Zagato has dredged its
official collection to find the long-forgotten Ferrari
Testarossa-based FZ93 concept car which it has brought
to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend where its distinctive
racing-inspired shape is
gracing the "Cartier Style et Luxe" Paddock.
The
FZ93 (Formula Zagato 1993) was built around Ferrari's Testarossa, chassis number 83935, by the Milanese design
house as its headline presentation concept car at the 1993
edition of the Geneva Motor Show.
It's lines were the work of legendary designer Ercole
Spada who had returned to Zagato the previous year
having penned the Aston DB4 Zagato 32 years earlier.
Pininfarina's
Testarossa design was a logical starting point as the
project came during a period when Zagato had been
creating one-offs or small runs based on Ferrari
production models such as the 348 Zagato
Elaborazione built during 1991-92 for a handful of
owners. Like the "Elaborazione" and the
Testarossa, the FZ93 featured a huge side air intake,
fashionable for the period, but was cleared of all the
long slats that identified Pininfarina's design.
There were more large
intakes at the front end which was focused around an
F1-themed nose, a styling direction that was picked up
by Ferrari just under a decade later for its Enzo
supercar. Pop-up headlights, like the Testarossa
featured, as did foglights tucked into the front air
intakes. The FZ93's F1 inspiration led to the "Formula
Zagato" nametag, while the coachbuilder's traditional
"double bubble" roof cue was also incorporated. The
bonnet featured a Naca duct positioned centrally just below the
windscreen and in true Zagato style this cue was
replicated at the rear end to form the dramatic body lines
that swept down from the rear screen on either side of
the engine bay to finish tightly, a trademark of the
car's designer, Spada, while two smaller Naca ducts on
either side of the engine cover complement the effect.
The FZ93 was finished
in red and black when it made its debut in Geneva to
mixed reviews, the black section covering all the bodywork
below the belt line and the front spoiler, as well as
large "Cavallino" decals on the rear three quarter. It
was later painted all-red, which improved its lines
greatly, and has recently been shown to acclaim at the
Concorso d'Eleganza Ville d'Este.
This weekend at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed the FZ93 is being shown on the
rolling lawns of the "Cartier Style et Luxe" Paddock in:
Class 8: Far Fetched Fantasies - The Audacious
Supercar 1980-2000. A fully working prototype it
remains as part of Zagato's collection in Milan.