Domo Arigato Mr. Zagato

Students of Top Gear will remember it as the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, the one that was seen on the news portion of one episode of Top Gear after James May test drove the new Aston Martin Virage. A letter from the boss of Aston Martin once said that the Nurburgring is the proving ground for every new Aston Martin model launched and there could be no better than the new V12 Zagato to be tested on that venue. That's why the Nurburgring is James May's least favorite place because there was a reason why most cars are getting uncomfortable because of their sessions at the Green Hell. Anyway, what is the V12 Zagato?

First off, its Aston Martin's endurance racer concept premiered on the shores of Lake Como, Italy at the 2011 Villa D' Este Concours D'Elegance, as a revival of a collaboration between Aston Martin and Zagato since the original DB4GT Zagato.

The V12 Zagato pushing its limits at Catalunya

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato that was featured on Forza Motorsport 4 via the March Pirelli Pack, on sale now, aren't exactly what you supposed to be. This one is rather more of a Zagato racecar rather than the one as seen at the Villa D'Este Concours but never mind. What matters most is that we are finally getting to know more about the Aston Martin V12 Zagato as the stalwart of the March Pirelli Pack.

Basically, it was based on the Aston Martin V12 Vantage and it comes with the same V12 engine that powers the V12 Vantage. However, unlike the V12 Vantage, it's lighter because while the V12 Vantage weighs 3,704lbs, the new V12 Zagato racecar weighs 3,197lbs. so that is a lot of weight-stripping to make it a racebred car that was once tested at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. Naught to 60, it can do 4.1 seconds and top speed, it would go up to 189MPH. For braking distance, it would stop from 100mph to dead at 304.7ft. Those stats only tell half of the story.

There could be no better than the new V12 Zagato to
test through the Nurburgring

A certain lyric from a certain that goes "Secret, secret, I've got a secret" but there are no secrets under the skin of the V12 Zagato. When I tried this one on the Circuit de Catalunya, which of course the venue for this month's Rivals event, the Aston Martin's V12 Zagato's started to come alive. All that racing pedigree coming out after its experience from the Green Hell really pushed the players very hard through temptation, making it an absolute Forza 4 favorite since the Lamborghini Aventador last November, the Monster Sport SX4 last December, the Pagani Huayra last January, and the Audi R18 TDi last February. As for me, I love the Zagato's cornering thanks to its suspension and its rear spoiler to push the back. In fact, I would gladly not going to remove it's spoiler from the upgrade shop because it looks good on it.

The V12 Zagato in its Stig Sessions

Because this is just a racecar that needs some racing livery, most Forza Faithfuls love to spend their time creating unique liveries for the V12 Zagato. What I'm worrying now that there could be someone replicating the "Zig" or the "Zag" that were seen at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring last year. Yep, we're talking about the V12 Zagato racecars that went 5th and 6th in the SP8 class of the 39th ADAC Nurburgring 24-hour race. I'm getting nervous if I see one at the storefronts.

That doesn't matter because this V12 Zagato is all about being the most emotional racing machine ever built as a celebration of the original DB4GT's 50th Anniversary. When it showed up at the Villa D'Este since May 2011, it won the Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes, the award that triumphed the One-77 since 2009. It maybe a V12 Vantage converted into a endurance racer but this one really blows a punch through the opponents on the racetrack. I'm glad I was one of the lucky many to try one.