575 GTZ - Ferrari Owners' Club

15.5.2006

Yoshiyuki Hayashi is a renowned Japanese automobile collector, who owns numerous cars of great historical value, including several significant Ferraris. In the classic tradition of the keen purchaser of exclusive cars who stimulated the creativeness of Italian coachbuilders in the 1950s and 1960s, Yoshiyuki Hayashi asked Carrozzeria Zagato of Terrazzano di Rho (Milan) in Italy if it would be possible to create a body for his Ferrari 575 Maranello, in the style of the famous 250 GT LWB Berlinetta Zagato of 1956.

When Zagato received this request, they informed the Ferrari factory in Maranello of the project, which would be a good opportunity to celebrate the model’s anniversary. Zagato then created a car that harked back to the 250 GT Z, built around the Ferrari 575 Maranello. Like its forebear, the 575 GTZ has an all-aluminium body, and, as a tribute to Ferrari and to two-seater Italian sports cars, it has joined the exclusive group of cars that are the fruit of the tradition of custom-built cars.

Mr. Hayashi’s new 575 GTZ was launched during the Villa d'Este Concours d’Elégance on 22/23 April 2006 in Como-Cernobbio, Italy. The donor car was a stock 575 Maranello F1 with chassis number 127394 and assembly number 44689. This was originally a 2002 U.S. version painted Argento Nürburgring (silver grey metallic) with a blue interior. In February 2003 it was for sale by Ferrari of Beverly Hills and later that year by the Silicon Valley Auto Group. It is now the 15th Ferrari chassis clothed by Carrozzeria Zagato since the first 166 MM Berlinetta Panoramica Speciale of 1950. Hayashi’s stunning 575 GTZ is two-tone painted gunmetal grey with a silvergrey roof like the 250 GT Berlinetta. It is fitted with a beautiful cuoio leather interior and the dashboard is covered in deep brown leather.

It has styling cues and volumes that explicitly refer back to the 1950s, and sublimates the character of the many cars built by Zagato to clothe original engineering, with the pure style of traditional sports cars. For Zagato, the project represented an opportunity to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ferrari 250 GT of 1956, one of the most outstanding GT cars, which has already become a piece of history.

The model, which was also commissioned by a gentleman driver and collector, in the best Zagato tradition, is a sublime synthesis of prestige and performance, elegance and sportiness, to the point that it can boast the highest value of any car in the luxury period sports car market. The 250 GT LWB Zagato Berlinetta has won numerous competitions and concours d’élégance, and it represents a dream come true, because experts and fans consider it one of the most beautiful cars in the world.

The new 575 GTZ has the Ferrari prancing horse on its bonnet and the Z of Zagato on its side, an expression of eternal Italian excellence in its form and content. It is a winning combination, linking the most powerful, famous engineering in the world with the most refined, fascinating sporting style, both made strictly in Italy. The concept of sporty elegance, functional design that does not merely follow the trend of the moment but strives for pure performance, and the ultra-light aluminium body are Zagato’s strengths which became a universally recognised value.