Aston Martin's DB4 GT Zagato Continuation looks stunning even in assembly
It's being built to commemorate Zagato's 100th anniversary.
2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of famed Italian design house Zagato, and to celebrate that milestone, Aston Martin's building some new old cars that look absolutely magnificent.
Aston Martin on Wednesday unveiled a series of pictures of the first DB4 GT Zagato Continuation being assembled at Aston Martin's Heritage Division facility in the UK. Aston Martin refers to it as the "largest, best equipped and most knowledgeable Aston Martin restoration center in the world," but what's happening in these pictures isn't restoration -- it's building brand-new vintage cars from scratch.
As part of Zagato's centenary celebration, Aston Martin committed to building new examples of the DB4 GT Zagato as "Continuation" models. These vehicles will stay as true as possible to the O.G. DB4 GT Zagato of yore, but the automaker will employ newfangled tech to make life a bit easier. For example, while the car's 1.2-millimeter-thick aluminum body panels will still be made from flat sheets of metal, Aston Martin is using a digital buck to ensure everything is up to snuff.
There's an incredible amount of knowledge and craftsmanship in those aluminum body panels.
The original DB4 GT Zagato was a lighter, more hardcore version of the original DB4 GT. In its latest iteration, the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation will sport a 380-horsepower straight-six engine bolted to its tube-frame chassis, a slight improvement over the original's 314 hp. It will sport a four-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. Sadly, its unique provenance means it will be relegated to track duty only.
Its street legality shouldn't be a problem, though, because the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation is being sold as a package deal. Every Continuation will come with a street-legal DBS GT Zagato, a reimagining of the current DBS Superleggera. The two carry a £6 million (about $8 million) price tag, and while the Continuation is expected to start deliveries this year, the DBS GT Zagato will land with lucky owners about a year after that.
Aston Martin is no stranger to building old cars with a dose of new tech. In 2017, the automaker unveiled the DB4 GT Continuation, a 25-model run of the non-Zagato DB4 GT. After the Zagato, Aston will turn its efforts to movie history with the Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Edition, a continuation version of the famed Bond car.
