This car sold for $750,000, including buyer’s premium, at the Gooding & Company Amelia Island, FL, auction on March 9, 2012.
One of the reasons the Zagato company had such a long and storied reign designing and building bodies for racing cars is a simple one: Founder Ugo Zagato and his heirs and successors truly understood racing. The lessons Ugo brought from airplane construction were incorporated into his designs, and the time that his son Elio spent competing in the 1940s and ’50s corresponded with the creation some of the most successful cars in the company’s history.
Sitting behind the wheel on a starting grid or at the base of a hillclimb will focus your thoughts on what it takes to finish in front in a way like no other. For the Zagato family, the need for light weight, comfort, strength and fuel economy weren’t theoretical concepts to be worked out on paper, or left to chance on the altar of style for its own sake.
The time Elio Zagato spent competing in the 1950s corresponded with the creation some of the most successful cars in the company’s history. Perhaps it is one of the reasons that some Zagato designs don’t have the pure beauty of the best of Pininfarina, Bertone or some Vignale creations. But the competition record of Zagato-bodied Fiats, Alfa Romeos and Lancias expresses more dramatically the proof of the form meeting the need of function quite well.
That the Fiat 8V has such an excellent competition record can largely be put down to the 30 Zagato-bodied examples, which performed so much better than the factory-bodied cars.
Improved performance and comfort
With its great history in period competition, the 8V Zagato is, of course, welcome at all the highest-level vintage race, rally and tour events. It was launched with a power output of 105 horsepower, which grew to 115 horsepower and then to an ultimate-spec 125 horsepower for the dual carb version.
Today’s cars can produce up to 160 horsepower and turn nearly 7,000 rpm without the connecting rods making a break for freedom — thanks to advances in engine technology that have all but eliminated the oil supply problems that the 2-liter V8 suffered in period.
When fully finished inside, these cars are also comfortable places to spend hours at a time. The sport seats that Zagato designed and built in the 1950s are arguably the most supportive and advanced of their time.
Zagato provenance
This 8V Zagato was interesting in two important ways. First, as the only right-hand-drive example built, and second, Andrea Zagato restored the car at the Zagato factory for his own use in vintage rallying.
The first point makes one wonder why it was built and for whom, as history records that a year and five months went by from the time the chassis was delivered to Zagato to when the first owner registered the car. It seems as if no one actually wanted an RHD 8V Zagato.
The second point emphasizes that cars restored at the factory are often sought after, even if, as in this case, the factory has very little connective history with the original build.
Anyone who took a look at this car during the preview may have been surprised at the overall level of the restoration, which was not done to international concours standards by any means. Even allowing for the passage of 22 years since the completion of work, the orange peel in the paint, the casual fit of the interior windshield frame, some pitting and dullness in the alloy trim and incorrect black finishing on the air cleaner could lead one to believe that this was not expert work.
But to reach such a conclusion would be to entirely miss the point of the restoration.
From the braided hoses and auxiliary electric radiator fan under the hood to the Dymo tape labels for the anonymous dash switches, it’s clear that this Fiat was restored to do what it was built to do — run.
As was the case with the recent profile I wrote on the Lancia Aurelia B24 convertible from Gooding’s Scottsdale sale (April 2012, p. 54), I had the great fortune to drive this particular 8V in my duties as co-host, with Publisher Martin, of Velocity TV’s “What’s My Car Worth,” for an episode shot at the Gooding Amelia Island sale.
It was a thrilling drive, with lots of power, superb handling from a fully sorted suspension, and a confidence-inspiring gearbox with a very positive action. Cosmetically, it was probably still finished a bit better than it was when it first left the Zagato factory but had the proper feel of a car meant to lead a working life. This car was not the automotive equivalent of a fluffy kitten on a feather pillow, which is so often the case with restored cars. The presence of the original V8 engine — not to be taken for granted on one of these cars — is an added bonus.
Try to find another one
There was a time in the past few years when the ask/buy ratio for the 8V Zagato had reached a bit of a stalemate. Sellers were trying for $795k–$950k, and buyers were stopping in the $550k–$600k range — with the inevitable result of no sale.
This car, with an estimate of $750k–$900k, didn’t meet reserve at a high bid of $700k when it drove across the block. A bit later in the day, Gooding announced that a deal had been struck, and the price reported, $750,000 including buyer’s premium, seems to indicate that compromises were made to move it along.
As it is, I think the result was certainly fair to both sides — the seller realized a reasonable number and the buyer obtained a terrific, usable car with few, if any, immediate needs. I think in a very short time this will prove to be well bought, as these cars still represent outstanding value compared with the Maseratis and Ferraris they raced against in period.
With the good early history, Andrea Zagato provenance and working restoration, this car would be tough to replicate in the market. For a serious driver, the RHD isn’t a real impediment, especially with the quality of the gearbox, but its rarity is not a value enhancer, either.
I also add a wish that this car is well used and lovingly maintained for years to come and doesn’t fall victim to a precious, soul-sapping restoration that destroys the very essence of this Fiat.
