James Bond’s Next Rides!

Since Zagato, an Italian design firm that has been design partners with Aston Martin for over 50 years, it seems fitting that Zagato coachbuilt a couple of centennial-edition Aston Martins.

Sources from inside Aston Martin and Zagato have confirmed that two examples of an Aston Martin centennial special will be built.  One is based off of a 2013 Aston Martin DB9 Volante Convertible (no, Starbucks didn’t come up with the name!) and will be delivered to Peter Read; an Aston Martin enthusiast and collector in the U.S.  The other is based off of a 2013 Aston Martin DBS Coupe, destined for an unnamed entrepreneur in Japan.

The designs of the cars were inspired by the 2002 DB7 Zagato, a car so popular that all 99 examples were spoken for before it even debuted at the 2002 Paris Auto Show!  The same team that developed the 2002 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato helped Andrea and Marella Zagato, Peter Read, and Aston Martin develop the car.

When you look at the renderings of the cars, it takes a trained eye to find the Aston Martin underpinnings, but it’s almost impossible to miss the signature elements of Zagato and Aston Martin.  The double-bubble roof, squared-off tail, and clean, sharp lines tell you that you’re looking at an Aston seconds before the winged badge comes howling into view.

When you look at the front of the cars, one cannot help but notice the design cues from the 1980’s Aston Martin V8 Zagato.

Peter Read, the owner of the 2013 Aston Martin DB9 Volante Convertible summed up the design team’s vision best.  “The DB9 Spyder Zagato Centennial perfectly merges Aston Martin and Zagato’s DNA by combining the elegance of design, typical of Zagato, with the soul, power and prestige of Aston Martin, all developed over the last 100 years.”

As with all Zagato specials, no mechanical changes were made.  This means that both cars will come with Aston Martin’s wonderful 5.9-liter, 510 horsepower V12.

I want both of these cars to be mine.  My readers might have to start an auction of their cars to afford my rides…Unfortunately, all Zagato Aston Martins are highly collectible, rare vehicles that stay in collections for many years.  Then, they sell at auctions for prices close to $1 Million.