348 Zagato up for auction

Interesting car for sure.

 

I would not like to be seen going in or out of this car.

 

What was the estimate and the result?

 

What was the original brief given to zagato? - "Make the Ferrari 348 look like a kit-car"?

 

I can't think of anything that I like about that.

 

Not Zagartos best work for sure but a nice piece of 348 history. This ones definatly stuck in the 90's. If you are a collector I guess a Zagato would look great next to a GT Competizione and Challange car.....

 

I can't say I'd call it:

It's an (unofficial) piece of 348 history, but it is in no way: Nice!

And if I were a collector, I could quite happily live without an ugly looking Zagato in the collection! (in fact, if I was a collector who bought the car, I'd probably have it restored back to a standard 348 - It really is that bad!)


(Edited to add: I might keep the GTO'esque vents on the rear wings though!)

 

certainly different.....but not in nice way

 

How is it "Unofficial"? Ferrari and Zagato started an official relationship back in 1956. And as i see it a very limited edition 348 makes for a nice addition to any collection. Tarring apart a Zagato bodied Ferrari to make it a standard model would be next to impossible and missing the point entirely. I respect your position and agreed that it is not Zagatos best work but it is part of both companies history and should be respected.

 

There are many Zagato designs that are superb.

 

This ^

 

But that 348 is not one of them.

 

+1
this reminds me of a badly executed fiero ......

 

Was this car sanctioned by the factory as the old cars were? - Or did Zagato get their hands on a production 348 and modify it?

I'll give you a clue: Ferrari's were designed solely by Pininfarina when the 348 was made, therefore, anything other than a Pininfarina design was not factory official.

BTW, pretty much all of the changes made to the body of this 348 are bolt on panels - The exception being the Zagato trademark bubble roof and the GTO'esque vents. The standard roof skin is part No. 63234900 (without antenna hole) or part No. 62062000 (with antenna hole), and the rear wings are part No. 70000630 (Left hand upper fender), and part No. 70000629 (Right hand upper fender). That tells Me that even these parts are replaceable!

Sorry to burst your Zagato bubble, but unlike in the past when Zagato built bespoke bodies completely from scratch, all they did with the 348 is modify the standard production bodywork - All of which can be taken back to standard with relative ease (if you have enough money and a decent bodyshop).

I for one would have no qualms whatsoever of taking this car back to standard as it would look a damn site better than Zagato's bastardisation of the 348!

 

I love it.

 

Time piece for sure. Glad it survived. Really tells of a special place in time I remember well

 

Totally with you. I can imagine this being featured in a spread in AUTOMOBILE magazine, et al.

Silver is the perfect color for the daring design.

 

Yes, it was sanctioned by the Factory as where past and recent models such as the 575 GTZ. Ferrari gave Zagato liberty to design short run and one-off models throughout there relationship. Again, my point is that having a one-off or short run Ferrari modify by an official (sanctioned) partner is part of the history of the 348. Whether Zegato merely modified the panels or created a bespoke design, it is still a Zagato. Whether you like the design or not is entirely up to you.

 

Sanctioned or not, it is not desirable.

 

I think the front looks OK, side view I quite like but when you get to the rear those tail lights and engine cover look a bit kit car-ish. Maybe that's hindsight and it looked better back then?

Is this the first Ferrari to feature a glass engine cover though?

Also, this car is for a collector that likes one-off designs, regardless of how good or bad they look.

 

Interestingly, the Zagato " touch" works well with Alfa and other brands and many other applications. I am with the consensus here that the 348 here in particular ( and by association the Zagato 550s ) are not desirable to me either.
But, when you have a top line design house like PF deliver "perfection " in wedge design of the 355 or 348 - 458 or modern front engined GTs like the 550s or F12s what do you do to it? PF set the bar so high. You can Novitec, liberty walk them or Koneig them but they just look too "rodded" up and it takes the eloquence out of the original.
You can RUF or singer a Porsche , Callaway a vette, roush a mustang but messing around with PF Ferrari designs are like painting over a Picasso, or retouching a Monet or Matisse. You just don't do it.

 

Yeah, and slant nose Porsche 911s look stupid, but they're a part of an era.

It is what it is, which is a Ferrari sanctioned rarity, and as such, should command a huge premium.