Zagato reveals new Mostro Barchetta… seven years after the coupe

A mere seven years after the coupe launched, Zagato has revealed details on the roadster version of its Mostro. This is the Mostro Barchetta, inspired by a car Sir Stirling Moss called ‘Monster’.

That’s the Maserati 450S Coupe Zagato, and like that car, this Barchetta gets the option of either a 414bhp 4.2-litre Maserati V8, or the 3.0-litre, 621bhp Maserati V6 from the new MC20 supercar.

The Maser engine is mounted in a carbon-fibre ‘MonoCell’ chassis up front – pushed far back to qualify as a ‘front-mid’ position for better weight distribution (50:50) – hooked up to a ‘racing’ manual sequential six-speed gearbox. Drive is to the rear, and we’re told it weighs just 1,200kg.

There’s a double-wishbone suspension all round with a pushrod spring/shock setup, massive AP Racing brakes, 19in single-nut alloys and of course, that carbon fibre body. Zagato design VP Norihiko Harada was responsible for the shape, which harks back to that unique 450S from 1957.

“We decided the name of the project inspired by Sir Stirling Moss’s first reaction, who said ‘beautiful like a monster’ when he first saw the Maserati Coupe,” explains Andrea Zagato.

Only five are being built, and nearly all of them have been snapped up by Zagato customers. Guess you’ll have to wait another seven years for the next bodystyle.