After joining forces to create an exquisite quartet of special models based on the Vanquish, Aston Martin and Zagato are teaming up once again for an equally interesting project. First announced in September 2018, the DBZ Centenary Collection is making the headlines courtesy of newly released design sketches giving us a better idea of what to expect from the lovely pair.
Half of that duo is the DBS GT Zagato while the other half is a DB4 GT Zagato Continuation, with both to be sold as a pair for £6 million before taxes. Production will be capped at 19 units per model and the idea behind the tie-up is to mark a century of Zagato heritage and nearly six decades of collaborations between the Italian design house and the Gaydon marque.
Gallery: Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
Together with the sketches, Aston Martin has shed more details about the DBS GT Zagato. Based on the DBS Superleggera, the version designed by Zagato has the traditional double-bubble roof design stretching over the full length of the canopy. This familiar motif extends onto the bonnet as a nod to early Zagato designs, while the designs of the grille, headlights, and wheels create a visual link with the classic DB4 GT Zagato from 1960.
No word about the DBS GT Zagato’s oily bits, but it’s expected to carry over the Superleggera’s mighty twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 engine with 715 bhp and 663 pound-feet of torque. In the regular version, it’s got enough punch for a 0-60 mph ruin in only 3.4 seconds before maxing out at 211 mph.
As for the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation, it’ll make use of a straight-six engine with 380 bhp channelled to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential.
Aston Martin will kick off deliveries of the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation in the fourth quarter of 2019 while the DBS GT Zagato will be in the hands of customers from Q4 2020.
Zagato has teamed up with other automakers over the years:
Gallery: Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato
DBZ CENTENARY COLLECTION:
FIRST GLIMPSE OF DBS GT ZAGATO
- Detailed renderings of DBS GT Zagato give clear indication of dramatic new design
- Production strictly limited to 19 examples, paired with DB4 GT Zagato Continuation
- DBZ Centenary Collection conceived to mark Zagato’s centenary
- DBS GT Zagato to be built at Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters
- DBZ Centenary Collection priced at £6m plus local taxes
25 March 2019, Gaydon: With the upcoming Centenary celebrations for world-renowned Italian design house Zagato soon upon us, it is the perfect moment to release the first detailed renderings of the new DBS GT Zagato; the second half of the remarkable DBZ Centenary Collection.
Created to celebrate the centenary of the legendary Zagato signature, the DBZ Centenary Collection is a unique project that pays tribute to an icon of the past and creates a classic of the future. This unique collaboration extends a remarkable creative partnership spanning almost 60 years. One that has consistently generated bold and breathtakingly exciting designs, the latest of which being the DBS GT Zagato.
Taking Aston Martin’s most potent series production car - the acclaimed DBS Superleggera - as its starting point, the DBS GT Zagato embodies the next evolution in Aston Martin Zagato design language. Inspired by the voluptuous shapes that previously dressed the original DB4 GT Zagato, Aston Martin and Zagatos 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 front windscreen to the car’s rearmost tip, discarding the traditional rear windscreen in favour of a purer roofline. The double-bubble theme continues frontwards 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, added: “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.”
Paired to the build run of 19 DB4 GT Zagato Continuations, the DBS GT Zagato will only be available as part of the £6m (plus taxes) DBZ Centenary Collection, thereby becoming one of the rarest and most coveted of all the modern-era Aston Martin Zagatos.
First deliveries to customers will commence QTR 4 2019 for the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation and QTR 4 2020 for the DBS GT Zagato.