With its enticing combination of beauty, brawn, and rarity, the DB4GT Zagato is among the most desirable Aston Martins of all time.

The model debuted at the 1960 London Motor Show as a special edition of the already impressive DB4GT with lightweight bodywork by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Zagato.

The intention was to build 23 in total, but at a cost of £5,470—nearly £1,000 more than the already expensive standard DB4GT—they were deemed too expensive, particularly in the face of the newly available and far less expensive Jaguar E-Type.

In the end, only 19 of the original run of 23 DB4GT Zagatos were produced.

Over the following decades, however, the car’s potent 3.7-liter, inline, six-cylinder engine together with the capable chassis, featuring a wheelbase five inches shorter than that of the Series I DB4, brought newfound success and clout to the DB4GT Zagato on the international motorsports scene, spurring ever-increasing acclaim, prestige, and demand; so much so that by the ...