The most valuable new car yet created by Aston Martin, the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation, has tonight been named ‘bespoke car of the year’ at the prestigious Historic Motoring Awards.
Part of the exceptional Aston Martin DBZ Centenary Collection, 19 pairs of sports cars created to celebrate 100 years of the legendary Zagato signature, the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation represents the current high-water mark for modern continuations of classic motoring icons.
The Historic Motoring Awards’ renowned panel of international judges – including such automotive luminaries as Jay Leno, McKeel Hagerty, Simon Kidston and Steve Fowler – settled on the Aston Martin Continuation for the blue riband trophy after detailed and painstaking examination of the 2019 shortlist.
James Elliott, editor-in-chief of Octane, said: “The Zagato Continuation impressed us hugely with its attention to detail, and because of the way in which cutting-edge knowledge was applied to traditional construction and build at Aston Martin’s spiritual home in Newport Pagnell. It also happens to be brilliant fun to drive.”
The 19 DB4 GT Zagato Continuation cars are being built at Aston Martin Works to the highest possible quality using a blend of Sir David Brown-era old world craftsmanship, with the sympathetic application of modern engineering advancements and performance enhancements.
A digital body buck has, for instance, been created to allow engineers to examine minute details of the Continuation cars in ways that were, clearly, unavailable to the original cars’ makers. Yet the hand-finished body panels of the new cars, each worked from flat sheets of 1.2 mm thick aluminium and representing hundreds of hours of world-class craftsmanship, are created using techniques that were commonplace almost 60 years ago.
Each individual Continuation sports car is the result of around 4,500 hours of detailed labour and meticulous handcrafting.
Receiving the award this evening on behalf of Aston Martin the brand’s Regional President Sales and Aftermarket, Peter Freedman, said: “The Continuation programme we have established at Aston Martin Works, returning new car production to the brand’s historic home in the process, really is about nothing less than once again making automotive history.
“On behalf of all of those involved in this remarkable project, I’m beyond proud to receive this award which I know will mean a huge amount to the entire team.”
The DB4 GT Zagato Continuation is a heritage ‘twin’ to the recently unveiled DBS GT Zagato which forms the contemporary half of this unique pairing. With a price tag of £6m – plus local taxes – each pair represents the most valuable new sports cars yet built by Aston Martin as the luxury British car maker celebrates its longstanding association with the world-renowned Italian coachbuilder and design house, Zagato.
