I thought it looked promising initially. Then I thought about the cost (If it were a little below the RX1, maybe mid-price between the Sony and the Ricoh GR) it'd fly off the shelves). Then the size (its enormous!). Also, from memory, didn't Contax make the Zeiss Ikon M-Mount camera? Will this actually be a Zeiss made camera or will it just be a badged cam made by someone else (I'm not a purest or anything - I just want to know that if I'm paying a price premium I'm getting some genuine pixie-dust sprinkled on it by the finest artisans).
There's no way this will cost less than the Sony RX1, see my post above. It has all the bells and whistles of the RX1r plus a better EVF, built in harddrive, new sensor and full new OS.
Yashica of Japan made numerous Contax film cameras under license, designed by Zeiss. These included the Contax RTS film SLR, later the G1 ad G2 autofocus rangefinders, and the Contax T/2/3/VS luxury compact cameras made by Kyocera. Contax as a brand ceased operating in the early 2000's.
I would love it if the Contax name had been reborn with this new camera, but we can always dream.
The M-mount film rangefinder is the Zeiss Ikon, manufactured by Cosina of Japan for Zeiss themselves. This was sold from about 2006 and ceased production in 2012. I have a Zeiss Ikon and it is a grand camera, although it's currently in need of repair. Interestingly, most of the Zeiss ZM Leica mount lenses are made by Cosina in Japan, but I believe the 15mm is made by Zeiss themselves in Germany.
While it would make sense for Zeiss to use some Sony technology for the insides of the ZX1, this isn't a rebranding of an existing camera. Nothing else like it exists at this time. Time will tell if Zeiss reveals the origin of the ZX1 innards.