Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato One-Off Unveiled at Villa d'Este

Zagato built the 5-95 in order to celebrate its 95th anniversary. Starting with the shell of an old Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4, this one-off has been transformed from top to bottom and now bares a striking resemblance to a Spyder. Italian copycat? No, that's actually because Spyker hired Zagoto for their designs.

The money to build the 5-95 came from Albert Spiess, one of the most significant Lambo collectors in the world, who among other things also has the ultra-rare Miura Roadster by Bertone, famous on the concours scene.

Here's how Andea Zagato, Ugo Zagato's grandson and the CEO of the company, explains why they chose to do a Gallardo for Mister Spiess: “We have chosen the Gallardo because it is the most sensational project in Lamborghini’s history. An extraordinary car, perfect in engineering terms, that has brought the image of ‘the Bull’ from a ‘cottage industry’ to a worldwide major industrial reality. The Gallardo production figures exceeded the whole Lamborghini production since its foundation.”

There are, however, a number details which define this as a true Zagato. They include double bubble roof, which has taken on a more modern look, giving way to a large air intake stacked on top of the engine bay. Black roof pillars give the impression of a wraparound windscreen while the side intakes are inspired from those of the 1996 Lamborghini Diablo-based Raptor concept by Zagato.

The Zagoto company was founded in Milan back 1919, when Ugo Zagato left Officine Aeronautiche Pomilio to set up his own business. At the time, cars made in Italy were still quite bulky and heavy, but Ugo had the bright idea to use sheets of aluminum to male light structures similar to an aircraft fuselage.

Lamborghini and Zagato started their collaboration with the 350Z GTZ, which came out in 1965, commissioned by former F1 pilot Marquis Gerino Gerini. Zagato even worked on the famous LM002 SUV, which they turned into the LM 003 Borneo Concept from 1997.