CAR OF THE WEEK!!!

The body is hand-made from aluminum in its entirety. Aston Martin claims the front fenders alone are composed of seven individual pieces of aluminum, all shaped and bonded by hand. The roof panel, which touts Zagato’s trademark double-bubble design, required five separate pieces of aluminum to be massaged into shape. The design work took almost a year, with Zagato and Aston’s in-house design studio working together to sculpt the car.

The V12 Zagato is reportedly designed first and foremost for endurance racing. Its first test will be at a Nürburgring race on May 28, and Aston plans to enter two of the cars in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring race in June. As is the case with the V12 Vantage, power comes from a 6.0-liter V-12 rated at 510 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed automated-manual transmission, which has a twin-plate racing clutch and a carbon-fiber driveshaft. A plus-sized 31-gallon fuel tank helps enable more laps between pit stops.