1970 NART Zagato: The Cadillac Eldorado Turned Exotic, Italian-Bodied Grand Tourer

Throughout the '50s, '60s, and '70s, Italian-American collaborations led to some iconic rides like the Cunningham C-3, the De Tomaso Mangusta and Pantera, the Iso Grifo, or the Apollo GT.

Whether they were Italian cars powered by American V8s or American cars donning coachbuilt Italian bodies, those beauties hold a special place in the hearts of many enthusiasts, even more than half a century after they were built.

But apart from the Italian-American icons that made it into production, several fascinating cars that never made it past the concept or prototype stage were also developed during those exciting decades.

Among those was the Zagato-bodied, Cadillac-powered NART, which sought to become an American alternative to the exotic European grand tourers of the era.

A brief history of NART

Born in 1901, Luigi Chinetti started working as a mechanic for Alfa Romeo shortly after turning sixteen. While working for the Milan-based carmaker, he befriended another young and talented Alfa mechanic named Enzo Ferrari, with whom he also shared a passion for racing fast cars.

Chinetti would later relocate to Paris, where he became an Alfa salesman during the work week and an aspiring race driver during weekends.

By the mid-1930s, Chinetti became an established endurance racing driver and a constant presence at the world's most prestigious races, such as the 24 Hours of LeMans, but also kept selling Alfas for a dealership he now owned.

When the Second World War broke out, the Italian-born driver emigrated to the US and gained citizenship in 1947 thanks, in part, to the support of Zora Arkus-Duntov.

In the years that followed, Chinetti became the exclusive Ferrari dealer in the US. To promote his business but also continue his passion for motorsport, he established the North American Racing Team (NART) in 1958.

NART quickly became the most successful privateers to race prancing horses in the US and abroad, managing to win several prestigious races, including the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1965.

From race team to street-legal grand tourer

By the late 1960s, upcoming emissions regulations made it clear that exotics such as those built by Ferrari would become harder and more expensive to import, so Chinetti came up with an interesting idea.

With his dealership license set to expire in 1970, Chinetti believed that developing his own exotic would be the way to go forward.

Thanks to his connections within General Motors, the Italian-born exotic dealer and team owner managed to convince the corporation to help him turn his idea into reality and develop an exciting American grand tourer with Italian flair.

The Cadillac division was chosen to help Chinetti and give the car a seal of approval in terms of luxury, while NART was chosen as the name of the model since the team's motorsport legacy would give the grand tourer the alluring performance mantra that Cadillac lacked.

Based on the eight-gen Eldorado

The development of Chinetti's first bespoke street car started in 1968, and legend has it that the initial sketch was penned by his son, Luigi Chinetti, Jr., who was an aspiring designer.

Whether or not that was the case, what we do know for sure is that Chinetti Sr. traveled to Italy and commissioned coachbuilding powerhouse Zagato to produce a low-slung 2+2 body for the project.

In the meantime, he also sourced an eight-gen Eldorado chassis from Cadillac and had it modified to accommodate the all-new body as well as the powertrain.

The result was a gorgeous grand tourer that, despite being an Eldorado underneath, looked nothing like the big Caddy.

Donning the prancing horse NART logos on each of the front fenders, the car only shared the hubcaps and dashboard with the series-production Eldorado.

Powered by a humongous American V8

Underneath, the modified GM E-body frame was equipped with the same suspension system, steering box, and front disc brakes as Cadillac's popular personal luxury car. The only noteworthy addition was a pair of disc brakes on the rear axle.

The powertrain also came from the eighth-gen Eldorado and included the Turbo Hydra-Matic three-speed automatic and the 472-ci (7.7-liter) Cadillac V8.

However, since the car was conceived as a bonafide exotic, the powerplant was mounted behind the passenger compartment, making the NART Zagato the first-ever road-legal mid-engine Cadillac.

The humongous engine, which was rated at 375 hp (SAE gross) in the Eldorado, received some tuning and a bespoke exhaust system that pushed output to a cool 400 hp.

Failing to make it into production

The NART Zagato took about two years to complete, and it finally made its debut at the 1970 Turin Motor Show, where it was met with excitement by the public and the press.

However, by that time, GM had dropped out of the project, so any trace of the Cadillac name was erased from the car, which was now presented as the NART Zagato.

The Italian-American grand tourer was also displayed at the New York Auto Show several months later, and again, it was a hit among enthusiasts, with a few more wealthy individuals even making deposits for their own examples.

A limited production run was initially planned, but Chinetti eventually failed to secure the funding to turn his pet project into a series-production grand tourer.

In the end, the functional show car remained in Chinetti's possession until 1987, when he decided to sell it. The one-off was purchased by a collector who fully restored it, and since then, it changed hands numerous times.

Though it never made it into production and has been forgotten, the 1970 Cadillac NART Zagato remains one of the most fascinating Italian-American exotics ever built.