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First Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato continuation body completed

Last fall, we reported how Aston Martin was bringing back the DB4 GT Zagato model as a continuation series of 19 cars to celebrate Zagato's 100 years. Building the new classics has begun at Aston's Heritage Division at its Newport Pagnell facility, and the first body has now been completed. Aston Martin says the cars, which are only sold paired with new DBS GT Zagatos, are built using "a blend" of David Brown-era old-world craftsmanship and modern applications. As an example, a digital body buck now exists to help craft the panels, which are hand-formed from 1.2-millimeter-thick aluminum sheets in 1950s style. The adjacent gallery shows the unhurried style in which these very limited-edition, new/old Astons are built, and how a ball-peen hammer is still the tool of choice there. Underneath the aluminum, in a lightweight tubular frame, sits a Tadek Marek-designed 380-horsepower "twin spark" straight-six engine, paired to a four-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. Power is up about 50hp in comparison to an earlier DB4 continuation model. We only need to take a look at classic Astons to see what the DB4 GT Zagato continuation cars will look like, but the design of the modern DBS GT Zagato counterparts is still to be officially revealed. The DBS Superleggera-based twin-turbo V12 cars were previewed in a set of renderings late last month, and they are expected to come with at least 715 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. The continuation DB4 GT Zagatos will reach owners in the third quarter of 2019, and the DBS GT Zagatos will follow in 2020. The car combos are priced at almost $8 million. Featured Gallery Aston Martin DB4 GT Continuation Build Image Credit: Aston Martin Aston Martin Classics zagato

Aston Martin will celebrate 110 years with a special car

Aston Martin turns 110 this year, and of course it's going to celebrate the way any car company would: creating a special car. But this is, presumably, not the Aston Martin DBS 770 that was teased just recently. Unfortunately, what this special Aston is, is wide open for speculation. With Aston's anniversary announcement, it gave absolutely no details nor even a shaded teaser image. And the time frame is "later this year." So let's speculate. Certainly a way to really wow fans and wealthy customers with a special anniversary car would be to do a version of the company's halo car, the Valkyrie. After all, it's so important that Aston used it in the anniversary announcement photos along with the 1923 Razor Blade race car. Maybe it'll be a higher-output Valkyrie with extra slippery body work as a throwback to the Razor Blade. Or not! Like we said, it could be almost anything. And in trying to narrow down a reveal date, there are a few key events for supercar builders to reveal machinery. The first would be the Geneva Motor Show, which is sort of happening this year. It's being run by the same organizers, but the location is in Qatar. Then in the summer is the Goodwood Festival of Speed. If the car hasn't been revealed before then or during, it would be a great opportunity for Aston to run a camouflaged version of the car up the hill. At the very least, we're sure we'll see this special Aston no later than the Pebble Beach Concours. And with how the show effectively turned into the successor to the Geneva show last year, it would be a great location, as well as about the last big wealthy car show of the year, if it isn't shown sooner. Related video:

Aston Martin DBS 770 announced as high-horsepower swan song

Aston Martin will send off the DBS with a limited-edition model called 770 Ultimate. Due out later in 2023, the coupe will stand out from the regular-production model with a more powerful engine, several chassis-related changes, and a handful of edition-specific design details. Aston Martin calls the car "the ultimate finale to a bloodline" and pledges that the coupe will "surpass them all." It adds that the 770 Ultimate will feature a "re-engineered, sharper dynamic focus coupled with exquisite design." That's pretty vague, but there's a big hint potentially hidden in the name: 770 could refer to the engine's output. The DBX 707 uses an evolution of the standard SUV's twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 tuned to develop 707 pferdestarke, which is the German word for metric horsepower that's often abbreviated as PS. Applying this logic to the 770 Ultimate strongly suggests the model will gain a 770-pferdestarke version of the twin-turbocharged, 5.2-liter V12 that powers the standard DBS. That number converts to about 759 horsepower. In comparison, the DBS puts 715 horsepower under the driver's right foot. That's enough for a 3.3-second sprint from zero to 60 mph. We're guessing that the Ultimate will retain an eight-speed automatic transmission, and suspension modifications should give it sharper handling. Aston Martin will release additional details about the DBS 770 Ultimate in the coming weeks, and the model is scheduled to make its debut in early 2023 — a specific date hasn't been published yet. Production will be limited to 499 units globally, and we expect a base price of well over $300,000. As for what's next, your guess is as good as ours: Aston Martin hasn't announced whether it will replace the DBS. Related Video: