Pebble Beach. Barely three
months after the sensational premiere of the BMW Zagato Coupé, BMW and Zagato
are turning heads again at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with the
fruits of their latest collaboration. Created in just six weeks’ worth of
lavish handcraftsmanship, the BMW Zagato Roadster represents another masterful
example of the traditional coachbuilder’s art and an elegant take on the
sporty, masculine marker laid down by the BMW Zagato Coupé.
At the Pebble Beach Concours
d’Elegance, this one-of-a-kind automobile finds itself in the best possible
company. Every year connoisseurs and exponents of coachbuilt classics come
together on California’s Pacific coastline to gorge on, mull over and be amazed
by an array of automotive exotica. Indeed, you’d be hard pressed to find a more
appropriate venue for the premiere of the BMW Zagato Roadster.
The next stage of a successful collaboration.
The decision to launch another
collaboration between BMW and Italian coachbuilder Zagato was made only a short
time after the BMW Zagato Coupé took its first bow. Encouraged by the positive
reaction to the Coupé, Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group
Design, and Andrea Zagato soon agreed to take their partnership a step further.
On the menu this time would be a Roadster model. “We set ourselves the
challenge of preparing the car in time for the renowned Pebble Beach Concours,”
ex-plains van Hooydonk. The BMW Zagato Roadster was duly conjured up in record
haste, with only six weeks separating the first design idea from the finished
model. “It was only with the expertise of both companies in the manufacture of
high-end one-off cars and another display of outstanding teamwork that we were
able to finish the car on schedule” adds the BMW design supremo.
Andrea Zagato picks up on the
theme: “Our success in finishing the car in such a short space of time shows
what is possible when two successful companies pool their resources,” says
Zagato. “BMW is a high-achieving carmaker boasting a vast well of knowledge and
technical capability in this area. When you combine that with our expertise in
the creation of micro-series cars and our streamlined production processes,
everything is in place to produce a beautiful model like the BMW Zagato
Roadster in double-quick time”.
The design – Italian finesse meets Bavarian roadster tradition.
It quickly became clear that
the partnership’s next jointly developed model would be a roadster. Indeed, no
other concept embodies the pure fascination of motoring quite like this breed
of car. With the roof down, two seats and exceptional performance, it allows
the driver to experience dynamic thrills and driving pleasure with all the
senses. To this heady blend the BMW Zagato Roadster adds the fineries of the
Italian “dolce vita”, its designers succeeding in lending the car its own
distinct character without blurring its family ties.
BMW and Zagato can both look
back on a long and successful tradition of building roadsters, and the BMW
Zagato Roadster sees their respective design DNAs melting into one. There is,
of course, more to designing a roadster than slicing the roof off a coupé.
“This car is not designed only as an elegant convertible, but also as a
masculine and extremely dynamic sports car which evokes a powerful driving
experience” says Zagato chief designer Norihiko Harada, describing the design
philosophy behind the BMW Zagato Roadster. Like the BMW Zagato Coupé, the
Roadster is ready to drive – and intended to be driven at high speeds.
The car’s proportions make no
secret of the special driving experience that awaits the driver. The sweeping
hood and long wheelbase pin the driver back close to the driven rear wheels.
There, he sits low down in an ultra-sporty position inside the cockpit. The
taut, hallmark BMW surface treatment and Zagato’s clearly defined distribution
of visual mass lend the BMW Zagato Roadster an athletic appearance – poised and
eager, demanding to be driven.
Distinctive front-end design.
A low-set kidney grille,
complete with intricate z-design grating, as well as focused twin circular
headlights and a three-dimensional front apron shape the expressive face of the
BMW Zagato Roadster, as they do the front end of the Coupé. It is this area of
the car that provides the stylistic link between the two models, giving them a
clear identity, reflecting their family ties and, at the same time, making them
easily recognisable.
Overall, the BMW Zagato
Roadster’s front end is very three-dimensional, wide and powerfully formed. The
nose surges forward dynamically, dipping down close to the road, and allows the
BMW Zagato Roadster to cut an agile figure, crouching as if about to pounce.
The contoured hood extends this aura of dynamism with its sweeping lines and taut
surfaces, while a pair of air intakes carved into the hood supply the engine
compartment with extra air and hint at the brawny powerplant inside. The
focused headlights accentuate the car’s driver-oriented character and
high-speed concept; the “razorlight” – a precise LED light strip set into the
matt surface above the headlights – finishes these elements off with an extra
touch of class.
Sitting low between the
headlights is Zagato’s take on the BMW kidney grille, featuring matt kidney
surrounds. A stand-out detail here – and one shared with the BMW Zagato Coupé –
is the use of a large number of small matt-sheen Zagato “z” letters to make up
the kidney grating. This arrangement injects added depth into the grating and
lays on a high-quality accent for the front end.
Dynamic side view.
The flanks of the BMW Zagato
Roadster reflect the extrovert character of its Coupé sibling. Here, the
clearly defined distribution of visual mass and eye-catching tail of a Zagato
blend with the hallmark surface treatment and use of forms familiar from BMW
models. Together, they imbue the BMW Zagato Roadster with a distinctive and
athletic allure. The black colouring of the A-pillars allows them to fade into
the background and set off the sculpturing of the car’s body even more
effectively.
The BMW Zagato Roadster’s
silhouette outlines a poised and alert presence, the car’s sweeping hood, long
wheelbase, short overhangs and low rear end merging into a taut, sporty whole.
The basic choreography of lines and surfaces is similar to that of the BMW
Zagato Coupé, but subtle differences are noticeable at the rear. The tail end
as a whole places a greater emphasis on elegance than that of the Coupé, which
shows a sharper sporting edge. The Roadster’s lines are smoother here and the
rear is lower-slung. Plus, a fine additional line forges a visual connection
between the sill and the rear apron to round off the rear end design in style.
Another noteworthy detail of
the BMW Zagato Roadster are its roll-bars – an important design element of many
roadsters and commonly an identifying feature. The roll-bars of the BMW Zagato
Roadster are quintessentially Zagato. The designers took their inspiration for
these technical components from an aircraft wing and experimented with their mass
before settling on a dynamic forward-leaning focus and powerful structure. “The
low, dynamic roll-bars, inspired by an airplane wing, are an eye-catcher that
make the BMW Zagato Roadster recognisable from a distance” says Norihiko
Harada. Their brown colour gives the roll- bars an even more prominent profile.
Allow the eye to wander further back, and the car’s rump provides a harmonious
conclusion to its overall silhouette. Other striking details include the air
outlets adorning the Roadster’s flanks, which mirror the form of the hood vents
and reproduce their dynamic theme. The silver “z” positioned below the flank
vents references the BMW/Zagato collaboration.
A bird’s-eye view of the car
highlights the BMW Zagato Roadster’s interpretation of the hallmark Zagato
double-bubble roof in the soft-top cover. The cover uses this double-bubble
element to extend the lines of the hood all the way to the rear, where it accentuates
the muscular proportions of the rear-wheel-drive Roadster. These two roof domes
– the “doppia gobba” in local parlance – are a signature feature of Zagato
design and can be found on almost every Zagato car.
Sporty yet elegant rear-end design.
The sharply chiselled tail of
the BMW Zagato Roadster provides a fine advertisement for the exquisite talents
of the Zagato body specialists. The rear end displays a seamless perfection,
giving it a feel of quality – like a sculpture cast from a single mould. Here,
the high degree of handcraftsmanship within the walls of the Zagato design
studio and the company’s vast well of
experience in working with surfaces and forms come resplendent-ly to light.
Taken as a whole, the rear of
the BMW Zagato Roadster has a very broad, low-slung appearance, giving the car
a wide stance and planted muscularity on the road. Like those of its Coupé
counterpart, the BMW Zagato Roadster’s rear lights are arranged behind black
tinted glass. The glass area extends in a shallow black band around the whole
of the rear end, underlining its horizontal geometry. Beneath it, the dark
diffuser gives the BMW Zagato Roadster a squat, powerful stance. Exhaust
tailpipes positioned towards the outer edges of the rear add further emphasis,
their matt finish contributing another flourish of quality. The body-coloured
surfaces between the tailpipes draw the final lines in the distinctive,
low-to-the-road and broad-set looks of the rear end.
Highlights and details.
The unique character of the BMW
Zagato Roadster is reflected in even smaller details. The 19-inch light-alloy
wheels in classically sporty five-spoke design have a hint of propeller about
them, offering a subtle nod to the origins of the two companies: both BMW and
Zagato founder Ugo Zagato took an airborne route into automotive construction.
The discreetly attractive matt finish of the wheels lends the car extra allure
from the side.
A very special highlight of
the BMW Zagato Roadster is its paintwork. The exclusive exterior paint finish,
a brilliant grey with impressive depth, appears to wrap the car’s body in a
cloak of liquid metal. Depending on how the light hits the body, the colour
spectrum ranges from dark grey to a light silver, bringing the surfaces and
forms of the BMW Zagato Roadster to life.
The interplay of exterior and interior.
The open-top nature of a
roadster means it is often the interior that catches the eye first. Only later
does your attention move on to the exterior and the interplay between the
exterior and interior. The BMW Zagato Roadster zeroes in on this peculiarity
and consciously allows the boundaries between inside and outside to blur.
To this end, the colours and
materials marking the transition from interior to exterior exude a special
exclusiveness. A strip of brown leather wraps around the interior like a rail
to create a visual connection between the inside of the car and its exterior.
The brown leather extends from the instrument panel over the door sill and
around behind the seats, and even incorporates the roll-over bars. Embracing
the driver and passenger like a large protective arm, this leather adornment
provides an attractive transition into the otherwise predominantly black
interior. The warm shade of brown reappears in various areas of the interior,
including the contrast stitching of the seats, the steering wheel and doors,
and the centre console. The interplay of colours and composition of details
bathe the interior of the BMW Zagato Roadster in a sumptuous ambience, while
the brown “z” embroidered into the seats is a further nod to its origins.
The interior itself boasts the
clear structuring you would expect from BMW and invites the driver to give the
machine around him a thorough workout. Details such as the sweeping horizontal
lines along the inside of the doors and the full-length centre console lend a
rarefied sense of exclusivity to the sporty promptings and driver focus of the
interior.
Zagato – a coachbuilder with a long tradition.
Founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919,
today Zagato is the only automotive body manufacturer still in independent
ownership. From its earliest days, Zagato has taken a minimalist and pared-down
approach to its creations, very much in keeping with the Milanese tradition of
design. Form takes precedence over details, thanks in part to technical
considerations. Body designer Ugo Zagato learned his trade in – among other
industries – aviation, where aerodynamics and lightweight construction play a
central role. Zagato duly applied these principles rigorously in the
construction of cars and soon celebrated a rash of race victories as a body
construction partner to Alfa Romeo. The “necessary beauty” of aero-dynamics and
lightweight construction came to represent a maxim of design, one that has
defined the form of every Zagato since.
Today, with Andrea Zagato and
Marella Rivolta-Zagato, becoming the third generation of his family to take his
seat at the helm, the company describes itself as a design studio combining the
emotion and handcraftsmanship of body construction with the precision of
state-of-the-art technology. Zagato follows coachbuilding tradition in
developing only the shell of the car and leaving the mechanics of the machine
untouched. More than 200 Vmax concepts, special editions and micro-series have been
created in this way down the years and find appreciation among connoisseurs and
collectors the world over. In-deed, all Zagatos are coveted collector’s items
today and worth many times what their original owners paid for them.
Source: BMW Press
