‘Mostro’ is an Italian noun or adjective which translates to ‘monster’: perhaps not the archetypal image you might recall when it comes to dainty, lightweight sports cars from the land of espressos and spaghetti, sure.
Moving on, ‘Barchetta’, means ‘little boat’, which is conflicting when compounded with monster, but when you see the images of this Zagato Mostro Barchetta you’ll see where they’re going with the nomenclature.
We look at the small-scale production roadster from the Italian coach builders Zagato, looking at the design, specs and its inspiration and why it wants to be a new classic car.
The Zagato Mostro Barchetta Is Italian Luxury Sports Car 101
Looking past the fact it’s called the Little Boat Monster – everything looks and sounds great in Italian – the car in the photos is impressive to look at.
It’s not the first Barchetta, either – some will remember the front-wheel-drive rival to the Mazda MX-5 from Fiat – but this is something considerably upmarket.
The Mostro Barchetta has looks that could kill, reminding of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring Superleggera though the long front overhang, and sleek head lamps that point up front are refreshingly inspired.
In the images the car gets finished in dark blue, the large rims are multi-spoke silver items with center locks, and the raked windshield ends in the sweeping diminutive side windows that dive into the short hind quarters and roll-over bars behind the front seats; the doors are small affairs that entice you to climb in awkwardly.
A Look At The Back And The Rear Of The Zagato Mostro Barchetta
While the front seems to draw heavy inspiration from 60s racing cars, with the double pointed leading edge and simple oval grille, the rear is modern haute couture-meets the Porsche 928 and Alfa Romeo Brera.
The Brera and 928 were also compact coupes, though not as small and lightweight as this car.
Its small footprint and Ford GT40-rivalling height house an engine that sits behind the front axle providing a 50:50 weight distribution and only 2600 lbs mass.
Surprisingly, or not so, the mill powering the exclusive sports car is from Maserati, a naturally-aspirated 4.2-liter V8 with 420 hp or a 3-liter twin-turbo V6.
Either way you get a sequential manual 6-speeder that ensures you are an important part of the driving and gives a clue to the intentions and spirit of this Little Monster.
The Mostro uses a “Carbon-fiber, ‘MonoCell’ chassis, coupled with an innovative composite structure for the windshield frame and a rear steel subframe that carries a fuel tank, exhaust system, rear suspension, and differential”.
Where The Zagato Mostro Barchetta Comes From In Automobile History
There are a great many coach-built specials and limited-run variants of more established Italian sports cars, and the Mostro Barchetta is certainly moving forwards with its gaze trained on the past.
The style and lines of the exterior are nods to the inspiration for this vehicle – the 1957 Maserati 450S Costin Zagato Coupe from which it draws most of its influence.
Maserati’s iconic and problematic 50s racer was both beautiful and powerful and the Mostro channels some of that energy into a handbuilt, refined lightweight roadster for those with enough cash.
Inside the car – which first got teased at the 2015 Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance and celebrates 100 years of Maserati – is heavily retro, with modern-quality fabrics and materials and presumably somewhat superior build quality compared to its spiritual predecessor.
Swathes of delicious and expensive brown leather appear including on the high sill and the leather pull-tog to open the door, the aluminum gear stick and leather gaiter add to the drama and the racing steering wheel sticks out as a bold reminder of the Mostro’s alter ego.
We previously saw Italian design inside the Mazzanti Evantra that combined bespoke luxury with racing-inspired touches – though this car is a love letter to the past and even the optional 4.2-liter V8 is an old-school powertrain for an old-school car.
Buying A Zagato Mostro Barchetta In 2023
With a boat-like design that gets confirmed by the Barchetta part of the name, the rear also shares its design with the BMW Z8, the rounded trunk is a popular feature for retro-classic cars like this and the Z8 even shares some of the pointy front headlight theme.
The thing is, the BMW Z8 has an average auction value of more than $200,000, and the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (based on the Alfa Romeo 8C) we mentioned earlier is hand-made and presumably a $1million car.
For cheaper Italian thrills and a soft top, the Alfa Romeo Brera is a stunning car never offered in the US, a shame especially with the option of a 3.2-liter Alfa Romeo V6 under the hood – even if it isn’t the iconic ‘Busso’ engine from the marque’s most iconic V6s.
Then we get to the ‘other’ Barchetta – the small and cheap Fiat Barchetta from the 90s, which was a front-wheel-drive take on the Mazda MX-5 that wasn’t a runaway success but definitely boat-like, and not without its own kind of charm; you can get one for an average of $8,000 according to Classic.com’s average auction results aggregator.