22 May
Evanta Motor Company's modern revision of an automotive icon

There is a new coachbuild car in the market with a bespoke sticker price. The ghost of James Dean is letting you know that all you need to get your hands on it is a bit more than $200,000 (the interior is completely bespoke, so it’ll probably be more depending on your opulent tastes)… plus the cost of a donor Aston Martin DB7 Vantage. For this price and the sacrificial offering of your DB7 the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato can be yours, made to order. The original 1960 Zagato design by Ercole Spada (based on the DB4 GT) has been rebuilt by Evanta Motor Company in glass fiber with lightweight carbon fiber and kevlar weave — although a full carbon fiber and kevlar body can be added for another $12,000. The new Zagato shell weighs 500kg less than the Vantage and is expected to slash drastically its 4.9 second 0-60mph acceleration. With internal bits sourced from the donor DB7, the finished product is a safer, faster, 21st century version of the original Zagato that loses none of its mid-century charm. Instead of chugging along with the original’s straight-6 engine, imagine a modern fuel injected V12, ABS, traction control, tiptronic gearbox, air conditioning, a six CD Sony multi-changer, and (gasp) air bags. Wheels are 16-inch dished wires with appropriate race tires.

The Zagato’s lower bodywork bell bottoms to accommodate the wider track of the DB7. Other retouches include an off-the-peg central locking system newly baptized to open the doors remotely — banishing the need for door handles — and side repeaters take shelter inside the wing vents. Evanta Motor Company‘s founder Ant Anstead is not an armed police officer any more, deciding to take on full time his side job fixing up old cars because he was “tired of being stabbed.” Which is understandable. “The DB7 is a modern day supercar, so all the benefits of modern day driving are harnessed in our [DB4 Zagato], but on top of that we lose a lot of weight,” Anstead explains. DB7 enthusiasts might want to look away, but Zagato lovers should sit back in the DB4’s dreamy oxblood interiors and shimmer into the sunset while their flawless Aston Martin-silver car gracefully hints at blue… although it probably doesn’t have to be that color as long as you have a few extra dollars. There’s very little you can’t have with your Aston Martin DB4 Zagato if you have the cheddar.

More photos of the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato after the Jump…

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