Co-judges at California’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2001, Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin, and Andrea Zagato, of the eponymous Italian design house, conceived the idea of an exclusive sportscar recalling the beautiful DB4GT Zagato, a mere 19 of which were made in the early 1960s.

(Arguably the most desirable of post-war Aston Martins, the DB4GT Zagato captured the imagination of enthusiasts like few cars before or since, a state of affairs that led to its resurrection in the late 1980s/early 1990s when a further six cars were sanctioned by the works).

The model chosen as the basis for the two companies’ new joint venture was the DB7 Vantage supercar.

‘But we don’t see it as really retro,’ commented Aston Martin’s Director of Design, Henrik Fisker, explaining: ‘We see it as more of a Zagato in the tradition of Zagato and Aston Martin.

The idea of this car was, like the original DB4 and DB4GT Zagato, for the DB7 and the DB7 Zagato to have a relationship in design.

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