Luxury: Aston Martin Dreaming

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Concours of Elegance brings a rather special collection of luxury cars to London. Concours of Elegance has announced the first of its special features: a world-first display of one of every single Aston Martin Zagato variant ever built.

In the year that the Italian atelier celebrates its centenary, Concours of Elegance pays homage to one of the greatest creative partnerships in automotive history. From the 1960 DB4 GT Zagato through to the Vanquish Zagato Coupé, Volante, Speedster and Shooting Brake, 16 different Zagato variants will be on display. Rarities such as the one-off DB9 Spyder Zagato Centennial, Virage Shooting Brake Zagato Centennial and V12 Vanquish Roadster Zagato, as well as DB4 GT Zagato ‘1 VEV’ will all be on display.

The Aston Martin Zagato Celebratory Display is being curated by the Aston Martin Owners Club (AMOC), supported by Aston Martin Lagonda and Zagato. Aston Martin and Zagato first came together with the reveal of the DB4 GT Zagato at the Earl’s Court Motor Show in 1960.

Initially designed with aerodynamics and light weight in mind – to make the DB4 GT quicker on-track – nobody could have known that this car would provide the spark for one of the motoring industry’s greatest ever double-acts. Into the more modern era and we saw the next fruits of the Aston Martin Zagato partnership in 2011 – around the 50th anniversary of their first creation – with the V12 Vantage-based V12 Zagato. Then, even more recently, there was the reveal of the gorgeous Vanquish Zagato Coupé, Volante, Speedster and Shooting Brake variants. Earlier this year, Aston Martin and Zagato revealed the next step in their partnership: the DBZ Centenary Collection, in celebration of 100 years of Zagato – two cars you can only buy as a pair. The special pair includes a Zagato- styled variant of the new DBS Superleggera and a continuation of the original DB4 GT Zagato. Only 19 pairs are available globally.

That’s part of the enduring appeal of Aston Martin Zagato models – they aren’t just beautiful and ferocious, they’re also extremely rare. Only every so often will the two companies come together to create their next automotive artwork and, even when they do, the production numbers are extremely limited: Only 52 V8 Vantage Coupés, only 100 DB7 Zagatos, only 65 V12 Zagatos and a mere 28 Vanquish Zagato Speedsters.

Although the Aston Martin Zagato display will be gathered at Hampton Court Palace for all three days of the Concours of Elegance, Saturday 7 September is the day to attend for Aston Martin enthusiasts. As part of the event’s car club displays – gathering hundreds of rare vehicles from the nation’s top car clubs – there will be an astonishing display of over 50 rare and exotic models on display courtesy of the Aston Martin Owners Club.

The Concours of Elegance’s main display of around 60 vehicles will be the focal point of the event, telling the story of the motor car from the 1890s right through to the modern day, picking out icons and rarities from the world’s most famous car brands, including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti and Rolls-Royce.

Andrew Evans, Concours of Elegance Director, said: “The Aston Martin Zagato partnership has produced such a consistently astonishing array of cars that it almost deserves an event of its own. We’ve got so much world-class content at our event this year, however, this celebratory display is one that I personally can’t wait to see.”

Concours of Elegance, 6-8 September. Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey. Tickets from £40 www.concoursofelegance.co.uk