REAR OF THE YEAR

What happens when you cross Zagato with Alpine? An A110 that can change its clothes...

- TOM FORD

“Zagato is not an automotive manufacturer, it is a coachbuilder. We take care of the sults, not the technology. The technology could be endothermic, could be electric, could be hydrogen - we take care of the skin, the package around it," says Andrea Zagato in a wonderfully evocative Italian accent, popping the collar of his suit jacket for emphasis. The president and third generation of the Zagato clan looks briefly to one side and smiles slightly, his gaze falling fondly on the car to his right. A car that seems to polarise internet opinion like nothing else the Zagato AGTZ Twin Tail, essentially a fully coachbuilt Alpine A110 S with a removable aerodynamic long tail. A unique and somewhat specific take on versatility.

There is, however, quite a lot more to this than it might appear, because this isn't just a bolt-on back bit and headlight tweaks. The Alpine A110 that was has undergone major changes, albeit to the skin, rather than under it. The opposite of a sleeper. But when you want to resculpt the exterior, it probably pays to start with a healthy set of bones. After all, if you're going to pick a modern car to reclothe, you need a solid base, and the A110 is a wonderful lightweight modern sports car in a world full of ever weightier complication.

Some 300 possible horsepower, RWD, mid-engined and lithe. But there's more to this than just picking something with decent mechanicals, because the AGTZ is primarily formed by the weight of history. Retromodded, if you will. A recipe also more complex than it first appears because it involves our storied Italian coachbuilder, a racing car from the 1960s and a high end Polish car dealer. A success with many European fathers.