Aston Martin launches £6m DBZ Centenary Collection

Together the then-and-now pair of the DB4 GT Zagato and DBS GT Zagato make up the DBZ Centenary Collection, a bold idea for Aston to mark Zagato’s centenary with two ultra-exclusive models for 19 collectors (19 is the number of DB4 GT Zagatos built in period). The two Aston GTs, both newly built but with a heritage spanning more than 50 years, are only able to be bought as a pair – for £6m plus tax.

We have always known what the DB4 GT Zagato will be like – it’s a continuation version of the 1960s classic, hand-crafted and upgraded in places but essentially a modern version of Britain’s famous rival to the Ferrari 250 GTO. But we have only had the faintest idea what the other half of the deal, the Italian design house’s take on Aston’s most powerful series-production car, will look like. These new images fill in some of the gaps. 

Zagato’s DBS GT surely doesn’t disappoint, even if buyers will have to get used to not having a rear screen. A stand out feature of the design is a solid carbon-fibre roof section that runs from top of windscreen to tip of boot. Lacking any rear screen, Aston is using digital cameras to show the view behind.

“Form and function are constantly in battle with one another, but this is a great example of where we have been able to utilise modern technologies to ensure no concession has been made on either side,” Aston design chief Marek Reichman tells us.

As well as other Zagato design cues – the muscular rear haunches and double-bubble bulges ­– the DBS GT Zagato gets a trick front grille, made up of 108 diamond-shaped carbon-fibre pieces. With the car parked, the pieces are closed to present a flush surface; fire up the twin-turbo V12 though and each piece pivots open to let the air in. “This is a car that is not only focused around beauty, but drama too,” adds Reichman.

 “It was important to me and our teams to deliver something as beautiful as the original DB4 GT Zagato and I feel that we have achieved that. I can’t wait to see it in the metal.”

The 19 DB4 GT Zagatos are being built first at Aston’s traditional home in Newport Pagnell while its Zagato DBS counterpart is set for production in 2020.