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DB4 GT Zagato (1960-1963) |
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Newport Pagnell i6 Cars (1958-1973)
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 The Zagato company in Italy were commissioned to produce the even more lightweight and slippery DB4 variant, the DB4GT Zagato, to compete head on with the Ferrari 250GTO on the race circuit. Styled by the young Ecole Spada, the Zagato not only stunned the 1960 Motor Show, but continues to be regarded as the most beautiful Aston Martin and perhaps even the most beautiful car of all time. The Zagato was phenomenally expensive, partly due to the cost of sending the chassis from the UK to Italy to be fitted with the bodies, and in many cases, back again for finishing and trimming.
The effect of the extreme weight loss from thinner gauge aluminium, perspex windows and sparse trim plus the even more powerful 314 bhp engine enabled the DB4GT Zagato to reach 153 mph.
Despite the fact that only 20 examples of the DB4GT Zagato were built, the car has had an enormous influence on Aston Martin to this day quite at odds with it's extreme rarity. Both the DB7 and Vanquish have definite styling elements that have been taken from the DB4GT Zagato, not to mention the new DB7 Zagato and DB AR1. These cars are testament to the strong bond between the two companies from a small project started more than 40 years ago.
It must appear totally crazy that some cars remained unsold for some time, even at 'knock down' prices; nowadays in the unusual event that a Zagato changes hands, the successful new owner will need to find well in excess of a half a million pounds.
In more recent times, two further batches of Zagatos were built; four Sanction 2 cars were completed in 1991, and two Sanction 3 cars in 2000.
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