BMW Zagato coupe bows at Lake Como

Italian flair, German precision and a somewhat sobering dose of reality—that's the ethos behind the striking BMW Zagato coupe revealed on Friday at the glamorous Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como in Italy.

The one-off coupe features elegant, sporty styling that blends traditional elements from both BMW and Zagato, which each have long histories of working with partners to produce impressive cars. But, this coupe is more than just a design exercise. BMW says developers took care to produce something that could be driven and registered legally in most countries around the world.

As a result, the flamboyance is tempered with a bit of practicality.

“The challenge lies in injecting the emotional appeal of a concept car into a road-legal machine,” Andrea Zagato, the third-generation chief of the design house that bears his family name, said in a statement.

His firm has created considerable cache for itself and the event at Lake Como, which brings together a glittering array of vintage cars and future concepts, and Zagato has won the coveted design award the last two years at Villa d'Este.

The car's appearance is marked by the familiar kidney grille, twin circular headlights and tapered BMW curves and lines. The interior gets gray leather in different shades. The roofline flows toward the rear, which is compact and contrasts with the long hood.

By Greg Migliore