A visit to Autoworld Brussels is always worthwhile, not least because of the special shows on display there. An exhibition is currently celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the Italian design and development office Carrozzeria Zagato - one of the few survivors of this once flourishing industry. However, visitors cannot expect a comprehensive exhibition of the company's work; for example, the Zagato Zele mini car from the Mahy collection, which is housed in another Belgian museum, is missing. Nevertheless, the special show is impressive and the appeal of the exhibition lies in the range of exhibits.
A total of almost 90 years of company history
With the help of 15 selected vehicles, mostly of Italian provenance, almost 90 years of company history are presented in three segments (actually there are 16 exhibits if you include the Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint Zagato from 1965 from the permanent exhibition in the gallery). The oldest car in the show is an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Zagato from 1932, the youngest exhibit - the Zagato Zuma based on an Audi 3 - was built in 1998.
Dents don't always have to be bad
Let's start with design similarities: Almost all the cars shown bear the typical Zagato "Z" on the front fenders (and not only there!). The "doppio bolla", two bump-like bulges in the vehicle roof - usually called "double bubble" - can also be seen on some of the exhibits. But that's probably all the similarities. Over the course of time, Zagato has produced both rounded and sharp-edged body shapes. What is particularly astonishing, however, is the variety of design. As we all know, taste is debatable and beauty should be in the eye of the beholder, so restraint seems advisable at this point.
It is probably indisputable that the Aston Martin DB 4 Zagato designed by Ercole Spada (*1937) is a milestone in design that appears to be perfect from every angle. Not least for this reason, it was recently presented in a museum in Düsseldorf in the exhibition "PS: I love you". In Brussels, a dark green DB4 with the addition "Sanction 3" awaits visitors right at the entrance. This means that it is a vehicle that was only subsequently built by Zagato after 1987 (Aston Martin itself produced a total of 19 examples of the design icon in 1960/61). However, we will not discuss the originality of the vehicles here, as this seems irrelevant with regard to the design.
Design is a matter of taste
However, there are also vehicles whose design is polarizing. This applies first of all to the Alfa Romeo SZ from 1992, which was nicknamed "il Mostro" (the monster) due to its unusual appearance. And the Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ 1 from 1991 (based on a Nissan) also bears the famous "Z". But this car also takes some getting used to.
On both sides of the hood, for example, there are scoop-like structures reminiscent of ears, which contain rear-view mirrors. This stylistic element is also taken up to a lesser extent at the rear of the vehicle. The so-called NACA openings on the wheels are also unusual - the like of which is usually found on hoods. With the exception of the Autech and the Aston Martin, the other exhibits bear Italian names. Fiat is represented with two examples: The rare 8 V (Otto Vu) from 1955, cleverly placed next to the DB4, is joined by the Fiat 750 Zagato Abarth from 1958 with its characteristic "double bubble" roof, which was successful in races.
The monster from Alfa Romeo
The second exhibition segment exclusively shows cars from Alfa Romeo. In addition to the aforementioned 6C from 1932 and the "Mostro", these include the Alfa Romeo SZ "Tonda" based on the Giulietta with its tight round tail from 1960, the Alfa TZ 1 based on the Giulia from the early 1960s and the Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior Z from 1971, also designed by Ercole Spada. Another coupé can also be traced back to it: the aforementioned Alfa Romeo 2600 SZ from the permanent exhibition at Autoworld.
Exclusively Lancias in the third part of the exhibition
The third part of the exhibition contains exclusively Lancias from the years 1958 (Appia) to 1992 (Hyena). Also on display are a Flaminia Sport from 1966, a Flavia 1800 Sport (with an unconventional window design) from 1963 and a Fulvia from 1971 - all with the addition of the name "Zagato", of course.
Further information
Information about Autoworld can be found on the Autoworld Brussels website.
