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Aston Martin DBZ Centenary Collection celebrates Zagato's anniversary

The DB4 GT Zagato Continuation and DBS GT Zagato will be sold in pairs for $7.9 million.

Jake Holmes Reviews Editor
While studying traditional news journalism in college, Jake realized he was smitten by all things automotive and wound up with an internship at Car and Driver. That led to a career writing news, review and feature stories about all things automotive at Automobile Magazine, most recently at Motor1. When he's not driving, fixing or talking about cars, he's most often found on a bicycle.
Jake Holmes
2 min read
Aston Martin

has worked with Italian design house Zagato for 58 years, and with the latter celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2019, the British automaker is building limited-edition cars to commemorate the occasion. Called the DBZ Centenary Collection, the cars consist of the track-only DB4 GT Zagato and the street-legal GT Zagato.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato

Aston will hand-build 19 new DB4 GT Zagatos as a "Continuation" of this one from the 1960s.

Aston Martin

"The partnership between Aston Martin and Zagato is one of the most fruitful and enduring in the automotive world," Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer said in a statement. "With Zagato celebrating its centenary next year, what better way to celebrate this landmark -- and the long-standing bond between our two great companies -- than creating these 19 pairs of cars."

The DB4 GT Zagato draws its inspiration from eponymous racing models of the 1960s. The new car will, as with the original, use a tubular frame with aluminum hand-built bodywork, along with a 380-horsepower straight-six engine, four-speed manual and limited-slip differential. The cars will be built at Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell, England. There are no photos of the new Continuation version yet, but expect it to hew closely to the look of the original model shown in these period photos from Aston. This Continuation model follows Aston's earlier old-cars-built-new offerings, the DB4 GT and the James Bond-styled DB5.

Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato sketch

This sketch is an early look at the DBS GT Zagato's design.

Aston Martin

The DBS GT Zagato, meanwhile, will be a new car built at Aston's headquarters in Gaydon. Only a sketch of the car's nose has been shared so far, though Aston Martin says the car will have the double-bubble roof that is a signature of Zagato designs. Though few details are offered, it's likely to be built on the basis of the new 715-horsepower DBS Superleggera that Roadshow Editor in Chief Tim Stevens called, "a frightful, purposeful and beautiful beast."

Aston will sell the DBZ Centenary cars only in pairs -- you can't just have a DB4, for instance -- with 19 pairs of cars set to be produced. The cost for each pair is pegged at £6 million, or $7.9 million by today's exchange rates. Customer deliveries of the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation will begin at the end of 2019 with the DBS GT Zagato to follow in the fourth quarter of 2020.

2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera looks sizzling in red

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