BMW have launched the one-off BMW Zagato Coupe at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy over the weekend. The Concorso began as a get-together of coachbuilders presenting one-off hand-built creations anually since 1929, and the BMW Zagato Coupé follows very much in that tradition.

Zagato has worked in close collaboration with BMW to create an exciting and emotionally charged coupé in the finest tradition of automotive workmanship. The BMW Zagato Coupé embodies the unbridled fascination of cars and fuses the design DNA of the two companies into a fresh and desinctive whole.

The design of the BMW Zagato Coupé is extremely three-dimensional, very wide and powerfully contoured at the front. Its twin circular headlights, kidney-shaped radiator grille that is made up of tiny “z” letters makes definitely marks it out as a BMW without the need for a second glance.

The contours of the bonnet are picked up by the double-bubble roof as the lines of the body continue on to the rear of the car. These two domes built into the structure of the roof are a signature feature of Zagato design and reduce the front area. As well as providing greater headroom when wearing a helmet on the track, the double bubble (“doppia gobba”) roof also enhances the car’s aerodynamics and increases the roof’s torsional rigidity. The roof of almost every Zagato features this design.

The BMW Zagato Coupé is readily driveable, it is registered for road use and meets all the legal requirements worldwide. “Zagato has always provided its customers with ready-to-drive cars which can be sent into action on the road or race track without further ado – and the BMW Zagato Coupé fits the same template,” says Dr Andrea Zagato, who represents the third generation of his family to sit at the helm of the company. “It is relatively easy to build a design study which is not intended for use on the road. Not having to meet any stipulations governing crash safety or pedestrian protection opens up a host of new avenues in terms of design,” he adds. “The challenge lies in injecting the emotional appeal of a concept car into a road-legal machine. And we think we have succeeded in doing just that with the BMW Zagato Coupé.”