Hot on the heels of our Top 10 Coachbuilt Supercars comes the announcement from Zagato that the Italian carrozeria will be reviving the stoic Diatto marque with a small run of the Diatto GT Ottovu. First shown at the Geneva show as the Diatto Ottovu Zagato, the GT will step out of the concept box and into limited production of 99 examples.
Those coming new to the game might not be familiar with the Diatto name, but it has a loyal and, as it turns out, wealthy following who have motivated (and likely bankrolled) the brand's revival by commissioning the new GT from Zagato. Once a contemporary of Bugatti and Maserati, Diatto started out some 170 years back, producing horse-drawn carriages, then moving on to luxury train cars before becoming one of the first automakers in the world and finally vanishing from the industry in the inter-war period.
Reviving the classic Turinese carmaker, the Diatto GT Ottovu is based on a steel frame with an aluminum body with a front-mid engine layout driving the wheels behind the four-passenger cabin. Motivation comes courtesy of Ford's 4.6-liter V8, supercharged and tuned by Roush and Cosworth to produce 530 horsepower, although Zagato says up to 650 would be possible. As it is, the GT Ottovu is claimed to hit 60 in the threes.
As for the styling, the concept looked better in person than in the pictures, and Zagato clearly went for an elegantly understated design approach. That being said, it still falls short of taking many breaths away. Zagato called the bespoke leather interior "sober, smart and comfortable"...which may as well have applied to the overall design. If it tickles your fancy, though, it will be available through specialist dealers in the United States as well as Europe, but don't expect that kind of exclusivity to come cheap.
Those coming new to the game might not be familiar with the Diatto name, but it has a loyal and, as it turns out, wealthy following who have motivated (and likely bankrolled) the brand's revival by commissioning the new GT from Zagato. Once a contemporary of Bugatti and Maserati, Diatto started out some 170 years back, producing horse-drawn carriages, then moving on to luxury train cars before becoming one of the first automakers in the world and finally vanishing from the industry in the inter-war period.
Reviving the classic Turinese carmaker, the Diatto GT Ottovu is based on a steel frame with an aluminum body with a front-mid engine layout driving the wheels behind the four-passenger cabin. Motivation comes courtesy of Ford's 4.6-liter V8, supercharged and tuned by Roush and Cosworth to produce 530 horsepower, although Zagato says up to 650 would be possible. As it is, the GT Ottovu is claimed to hit 60 in the threes.
As for the styling, the concept looked better in person than in the pictures, and Zagato clearly went for an elegantly understated design approach. That being said, it still falls short of taking many breaths away. Zagato called the bespoke leather interior "sober, smart and comfortable"...which may as well have applied to the overall design. If it tickles your fancy, though, it will be available through specialist dealers in the United States as well as Europe, but don't expect that kind of exclusivity to come cheap.
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