Aston Martin – DB4 GT Zagato (1960)

The Aston Martin DB4 GT clothed in a Touring Superleggera body came out in 1959. Although the sleek coupé was commercially successful, it could not quite meet the aspirations of the fans. It proved to be too heavy compared to the 250 GT Ferraris despite trumping the standard DB4 with a shorter wheelbase, lower weight and more power. At the time, Aston Martin was eyeing up manufacture of a lighter and more competitive DB4 GT. This is where former racing driver and subsequent Bristol owner Tony Crook came into play. He was the British representative of Zagato and Crook mediated the contact between Aston Martin and the Milanese coachbuilder, known for extremely light and aerodynamically sophisticated bodies. And so, the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato was created in 1960. Ercole Spada was responsible for the breath-taking design. At the age of just 23 years, he had just become Designer-in-Chief at Zagato. The technical design of the Zagato version was closely based on the Aston Martin DB4 GT competition car. The new Zagato DB4 GT was originally presented at the London Motor Show in 1960. It was now upgraded with an engine packing a higher compression ratio and three twin Weber carburettors. This makeover increased power to about 280 hp compared to the standard DB4 GT. The body was fashioned entirely in aluminium. This lefthand drive example was the second DB4 GT Zagato produced. Originally painted mid-metallic green, the colour scheme had been changed to red for a number of years before the car was returned in its original livery. Only 19 Coupé Zagatos were built between 1960 and 1963 – six of them left-hand drives. The original Zagato Astons paved the way for Aston Martin’s successful partnership with Zagato which continues right down to the present day.