THE ABSOLUTELY STUNNING CAPRICORN 01 ZAGATO – WHERE GERMAN ENGINEERING MEETS ITALIAN SOUL
What happens when meticulous German engineering collides with flamboyant Italian artistry? You get the Capricorn 01 Zagato - a carbon-fibre symphony of speed and soul. Born from the minds of Capricorn Founder and CEO Robertino Wild and Zagato President Andrea Michele Zagato, this hypercar is more than a collaboration; it’s a meeting of philosophies. Wild’s precision-driven engineering know-how meets Zagato’s century-old design heritage, resulting in a machine that’s brutally efficient yet achingly beautiful. Only 19 units will exist - a number chosen to honour Zagato’s founding year, 1919. Each example will be sold exclusively through Belgium’s Louyet Group, ensuring the Capricorn 01 Zagato remains one of the most coveted hypercars of its era. Forget wings the size of coffee tables, the Capricorn 01 Zagato doesn’t need them. Downforce is generated through a complex choreography of internal airflow and underbody sculpting. The car’s form is defined by function - sharp, clean, and purposeful. The silhouette is unmistakable: gullwing doors rise dramatically, mirrors are fender-mounted to save weight, and a powerful design line runs from the front fender into the side intake before re-emerging to wrap around the rear haunches. Every surface channels air, balances pressure, or cools the heart beating underneath. At the back, a subtle carbon fibre spoiler integrates seamlessly with the diffuser - proof that elegance and performance don’t need to shout to be heard.
Inside, the 01 Zagato is pure purpose. Capricorn’s design team took “less is more” to heart - everything that remains is functional, beautiful, and crafted to perfection. Almost the entire cabin is carbon fibre, punctuated by machined titanium and aluminium switchgear, Connolly leather, and Alcantara chosen to suit each owner’s taste. The dashboard is a love letter to classic analogue instrumentation: three dials only - revs front and centre, speed to the left, vital fluids to the right. It’s tactile, mechanical, and honest. Fixed carbon seats form part of the safety cell and feature Schroth four-point harnesses, adjustable cushions, and a movable manual gear lever that slides 80mm for the perfect reach. The Alcantara-wrapped Capricorn steering wheel is devoid of clutter - just a start/stop button and drive mode selector, nothing more. This is a cockpit for drivers, not passengers of technology.
At its core sits a heavily re-engineered Ford-derived 5.0-litre V8, transformed by Capricorn into something far more feral. With a bespoke supercharger, dry-sump lubrication, and an in-house ECU and mapping system, this hand-built engine delivers 662 kW and 1,000 Nm of torque. It screams to 9,000 rpm, propelling the lightweight (sub-1,200 kg) coupe from 0-100 km/h in under three seconds, and on to a top speed of 360 km/h. Power is channelled through a CIMA five-speed dogleg manual gearbox, ensuring every shift is mechanical, deliberate, and raw. No paddles. No filters. Just man and machine.
Capricorn drew directly from its LMP1 racing expertise to create an all-carbon monocoque, complete with carbon front and rear subframes, crash structures, and bodywork. Suspension is handled by double wishbones with Bilstein pushrod dampers, adjustable through Comfort, Sport, and Track modes. The bespoke steering system uses an electric motor for assistance at low speeds but switches off completely at pace, leaving an unfiltered, mechanical connection to the front wheels. Wild describes it perfectly: “We wanted the driver to feel the tarmac through their fingertips.”
Stopping power comes courtesy of Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers and a bespoke ABS setup. Custom 21-inch Capricorn wheels, available in forged alloy or full carbon fibre, complete the performance package. Production begins in early 2026, with each example entirely hand-built in Düsseldorf. Buyers can choose any exterior colour or carbon finish - from a bare weave to bespoke patterns - and personalise every inch of the cabin. Capricorn will handle all maintenance in-house, ensuring quality control and long-term component availability. Each car comes with a two-year warranty and four-year service plan, though owners will likely spend far more time admiring than maintaining. At €2.95 million before taxes (close on R60,000,000), the Capricorn 01 Zagato is a reminder that in an age of hybrid systems and digital overload, there’s still room for something gloriously analogue, beautifully mechanical, and utterly alive.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the folks at Top Gear as they take a close look at everything that makes the new Capricorn 01 Zagato so special - and that's a lot. This thing is a stunner: New V8 Zagato Hypercar! RWD, Manual, 900hp | 4K | Top Gear
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