The relationship that Ugo Zagato built with Aston Martin’s David Brown started small but has spanned nearly seven decades, an unusual partnership between the Italian design firm and the British automaker.

Zagato was not one to sit idle.

Born into a poor family in rural Italy a day’s journey from Venice, he was not content living an agrarian life.

Instead, he fixed his attention on metalworking, first in Germany and then later in Turin and Milan, where he developed an understanding of aerodynamics and lightweight aluminum.

That institutional knowledge set Zagato apart from other Italian design firms fixated on swoopy shapes rather than race-winning performance, and that is what attracted Brown to the Milanese company in 1959 after a decisive 1-2 victory over Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Brown wanted to stay on top, and he turned to Ferrari’s home turf to do it.

Aston Martin commissioned Zagato to reimagine its DB4GT, the short-wheelbase, track-honed version of the DB4 touri...