Am I the only person who's a bit shocked that Zagato's design chief is now a Japanese guy? What's going on with these Italian studios these days? As I recall, the Enzo, F430, and 599 were penned by a Japanese designer as well.
However, I like this car. While the quirkiness of the original was not without charm, I think this new design is more sleek, more agressive, and is better suited towards the performance exotic market in which it'll be competing. If it were to be openly sold, I think it'd attract a kind of buyer Spyker has been lacking, and which it needs, those which would now be looking to Ferrari and Lamborghini otherwise. (Lambo being especially notable, as both Spyker and Lambo appeal to the "extroverted" owner market.)
This design lends a bit of sports credibility to the Spyker lineup. While the performance has always been notable, the design had the feel of something of a "pimped" version of cars like the Jaguar XK, Mercedes SL, or the BMW 6-series, appearing as just a more luxurious model of an everyday premium convertible/coupe. Clarkson had it right when he called it a Fashion Accessory.
This new design is rakish, agressive, and even masculine, lending it much more of the "supercar" image. It really gives it the visual flair needed, to compete with the type of car its performance and price puts it up against.
Oh... I hate the wheels, though. They look like something you'd see on a primered Civic, bought for $69 per wheel at Pep Boys, alongside the APC underglow and spoiler. Not fitting of a supercar, at all.
also its about as pretty as the edonis was XD
