: Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Testa Fissa
1932: Maserati Tipo V5 and Alfa Romeo 8C 2300
1937: Alfa Romeo 8C 2900
1938: Fiat 1500 Spider MM and Lancia Aprilia Sport MM
1947: Fiat 500 B Panoramica
1948: Ferrari 166 MM Panoramica
1949: Maserati A6 1500 Panoramica
1952: Fiat 500 "Topolino" CZ and Fiat 8V Zagato
1955: Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Zagato Coupe and Maserati A6G/54 2000 Zagato Berlinetta
1956: Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Zagato and Maserati A6G/54 2000 Zagato Spyder
1957: Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ and Jaguar XK 140 Z
1960: Fiat Abarth 1000 and Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
1962: Alfa Romeo 2600 SZ and Lancia Flaminia Tubolare
1963: Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ
1965: Alfa Romeo Gran Sport Quattroruote
1966: Lancia Fulvia Sport
1969: Alfa Romeo Junior Z
1970: Volvo GTZ 3000 and Cadillac Eldorado N.A.R.T.
1972: Iso Varedo and Alfa Romeo 1600 Junior Z
1974: Zagato Zele 1000
1984: Maserati Spyder
1989: Alfa Romeo SZ
1991: Ferrari 348 Zagato Elaborazione and Alfa Romeo RZ
1992: Lancia Hyena
1996: Zagato Raptor
2001: Alfa Romeo 147 Spider Concept Zagato
2002: Alfa Romeo 147 GTA.Z and Aston Martin DB7 Zagato
2006: Ferrari 575 GTZ
2010: Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa
2011: Fiat 500 Coupe and Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale
2012: AC 378 GT Zagato and BMW Zagato Coupe
2013: Aston Martin DBS Coupe Zagato Centennial
2015: Zagato Maserati Mostro
2016: Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato
2017: IsoRivolta Zagato Vision Gran Turismo
2018: Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Speedster
2020: Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato Centenary
2022: Zagato Maserati Mostro Barchetta
2024: Zagato AGTZ Twin Tail
2025: Alfa Romeo 8C DoppiaCoda
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