Zagato Pays Tribute To Stylish Le Mans Competitor

AGTZ Twin Tail has a curious back story, one that requires an expository monologue. Carrozzeria Zagato and Polish supercar emporium La Squadra team up for a special production run that pays tribute to the Alpine A220 Le Mans racer of the late 1960s.

The Alpine A220 itself did not see racing success—quite the opposite, in fact—but it presented an interesting design just before Alpine turned its attention to rallying.

The pricey homage by Zagato, which will feature a removable tail, will see 19 cars produced as part of a limited series.

If you’ve ever wondered what an obscure Le Mans entrant from the 1960s could look like in the present day, with input from one of the best known Italian styling houses and built to a money-no-object standard, then the AGTZ Twin Tail has something for you.

But first, let’s back up a little.

Theboutique French sports car maker Alpinecertainly had racing success aspirations in the 1960s, in addition to sales success aspirations for its Alpine A110 coupe. The model combined a light curb weight with tiny Renault engines, the smallest being a 1.1-liter unit positioned out back.

Using the design of the A110 as a springboard, Alpine fielded the race-going A210 starting in 1966 with Renault engines, while a year later the A211 swapped them out for a V8. The A220 arrived in 1968, representing an evolution of this engineering direction with a mid-mounted 3.0-liter V8 good for 290 hp, with four cars taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year.

But only one actually made it across the finish line. In effect, its opportunity to prove itself had passed, taking Alpine’s Le Mans racing program along with it, as the company decided to focus on rallying instead.

However, the basic Alpine design appears to have had a much longer life than the company may have expected back in the day.

In2017 Renault introduced a new rear midengine Alpine, styled closely after the classic A110, thus laying the ground work for another curious experiment in the present day.

Zagato has now teamed up with Poland’s supercar dealer La Squadra to bring the A220 into the 21st century via a limited run of 19 bespoke cars that will pay tribute to the original A220.

“We didn’t want to make a pure racing car because technology, aerodynamics, and power have changed a lot since the 1960s,” explains Andrea Zagato, CEO of Zagato. “Instead, we wanted to capture the inspiration and design innovation of the A220 shorttail and create an authentic Gran Turismo in the true Zagato tradition.”

As its name suggests, the AGTZ Twin Tail does indeed gain a twin tail as part of this effort, but Zagato is focused on bringing back the spirit behind the car without turning it into an all-out performance car for the track.

The intent is much more subtle.

“The gorgeous profile and stunning aerodynamic intent of the original A220 longtail lives on. Sitting beneath it, full of latent potential, is an ode to the muscular A220 shorttail,” Carrozzeria Zagato says.