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Aston Martin announces stunning drop-top Zagato coupe

23 August, 2016

Stunning is a word I try not to use often. It’s not that manly, but sometimes it’s the only word to describe vehicles as beautiful as the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato coupe. The V12 engine is a stunning piece of machinery, too, with 592hp, a beautiful noise, and the capability to propel the luxury coupe to 100kph in only 3.7 seconds. 

Aston Martin has confirmed this weekend that the Zagato will be accompanied in the showroom by a topless friend named Volante. We’re not complaining either, the Zagato Volante coupe is a thing of pure beauty. It will, however, only be sold in limited numbers, stopping at 99 vehicles. 

Alongside the topless roof line, the convertible will receive touches that the hardtop will not. The interior will feature ‘Z’ embossing on the headrests and doors, and a ‘Z’ quilt pattern will be a standard feature on both the doors and seats. On the outside of the Volante you’ll see bladed LED technology as seen on the Vulcan supercar, and lower carbon-fibre sills. 

This is one Aston that, in years to come, will become a stout future classic. Buy one now folks, before the pricing gets out of control. Well, if you have the coin that is! 

Images: Aston Martin

The motor car as an art form

12 March, 2026

We have certainly come a long way since the exhibition entitled 8 Automobiles, shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the autumn of 1951, the first exhibition concerned with the aesthetics of motor car design.
It was here that the often-used term ‘rolling sculpture’ was coined by curator Philip C Johnson, director of the department of architecture and design, when he said, “An automobile is a familiar 20th century artefact, and is no less worthy of being judged for its visual appeal than a building or a chair. Automobiles are hollow, rolling sculptures, and their design refinements are fascinating. We have selected cars whose details and basic design suggest that automobiles, besides being America’s most useful objects, could be a source of visual experience more enjoyable than they now are.”

More to the point

6 March, 2026

This Daimler SP252 is so rare, few people know it exists. It’s one of a kind. It’s the only surviving, in fact the only SP252 ever completed; the would-be successor to the SP250 Daimler Dart. It is also the last sports car to have been designed by Jaguar’s legendary founder, Sir William Lyons.
Perhaps one of the original Dart’s biggest problems was it’s somewhat-divisive looks. It certainly went well enough to win fans, although Sir William wasn’t among them. It crushed the opposition in the Bathurst six-hour race, finishing five laps ahead of anyone else, and it was snapped up by police forces in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as it was the fastest thing on the road.
So you’d think a stunning new body with the magic Lyons touch would have been a surefire success. Why this car never made it into production is still something of a mystery, as the official explanations barely stack up.