What's all this about?

Right, imagine you had £6 million (plus taxes, mind) burning a hole in your pocket. And imagine you really liked history. And historic motorsport, more to the point. The historic motorsport of Aston Martin, maybe. If so, you'd almost certainly have been one of the privileged few who bought the Aston Martin DBS Centenary Collection.

What's that, then?

Well, in brief it comprises an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Continuation and a DBS GT Zagato for your cash. Just 19 examples of each will be made, meaning 38 cars in total, and the reason 19 was chosen in the first place is because that's precisely how many original DB4 GT Zagatos were built (to go racing against Ferrari) in the 1960s. So, on that theme, and with the 19 DB4 GT Zagato Continuations due to be delivered to their lucky owners in the third quarter of this year, the first completed one has been revealed at Aston's VIP hospitality tent at the Le Mans 24 Hour, where the great British marque is racing this year.

Looks glorious. Can you tell me more about it?

Sure can. While it's a beautiful machine and one that is worthy of a Lazarus-like resurrection by Aston Martin Works, the Heritage Division of the luxury marque that is based in Newport Pagnell, Bucks, this Continuation car isn't actually the first DB4 GT built since the 1960s. That honour fell to a run of 25 non-Zagato DB4 GTs built in 2016 and sold in 2017. However, given 2019 is the 100th birthday of the carrozzeria, which is so synonymous with Aston Martin, it's the Zagato bit that makes these 19 DB4 GT Continuation and the forthcoming DBS GT so special. Anyway, enough waffling: the car shown at Le Mans is in Rosso Maja, a red finish matched to the original masters of 1960s paint suppliers Max Meyer & ICI. Inside, there's much Obsidian Black leather, some black Wilton carpets and a pair of carbon-fibre race seats (not to mention a full FIA-approved roll cage), because the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation cars are track-only. Under the bonnet, an enlarged 4.7-litre version of the 3.7-litre straight-six found in the 2017 DB4 GTs is now kicking out more than 390hp, all of which flows to the rear axle via means of a four-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. It is truly stunning.

So Aston Martin's Continuation series is focused on DB4s?

Not at all: you're forgetting that 25 Continuation Goldfinger DB5s are in the offing for 2020. Which, incidentally, is when the DBZ Centenary Collection will be completed, as the DBS GT half of the package is due to be delivered in the last quarter of next year.

What does Aston Martin say about all this?

Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda president and CEO, said: "The development and successful creation of this latest Continuation car is an achievement that should not be underestimated. Indeed, it could well be argued that we are making history with these new cars. Celebrating our brand's deep and enduring partnership with Zagato in this, their landmark year, by launching the DBZ Centenary Collection has been a mammoth undertaking and I'm personally extremely proud of the results in the shape of this new DB4 GT Zagato."

Is that it?

Nope. Paul Spires, president of Aston Martin Works, added: "Like Andy, I'm incredibly proud of what the team have achieved in making the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation a reality. After the unprecedented success of the DB4 GT Continuation cars, we are once again bringing to life the stuff of Aston Martin folklore."

Matt Robinson - 11 Jun 2019