Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato one-off debuts at Villa d'Este

Coachbuilder softens Gallardo's razor-sharp edges

The Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato is the latest in a series of collaborations by the Italian supercar-maker and the Italian coachbuilder. Photo by Zagato.

Lamborghini has been known to make radical one-off cars from time to time, and Milanese coachbuilder Zagato has a history of turning special cars into extraordinary ones.

And then there's the Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato, which just debuted at Italy's prestigious Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. It's a popular venue for automakers to make a splash with bold one-offs and concept cars, and the 5-95 certainly does make a splash -- fitting, given its catfish-like maw.

Under 5-95's burnt-orange skin is a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4. We're not sure if it's been modified for higher output, but the standard car's 570-hp, 5.2-liter mid-mounted V10 should get things moving fairly quickly.

Zagato's trademark "double bubble" roof is there, and the original car's origami-sharp edges are softened from gaping front grille (we've seen that face before) to round taillight-equipped tail. The Gallardo structure is most visible in profile -- just check out that beltline -- and the ducts and vents found on the stock car are in all the regular places, though they've been reshaped.

To be brutally honest, we're not sure if it's the "instant classic" Lamborghini and Zagato say it is, but its strangeness does start to grow on you. The design is shockingly weird and distinctly non-Lambo; comparisons to Spykers are fair, as Zagato lent its pen to the Dutch automaker for the C12.

As with many of Zagato's creations, the 5-95 is already spoken for -- it's headed for the garage of collector Albert Spiess, where it will be a "fundamental piece" of a collection chock-full of Lamborghinis and Zagato one-offs.

The 5-95 isn't the first Lamborghini that Zagato has meddled with. Though the coachbuilder is perhaps best known for its collaborations with Aston Martin, its partnership with Lamborghini stretches almost all the way back to the Raging Bull's origins. The 350 GT-based 3500 GTZ debuted in 1965, followed by the Diablo-based Raptor, the Kanto L147 and the LM 003 Borneo SUV.

 Zagato
A face only a wealthy Lamborghini collector could love?