OVERDRIVE
ASTON MARTIN DB4 GT ZAGATO CONTINUATION
Driving Aston Martin’s £6m DB4 GT Zagato Continuation; proof there’s life left in petrol
REGULAR READERS will remember the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Continuation (yup, long name) from Octane 194. You know the one, 60 years on from the original, in Zagato’s centenary year, built from scratch by Aston Martin Works as an exclusive 19-off series, true to the original yet produced to a degree of perfectionism that was well beyond that achieved back in the day. And DB4 Zagato authority Stephen Archer, writing for Octane, was the first person outside of Aston Martin to see one. Only he didn’t drive it. That, finally, falls to me.
I know I’m supposed to build suspense right about now but I’ll come straight out with it: this is the most fun I’ve had behind the wheel of anything this year. And possibly since quite a lot longer ago. Put simply, this thing is lively. Sure, you’d expect it to be quick, with a kerbweight around 1200kg and a 4.7-litre triple-Weber twincam straight-six that’s been dyno’d at 390bhp, but the suggested performance figures of 0-60mph in around six seconds and a top end of 150mph sound less impressive than they feel. And that’s without mentioning the agility of the structure that surrounds that motive source.
So, in spite of a price tag of £6 million, I’m treated to a couple of sighting laps with Aston Martin Works president Paul Spires behind the wheel, who throws it around the Stowe circuit at Silverstone with lots of vigour and not a little talent. Then I’m encouraged to throw it around myself with similar gusto.
Well, who wouldn’t? I haven’t been around the place in a couple of years (last time was in a Porsche 959) and I’ve got a handful of laps to play with, so rather than relearn the lines, my plan is to build up a picture of how the car handles then give it some. But what makes me smile almost immediately is the transparent nature of the Zagato. It hides nothing from you. So, sure, neatness and perfect lines remain something that will come if they come; but after only one lap we’ve already been sideways quite a lot and I’m keen to explore a bit further.
This is quite a technical circuit, with a broad hairpin that leads onto a long straight, then a chicane, a sweeping left, and a complex of switchbacks into the start/finish straight. And though that live rear axle can easily be made to slide, the natural
cornering stance is actually one of understeer: safe and unthreatening. But there’s oodles of torque, especially from 4000rpm, and a lofty rev limit beyond 6000rpm – way higher than you might expect of a car that’s (sort of) from the 1950s. Only four gears, too, accessed via a dog-box, so the shifts are nearinstantaneous and surprisingly easy to nurse once you get the knack of dipping the clutch quickly and kicking the throttle on the way back down.
So, into a corner, aim towards the apex and give it a boot. The tail slides accordingly yet unthreateningly and how you then further adjust your attitude is down to your right foot. It feels more dramatic than it looks, to be fair, but it’s a visceral thrill to be able to drive a car as valuable as this in such a way without feeling as though you’ll break it. Or worse.
The soundtrack is more entertaining to spectators, with a deep exhaust burble that builds to a blare. Thanks to that racespec transmission, all you hear inside is the screech of gears, the trundle of barely silenced suspension, and the click-clack of that gearlever moving through its strictly defined gate.
What tremendous fun! Of course, it was built for this environment, as a track car rather than a loping GT. Don’t forget, the original finished third in its very first race, driven by Stirling Moss at Goodwood, and two went on to race at Le Mans. So it’s a serious car. Owners can put theirs through an SVA process for roadregistration, but it’s always going to feel more at home here. Elsewhere, the uncompromising nature of the hard-shell seats, five-point harnesses, that gearbox and the unyielding ride would soon prove tiring.
Talking of owners, while seeing some of the cars in-build at Aston Works just ahead of the Silverstone test, Spires let it be known that one of the 19 is still to be allocated. So, if you’ve got the necessary £6 million handy, here’s a great place to put it.
Remember, you don’t ‘only’ get a DB4 Zagato for the money: each one will be paired with an exclusive and all-new DBS Zagato. So maybe that would be your road car. And while the DB4 is to an old design, much of the detail in its make-up is ultra-modern: not just the 3D scanning that meant the panels could be made as accurately as possible but even at a molecular level. The engine blocks are cast using the same technology as Aston’s modern cars’, freezechilled in a way that that causes a stronger metallurgical bond within their structure. Result? Greater strength that can even be
heard: gone is the original’s 4000rpm resonance.
Testing was carried out by Darren Turner and Peter Dumbreck, who enjoyed throwing it around in a way a modern Le Mans racer would deny – but they also proved that it was up to the
‘I’LL COME STRAIGHT OUT WITH IT: THIS IS THE MOST FUN I’VE HAD BEHIND THE WHEEL OF ANYTHING THIS YEAR’
task. Each of the 19 cars will have taken 4500 man-hours to build, which helps put the unfeasiblesounding asking price into context. This is reckoned to be the most expensive production car in the world. But perhaps the most surprising aspect of it is how endearing it is as a driver’s car, rather than simply being a jewellike object of desire.
I hope Aston Martin shares the experience of the Zagato’s modern twin in the months to come, but I doubt very much that it will get close to this brand-new classic in the entertainment stakes.