Pops' Rants: Here's What's Wrong with the Awesome Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato

TopSpeed

By Alex Oagana

Published Oct 27, 2017

I love the Shooting Brake and the Speedster but...

So Aston Martin just launched a new version of the Vanquish Zagato with a shooting brake body. Pretty cool, eh? Actually, it's more than that. Cool is something I would use to describe a Toyota 86 with an extra 30 horsepower. This thing is exciting, to say the least. The sporty cues of the Vanquish, the more aggressive styling of Zagato, and all that carbon-fiber make for a great combination, especially if the end result is a shooting brake. Yeah, I'm crazy about wagons, and I like shooting brakes even more. But despite my feelings toward long-roofed vehicles and the fact that the Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake is brilliant in just about any department, I still have a big rant to shoot out of my system.

Why would I complain about a seemingly perfect car (from my point of view)? Well, it's not exactly the car I want to complain about. It's about Aston Martin's marketing strategy, and the fact that this Vanquish Zagato run is too damn exclusive. And it's like Aston Martin is going against the tide, which isn't exactly what it needs at this point as it has yet to reach that safe point after years of struggle. Let me explain what I mean.

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Make the Zagato a Full-Time Lineup

Yes, that's what's wrong with the four Vanquish Zagato model that Aston Martin launched since 2016. They're way too exclusive, with just 99 coupes, convertibles, and shooting brakes each and only 28 speedsters. These designs deserve to become full-time models in the Aston Martin lineup and an upgrade for more than just the Vanquish.

Specifically, Aston Martin should find a way to turn Zagato into a higher-end offering for at least the Vanquish and the DB11. Granted, making Zagato some sort of luxury or performance division isn't the easiest thing, as the Italians seem to enjoy being an independent company, but a collaboration of sorts is definitely possible in today's market. But Aston Martin could also start thinking about creating its own division. With every important carmaker out there having either a performance or luxury division at its disposal, Aston Martin would make quite an impact with something a little different. And by that, I mean products similar to these Zagato-upgraded Vanquish. Keep the interior similar, but add extra features, uprate the engine, so it stands out compared to the standard unit, but revise the exterior completely for a unique design. What's more, the speedster and the shooting brake could remain exclusive to this high-end brand, prompting customers to take the big financial step for something entirely different.

Definitely more appealing than the larger vents and different wheels you get with the "AMG," "BMW M," and "RS" badges.

As for pricing, there's a reason why I haven't labeled the Vanquish Zagato as overpriced, despite the fact that the Speedster is rumored to cost more than $1.5 million. If these cars become full-time production models, Aston Martin would be right to charge way in excess of $500,000 or even $1 million, given that factory output remains limited and the cars are built by hand with tremendous attention to detail.

Seriously now, it may sound difficult to achieve, but it's not. At least not for a company like Aston Martin. It may require some serious funding, but the Brits are getting back on their feet. Actually, an SUV might solve that problem. And in an era where every automaker is annoyingly predictable and we get similar products from every direction, a full-time lineup of Zagato-designed cars would finally add some excitement.

Revive the Great Coachbuilders

This would also be a great opportunity to save the famous coachbuilder that have entered bankruptcy or have been sold to other firms recently. If more carmakers adopt the idea, we could see Pininfarina and Bertone return to their former glory. Ghia and Vignale could also roll out more intriguing designs instead of Ford trim lines. And why not, maybe we could witness rivals of iconic coachbuilders like Frua, Karmann, Gurney Nutting, Vanden Plas, and Fleetwood.

I can dream, can't I?