Zagato Mostro Barchetta, a modern sports car with classic looks

For more than 100 years, Italy’s Zagato has been providing sports car bodies for several of the country’s brands. At some point in history, the company has also committed to creating its own models. The latest creation of the Milanese atelier is the Mostro Barchetta.

The sports car pays tribute to two important steps of the Italian studio, the collaboration with Maserati, which “borrowed” the Mostro mechanical set, and the participation of the brand in the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1957 with the Maserati 450S Coupé Zagato, in the theater . at the time nicknamed “The Monster”.

The 1950s racing car was commissioned by British pilot Stirling Moss and built with the help of aeronautical expert Frank Costin, to compete in the world’s most important endurance championships.

“We decided on the name of the project inspired by the first reaction of Sir Stirling Moss. Who, when he saw the Maserati Coupé for the first time, gave the expression ‘Beautiful like a Monster’ (‘Beautiful as a monster’, in free translation). It is an oxymoron that best describes the union between brutal power and aesthetic philosophy”, says Andrea Zagato, president of Zagato Design.

The Mostro Barchetta design was signed by Norihiko Harada, Vice President of Zagato, and refers to the perfect proportions of the barchetta created by the Maserati brothers during the 50s.

Inside and out, it has a look reminiscent of the 1950s.

With its carbon fiber chassis, absence of electronic traction control and gearbox mounted on the front block (typical of racing cars) the Mostro Barchetta shows the best in racing, and at the same time makes everyone happy.

Available in five unique pieces, the Italian will be offered to a limited number of Zagato collector customers. In addition, these customers can customize their car when ordering, like a mechanic who makes his car better.

The MonoCell chassis made of carbon fiber, has an innovative proposal for the design of the windshield and a small steel rear frame that carries the fuel tank, exhaust system, rear suspension and differential.

Zagato Mostro Barchetta.

The engine is a Maserati 8V 4.2 that produces 420 horses and is placed in the front center position for better weight distribution (50-50). Weighing only 1,200 kg, the Italian, according to the brand, has an excellent weight/power ratio resulting in a fast driving experience and exceptional performance.

The racing transmission is a six-speed sequential manual and is mounted on the engine block. The front and rear suspension has a double wishbone design with a pushrod operating on an adjustable spring/damper system.

The Mostro Barchetta has large disc brakes with six-piston AP Racing calipers at the front and four at the rear, and 19-inch single-lug alloy wheels with 255/40 R19 front and 295/35 R19 rear tires.

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