Elio Zagato dies at 88

The car world has lost one of its legends. Elio Zagato, son of Ugo Zagato, died earlier this week. He was 88.

The Zagato name is linked with a slew of legendary European sports cars, including the Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZ, the Ferrari 250 GTZ, the Aston Martin DB4 GTZ, and Elio’s favorite, the Fiat 8V Zagato.

Zagato also was an enthusiastic racer. That blended with his creative passion in a Zagato design trademark-- the double bubble roof, which gave more headroom for helmet-wearing race drivers. He won 82 of the 150 races he ran, including the Targa Florio.

The Zagato design firm, based outside Milan, continues on with Andrea Zagato as CEO.

By Dale Jewett