Why Zagato and Touring see a bright future for coachbuilding

"It could be the revival of coachbuilding.” Andrea Zagato, CEO of the company bearing his surname, founded in 1919 by his grandfather, is confident.

Confident that his specialist industry is fit and ready to not only survive the new automotive era but thrive in it: “The art of coachbuilding is 500 years old, while automotive is around 150.

"We’ve already survived all possible technological shifts. I joined the company in the middle of the crisis of the early ’90s, when other coachbuilders were lost. We survived all of this. So why not a change of technology?”

While the romance of automotive coachbuilding was perhaps strongest in its early decades, it stands to win over new audiences a century later, due to two diverging strands: the move to EVs with vastly shared platforms (just look at Ford and Volkswagen buddying up) and the nostalgic response of restomods and their ilk.

Whether on fully digitised or wantonly analogue bases, the need for individual designs and finely crafted bodies may be more crucial than ever.

“We are case designers,” continues Zagato, “so we concentrate on what you see, what you touch. Whatever technology you provide us beneath, it’s not a big change for us.

"There are several converging trends in the automotive industry, and one is the growing demand for exclusivity. There’s also a standardisation of the components, even in internal combustion cars.

"Stellantis is a prime example: for me, the new Lancia Ypsilon is better-looking than the Peugeot 208, but they’re almost the same underneath. The styling might be the deciding factor for buyers.”

Zagato insists that his firm will embrace new technology, rather than fear it. He cites artificial intelligence and 3D stamping as beneficial for its small-scale projects, explaining: “You don’t have to invest thousands of euros in moulds or tooling, because you can quickly build the parts to create one-off and few-off cars. We’re already building many one-offs with 3D stamping.”

“We’re living through a technological challenge created by the war between EVs and ICE cars,” he continues. “If electric motors win, the standardisation in the industry will be maximised. I can see a time when you won’t be keen to own a mass-production car; you will rent, use, share. Design may become the main element of differentiation.

“People are looking for uniqueness and personal expression. This is bringing us to the point that coachbuilding could be truly back soon. I believe restomods are an intermediate step.”

This brings us to the £550,000-plus AGTZ Twin Tail (a collaboration between Zagato and La Squadra, a Polish dealer of collector’s cars), which clothes today’s Alpine A110 in a dramatic skin paying homage to the A220 endurance racer of the ’60s. Two bodystyles are replicated by one car, thanks to an innovatively removable longtail. 

Its modern core means it doesn’t fit the true description of a restomod, says Zagato: “It’s a typical coachbuilding job, using inspiration from the past and telling the iconic story of the A220.

"This is a modernisation of the concept. We have airbags and contemporary safety systems on board. We’ve integrated modern technology with timeless design. This is the difference between us and a restomod.”

Old and new together

Another Italian coachbuilder is making a successful business case for true restomods, though.

Last summer, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera unveiled its Veloce12, which takes an old Ferrari 550 Maranello and endows it with freshened engine, chassis and brake components beneath a reimagined body.

“We believe the market for high-end classic cars has seen a shift in buyers to a new generation of product,” says CEO Markus Tellenbach. “Cars from the ’50s or ’60s struggle a bit with younger buyers, which is where cars from the ’90s come into focus.”

Many of the £600,000-plus Veloce12s have been sold to American buyers. Its status as a restomod is crucial there, as cars not originally approved for US sale can’t legally be imported for unrestricted road use until they’re 25 years old.

“Our concept fits the story of the ’90s analogue car and using a donor means we don’t have to do our own homologation,” confirms Tellenbach.

The 30 buyers are split 50/50 between those supplying their own 550 Maranello donor car and those buying the car purely on sight at Monterey Car Week in California.

“Our youngest customers are in their late thirties – younger than Touring’s historic age,” reveals Tellenbach. “Making a classic design contemporary and fresh resonates with a new audience.”

It seems Touring has tapped into an elusive market frequently chased by mainstream car makers, often in vain.

“We aren’t burdened by the rucksack of being consistent with brand values like an OEM,” says Tellenbach. “For a big, established name, it’s tougher to respect all your usual rules and establish brand recognition while also appealing to younger buyers.”

Yet the Veloce12 isn’t Touring operating at its purest, he adds: “Making 30 cars in two years is quite an efficient programme for us, all thanks to carbonfibre. With hand-built aluminium, you can’t do that.

We love making one-offs or few-offs where the panel-beaters create the car: that’s where our true heart lies. It’s what I want to revive and keep active as a true coachbuilding discipline. Something which fully reflects the craftsmanship that a collector appreciates.

“It’s more likely that we will find another way to reinterpret classic beauty than push the envelope on new construction materials. We aren’t scientists; we’re coachbuilders. If I find a friendly OEM with a 12-cylinder, front-engined car who will shake hands with us, you might see a brand-new Touring [rather than a restomod].

"Maybe today that’s wishful thinking, but tomorrow, who knows? It’s only possible to have access to a brand-new platform when you’re working directly with the company in question.”

One such company is Alfa Romeo, whose historical relationship with Touring helped secure the coachbuilder its contract to build the limited-run 33 Stradale supercar.

“It has to be done in a co-operative way,” says Tellenbach. “We need a friendly relationship, similar to AMG with Mercedes or Alpina with BMW. That direction surely has a great future.”

The companies previously paired up for the gorgeous Disco Volante, a proper coachbuilt ‘case’ atop the 8C Competizione’s platform.

“That was designed by Touring and Alfa Romeo liked it so much they asked us to put their badge on it,” says Tellenbach. “Which is great if you like the story between the two brands, these neighbours in Milan, although it’s probably not typical.

"But we’re building the 33 Stradale with a team split almost 50/50 between the two brands. Our old friendship is revived.”

And what of the relationship between Touring and another of its famous neighbours, Pininfarina, the Veloce12 essentially being the former’s resketching of the latter’s work?

“Some online comments insisted that the original lines shouldn’t be touched,” admits Tellenbach, “but there is no animosity. We have a professional respect for each other’s work."

Their question over dinner at Monterey was: ‘Does it sell?’”

Tailoring and top hats

While Automobili Pininfarina is a branch away from the coachbuilding culture of old (as a sibling company of the original Pininfarina design house), its cars are still subject to the same fastidious buyers, as evidenced by the Battista Targamerica, which was also revealed at Monterey, then handed over to “one of our most important clients” by CEO Paolo Dellachà.

“It’s not what most of our customers want but a few of them,” he says. “They’re asking us if we can develop them something that isn’t just the usual colours, materials and finishing [CMF] bespoke process – they want to go a step further.

"To realise the first open-roof Battista, for instance. The Battista operates in a sphere where the residual value of the car is more bound to its level of exclusivity than its technology.”

Does this represent a chance to return to the coachbuilding roots of Pininfarina that date back to 1930? “I will always be happy to create one-offs and few-offs spun from any of our main models,” answers Dellachà.

“Pininfarina has been doing this very extensively in the past. Of course you have to do it in proportion, in the right measure, to avoid becoming specialised only in that. You need to have a solid platform first. Once you have that, there’s more freedom in terms of creating even more outstanding design.”

One-offs aren’t necessarily the big profit-booster they can be for more mainstream manufacturers’ special vehicle divisions, however, says Dellachà: “They may cost more to the customer, but these unique cars require additional design, engineering and tooling.

"There’s always a homologation process, even for the Targamerica. It’s not just a show-and-display car [a way to bypass the US’s 25-year rule].” Dellachà joined Automobili Pininfarina in 2023, following lengthy stints at Ferrari and Maserati.

“Mostly at those brands, our custom products concerned CMF rather than ‘top hat’ [ie body and interior] modifications,” he says. “Top hat is more of the Pininfarina tradition.

“Such coachbuilding is not limited by the technology of the powertrain. You can do it on ICE, hybrid or electric [bases], and the transformation can go from zero to 100 according to the level of bespoke a customer wants to achieve – and the level of money they wish to invest in the process.

“With a lot of patience and creativity, we can really thrill our buyer with something that’s exciting at all possible levels – and that’s purely working on design, without touching any of the performance.”