Zagato to pursue Scagliarini over Fiat 500 design rip-off.

Fiat 500 by Zagato and by Scagliarini

Zagato is to take legal action against US tuners Scagliarini Motorsports over the Scagliarini Motorsports Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato Elaborata.

Earlier this week we had an email pop in to tell us all about a customised Fiat 500 put together by U.S. tuners Scagliarini Motorsports. Which looked interesting, and we assumed it was done in collaboration with Zagato. Good story for the weekend, we thought. But now it’s got more interesting.

We assumed this customised Fiat 500 was done with the agreement of Zagato, especially as it looked just like the sexy Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato we saw at Geneva and as Scagliarini has used ‘Zagato’ in the 500’s moniker – the less than catchy Scagliarini Motorsports Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato Elaborata. But it turns out that’s not the case.

Autoblog are reporting that Zagato in fact had no involvement in the Scagliarini Fiat 500 and are going to be pursuing legal action against Scagliarini Motorsports. And we can see why.

Take a look at the comparison shots at the top and and it’s hard not to see that Scagliarini Motorsports Fiat 500 is firmly based on the Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato. Not only is it based on the Zagato car, it IS the Zagato car.

Look at the angle of the front wheel and the position of the alloys. Look at the light reflections around the car. The plate on the front still says ‘Zagato Coupe’. All the morons at Scagliarini Motorsports have done is shove one of the photos of the Zagato Coupe in to Photoshop, paint in the back window and change the colour. Five minutes work.

If the “client in the United Arab Emirates” Scagliarini Motorsports has supposedly ‘Built’ this car for has paid out on the strength of this photo, he needs help.

As, perhaps, will Scagliarini Motorsports when Vladimir Antonov’s lawyers have finished with them.