Carrozzeria Zagato was, like Vignale, one of the coachbuilders which fitted the initial batch of Appia S2 chassis with bodies in 1956. Another similarity shared with Vignale was that Zagato had no tradition of supplying Lancia with special made bodies, but otherwise these two coachbuilders were quite different from each other. Zagato was an older established company, dating back to 1919, and well-known for applying aircraft technology into their usually light-weight designs. As such, Zagato was regarded a specialist in constructing bodies for racing cars, in particular for Alfa Romeo.
The connection which Zagato had with Alfa Romeo was strong and had produced a number of competitive and successful sportscars before the second World War but Zagato did provide custom made bodies for chassis from other manufacturers as well, including Lancia. After the war Zagato was looking to expand from handcrafted low-volume production to more industrialized production in larger numbers. At first chassis from Fiat were used, with the classic berlinetta bodies for the Fiat 8V chassis as best known example, but soon also the chassis from Lancia attracted Zagato's attention. First effort were a few competition coupe bodies on the Lancia Aurelia B20 chassis in 1953, but things started to get serious with the light-weight bodies for the Appia.
Zagato bodies generally had a very distinct style with elements which made it stand out from the rest, and the first design for the Appia was no exception. At the time Zagato had just introduced the double-bubble roof style: two humps in the roof to provide enough headroom while reducing the frontal area (and drag) of the car. On the clean and elegant Fiat 8V berlinetta design it looked well but Zagato went overboard on the Appia design, with humps not only on the roof, but also on the hood and the trunk lid The result was quaint and rendered the car the nickname "Camel". The official name however was Gran Turismo, or GT, like the sporty Aurelia B20 which by then was near the end of its production life.
Though dubbed grand tourer this car had a quality other Appia coupes lacked: performance. The light-weight aluminum body of the Camel made it more than 100 kg lighter than the Pininfarina coupe for instance, so it was considerably quicker. In 1957 the Camel was entered in the famous Mille Miglia race and finished third in its class, with two newer Appia GT cars finishing before it. It was this promise of success in competition which made Lancia decide to team up with Zagato to introduce the third official special 2-door body on the Appia platform.

First the looks had to be cleaned up however. Unlike the Pininfarina coupe and the Vignale convertible the styling of the Zagato GT was changed considerably during its production. The production model which was introduced in 1957 lacked the bubbles on the hood and the trunk lid but now sported two sharp fins at the rear of the car. In front Zagato's version of the traditional Lancia shield like grill had disappeared in favor of an elongated grill between the headlights. On each side a single chrome trim strip was placed which incorporated a recessed doorhandle and the rear fenders, below the fins, were distinctly curved.
The first line of Appia GT was available in two versions, the standard GT and the GTS. The latter was meant for use in competition and was slightly lighter and offered a bit more horsepower. Externally the GTS could be recognized by streamlined plastic fairings over the front lights while the GT had plain headlights. Since Zagato made the Appia GT largely by hand customers could specify modifications and as a result cars which were to be entered in competition often had special nose sections to reduce drag and extra light bodies. Only the first thirty production cars had rear fins and double-bubble roofs; after that these elements disappeared.
Like the other coachbuilt Appias the GT was powered by the 1090 cc V4 engine producing 53 hp @ 5200 rpm; with a raised compression this engine churned out 58 hp @ 5400 rpm in the GTS. The GT weighed only 840 kg and its little engine pushed it to 150 kph; the GTS tipped the scales at 785 kg and could reach 160 kph, quite a contrast to the 128 kph of the Appia S2 berlina.

Production of the Appia GT and GTS ended in 1958, before the Appia S3 chassis became available. It was succeeded by the Appia GTE with a completely revised body. The added "E" in the designation stood for Export, which was more of an aspiration than a reality since most of these cars did not leave Italy. This version of the body became the most classic of the coachbuilt Appias. It was profoundly modernized and now clear lines uncluttered by fins, trim or humps defined this 2+2 coupe.
In front the headlights were recessed further into the fenders and covered by larger plastic fairings; the grill was smaller and larger indicator lights were placed under the headlights. At the sides the chrome trim line was removed, as was the curve of the rear fenders. Now the car showed a stretched, streamlined shape which stressed its ambition as a performance car.
The GTE was produced on the same chassis as the GT only for a few months; in March 1959 the design was carried over to the Appia S3 chassis, again similar to the new platform used for the Pininfarina coupe and Vignale convertible and offering 54 hp @ 5200 rpm. Weight and top speed remained the same at 840 kg and 150 kph and there was no replacement for the GTS version.