Aston Martin is 100 years old this year. Not that you'd know it.
The Gaydon firm has taken a very low-key approach to celebrating its centenary. There's been the odd helicopter stunt here, a special edition 'Centenary' model there, and now Aston has hosted the largest ever gathering of its cars (550 to be precise) at Kensington Gardens in London.
You see? Very low-key.
Okay, so you could argue that Aston Martin, like those obnoxious little sprogs on that MTV reality show, has been making something of a 'big deal' over its birthday; however, when you look back at the company's illustrious oeuvre, you'd have to concede that they do indeed have good reason to celebrate.
550 cars, with a combined value of around £1bn, assembled in Kensington Gardens
And to put the icing on the huge meringue which is Aston Martin's 100th birthday bash, the company has teamed up with long-time coach-building collaborator Zagato to create two new special edition models: the DBS Coupe Zagato Centennial and the DB9 Spyder Zagato Centennial.
Let's start with the DBS Zagato Centennial. The car's most striking feature is unquestionably its 'double-bubble' roof, which harks back to the Zagato cars of the 1950s. The DBS also gets a new front grille which to our eyes looks similar to the one fitted to the old DBS V8 of the late sixties and early seventies.
All-in-all, it's an astonishingly beautiful thing. Mechanically-speaking its identical to the old DBS which went out of production in 2011 and it shares the old car's interior too.
The DB9 Spyder Zagato Centennial, on the other hand, is a bespoke version of Aston's DB9 Volante. Like the DBS Zagato, the DB9 shares its mechanicals and its interior with the standard car but features stunning new coachwork from Zagato.
Unfortunately, the Zagato special editions are pure one-offs commissioned by wealthy enthusiasts and will not, therefore, be making it into production. The DBS Zagato was commissioned by an anonymous Japanese enthusiast, while the DB9 will be making its way into the private collection of American car collector Peter Read.
So, what do you think of the Zagato concepts? Let us know by commenting below.
Click here to sign up for our monthly newsletter
Related used car searches
Search used Aston Martin
Search used Aston Martin
Search used Aston Martin DB9
Search used Aston Martin
Search used Aston Martin DBS
