Ferrari 599 GTZ Nibbio Spyder

The design house Zagato looks back on a long tradition, which reaches back to the year 1919. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary, Aston Martin and Zagato joined forces to offer the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation and the completely new DBS GT Zagato. But also in the past few years there were some worth seeing creations from Rho near Milan. At the beginning of the 2000s, for example, some GTZ models were built on the basis of the Ferrari 550 Maranello and 575M. Less well known, however, was the offer of another GTZ model based on the successor 599 GTB. It was only when an appropriately converted car appeared on the worldwide web a little over a year ago that collectors and fans became aware of this new Zagato masterpiece. In the meantime some more cars have been converted. Altogether there will be nine 599 GTZ Nibbio Coupés. Another six cars were additionally converted to open Spyder variants. The additional designation ‘Nibbio’ actually derives from a Kite species occuring in Italy, which is described in Italian dictionaries as follows: Beautiful, extremely fast and very agile with a distinctive tail.

This almost says everything about the design of the Zagato Ferrari 599 GTZ Nibbio Spyder as well. However, this sports car doesn’t only have a nice backside, but don’t has to hide its front or profile. While the original GTZ Nibbio project rumouredly dates back to 2007 and the first car was completed between the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, most of the other cars were built much later. The two Spyders, for example, only appeared on pictures this year for the first time. Nevertheless, they are of course based on Ferrari 599 GTBs which were built much earlier. In the case of the white Spyder shown in our gallery, it was a 2010 car that has accumulated about 10,500 kilometers on the clock so far. Matching the white paint, the interior features a bicolor leather trim in white and dark blue. Apart from the new leather upholstery and the embroidered Zagato logos in the headrests, the Nibbio doesn’t differ from the donor vehicle on the inside.

On the outside, it’s a very different story. At the front, the oval, barred air intake quotes the design language of various Ferrari racing cars from the 1950s and 60s, while two additional air inlets were accomodated next to it. From the 599 GTB nothing else remaines except the windshield. Even the headlights were redesigned by Zagato. From the lateral air outlets a curved belt line stretches up to the rear lights, which are colored white in resting state. These lights are deliberately located above the actual rear end, which extends over the full width of the Nibbio as a three-dimensional edge. For bad weather Zagato mounted a tightly cut fabric hood.

The technology of the 599 GTB wasn’t touched. And to be honest, why should they? The naturally aspirated V12 engine delivers 456 kW/620 hp and 608 newtonmeters of torque from six liters displacement. That’s enough to reach 100 kph (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds. The power transmission in this Nibbio Spyder is provided by the ‘F1 Superfast Transmission’, developed together with Michael Schumacher back in the days, which changes gears in 0.1 seconds after actuating the corresponding paddle behind the steering wheel. Interestingly, the current owner ordered this car from Zagato and hasn’t driven it once since the conversion was completed. Instead, he now offers it for auction with Silverstone Auctions during the Riyadh Auto Show on Friday. If you are in the market for a rare Zagato, here you go.

Images: Silverstone Auctions