Geneva, March 2008: At the 78th Geneva International Motor show 2008, Zagato Atelier
takes great pleasure in introducing the Bentley GTZ, the latest in a long line of
collaborations with the very best British car manufacturers over the Milanese Atelier ’s 89
years history.

Following on from the recent presentations of the Ferrari 575GTZ in 2006 and the Maserati
GS Zagato at the Villa D’Este in 2007, the Bentley GTZ is a neo-classic Zagato
interpretation of the style of a British GT.
The project was conceived during a discussion between Dr. Ing. Franz Josef Paefgen, CEO
of Bentley Motors Limited and Dr. Andrea Zagato, President of Zagato at the Pebble Beach
Concours D’Elegance in 2006. At a ‘Tribute to Zagato’ presentation, Zagato showed a
selection of 50’ 60’s models, near by the recent berlinettas presented during the last 3
years. Dr. Paefgen was struck by the beauty of those cars and reminded of the historical
significance of the art of the Carrozzeria (coachbuilders) which was both being maintained
and carried forward by Zagato.

Starting from the styling cues of the last neo classical coupes, which became milestones of
Zagato design in the new millennium, the challenge was to apply the same design language
to a completely different proportion of vehicle: the Bentley Continental GT Speed.


Even with many technical restrictions and carry-over parts in order to maintain the basic
functions of this extremely sophisticated vehicle, the Zagato design team managed to give a
distinctive and attractive character to the Zagato coupe.
Pronounced fender lines, double-bubble roof, round tail with all new rear combination lamp
are harmoniously integrated in to an imposing body adding a more aggressive and sharp
feeling without losing the absolute solidity which is part of the great charm of the original
coupe. The same time the hand painted pin-stripe coordinated with the interior colour adds
a refined and exclusive elegance to the extrovert body lines helps to make the look of this
car appropriate to be special limited-production model born between two great automotive
cultures: Bentley and Zagato.

Top Technical Partners for this project are CPP, DELVIS, PPG:
Coventry Prototype Panels (Coventry – ENGLAND):The company has unrivalled
expertise in the forming of automotive panels from aluminium, magnesium and steel
sheet.
DELVIS GmbH (Haimhausen – DEUTSCHLAND): The contribution of Delvis was
both the development of a rear light and the production of a prototype. Focus in the
development was on design.
PPG (Milan – ITALY): The Bentley GTZ has been painted by PPG industries, the
highly respected global supplier of coatings, glass and chemicals.