Aston Martin reveals £7.2m Zagato centenary pair

ASTON MARTIN has lifted the lid on one of the rarest and most coveted iconic new car pairings of the modern era, priced together at £6m plus taxes - or over £7.2m with VAT for starters, to celebrate the Zagato centenary.

With a build run strictly limited to just 19 pairs, this exceptional duo comprises a new, track-only DB4 GT Zagato Continuation version of the race-winner with distinctive ‘double-bubble’ roof from the 1960s and the new, road-legal DBS GT Zagato now unveiled.

A key element of this year’s centenary celebrations for world-renowned Italian design house Zagato, the iconic British performance car manufacturer has released the first detailed renderings of the new DBS GT Zagato.

This is the second half of the remarkable DBZ Centenary Collection, a unique project that pays tribute to an icon of the past and creates a classic of the future.

The DB4 GT Zagato is being built at Aston Martin Works, Newport Pagnell – the original home of the DB4 - while the new DBS GT Zagato will be produced at Gaydon, Aston Martin’s global headquarters.

Perfectly bookending Aston Martin and Zagato’s shared history, the DBZ Centenary Collection will be sure to take their place among the world’s most coveted cars.

Built to race against the might of Ferrari in the 1960s, the DB4 GT Zagato, seen in its heyday racing at tracks including Goodwood by the likes of Jim Clark, was a thoroughbred machine. Evolved for the rigours of motor racing and blessed with breathtaking beauty, just 19 were built.

It featured a 3.7-litre aluminium twin-spark straight 6-cylinder engine producing 314hp with four-speed manual transmission for a 0 to 60mph sprint time of just 6.1 seconds and a top speed of approximately 154mph.

Drawing on Aston Martin Works’ unrivalled knowledge and expertise, the 2019 DB4 GT Zagato Continuations will be completely authentic and meticulously crafted cars that are true to those original Zagato-bodied DB4 GTs produced by Aston Martin and Zagato in 1960.

This unique collaboration extends a remarkable creative partnership spanning almost 60 years, one that has consistently generated bold and breathtakingly exciting designs, the DBS GT Zagato being the latest.

Taking Aston Martin’s most potent series production car - the acclaimed £225,000 DBS Superleggera - as its starting point, the DBS GT Zagato embodies the next evolution in Aston Martin Zagato design language.

The standard DBS Superleggera has a 5.2-litre V12 producing 725hp and 900Nm torque mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with manual mode for 3.4sec 0-62mph and 211mph top speed.

Inspired by the voluptuous shapes that previously dressed the original DB4 GT Zagato, Aston Martin and Zagato’s designers have worked hard to conjure a similarly evocative design language.

A key design feature remains the iconic double-bubble roof. Stretching the full length of the canopy, this fresh interpretation delivers a clean and sculptural form that flows from the top of the windscreen to the car’s rearmost tip, discarding the traditional rear screen in favour of a purer roofline.

The double-bubble theme continues forwards across the car’s bonnet, reminiscent of the shape and form seen on original Aston Martin Zagato designs. These flowing curves are complemented by the model’s wide wrap-around windscreen, removing any hard lines above the car’s shoulder line.

Muscular rear haunches deliver powerful and purposeful definition to the car’s side profile, while a unique wheel design, headlamps and a striking front grille – a key feature for all Aston Martin Zagato designs - continue to deliver a modern twist on the DB4 GT Zagato’s classic form.

Speaking of the DBZ Zagato Collection, Marek Reichman, Aston Martin Lagonda’s executive vice president and chief creative officer, said: “In the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation we have one of the world’s most beautiful and instantly recognisable pieces of car design.

“Creating a car fit to stand alongside it was always going to be a formidable challenge, but also a great motivation.

“Both design teams at Aston Martin and Zagato have together risen to the task magnificently; taking the already fabulous DBS Superleggera and shaping something which retains its identity as an Aston Martin, but expresses itself as only a Zagato can.

“Sensational-looking and extremely rare, it is the modern incarnation of a timeless icon.”

First deliveries to customers will commence this autumn for the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation and QTR 4 2020 for the DBS GT Zagato.