With its enticing combination of beauty, brawn, and rarity, the DB4GT Zagato is among the most desirable Aston Martins of all time. The model debuted at the 1960 London Motor Show as a special edition of the already impressive DB4GT with lightweight bodywork by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Zagato. The intention was to build 23 in total, but at a cost of £5,470—nearly £1,000 more than the already expensive standard DB4GT—they were deemed too expensive, particularly in the face of the newly available and far less expensive Jaguar E-Type. In the end, only 19 of the original run of 23 DB4GT Zagatos were produced.

Over the following decades, however, the car’s potent 3.7-liter, inline, six-cylinder engine together with the capable chassis, featuring a wheelbase five inches shorter than that of the Series I DB4, brought newfound success and clout to the DB4GT Zagato on the international motorsports scene, spurring ever-increasing acclaim, prestige, and demand; so much so that by the 1990s, Aston Martin and Zagato decided to sanction the build of four new DB4GT Zagatos utilizing the remaining chassis numbers from the original sequence of 23.

Demand for the exceedingly rare model persists with examples selling well into the millions in 2021. Given such heady prices, faithful recreations like the example offered here, built on a 1969 Aston Martin DBS, are coveted in their own right.

The doner DBS for this recreation was originally built to U.S. specification and first registered on 26 May 1970, according to a copy of a 2016 Aston Martin Certificate of Origin. While the car’s early ownership history remains elusive, a title document from the State of California issued in May of 1990 indicates that the car was owned by a resident of Venice, California. In 2000, a subsequent owner based in Belgium acquired the DBS and commissioned Rod Jolley Coachbuilding of Hampshire, United Kingdom to convert it into a DB4GT Zagato replica. Over the course of the next year, Rod Jolley carried out the extensive conversion at a total cost of more than £96,000, including shortening the chassis, fabricating new aluminum bodywork, converting the interior, and refurbishing mechanical components.

Based on its stamping, the engine appears to be a DBS 4.0-liter, inline, six-cylinder, a more powerful engine than the original DB4GT’s 3.7-liter. It has been fitted with triple Weber carburetors and is paired with a DBS five-speed manual transmission. The custom bodywork is faithful to Zagato’s design and expertly finished in a lovely shade of gray. The interior is lined in sumptuous red leather while the car rides on attractive Turrino wire wheels with knock-off spinners. Documents on file indicate continual refurbishment and maintenance following the conversion, including after being acquired by a subsequent French owner in late 2016. Under current ownership since late 2017, work carried out in 2021 by a marque specialist in France is said to have included rebuilding the entire engine and adding bumpers to the vehicle, which were not part of the original conversion. In addition, the consignor had a French coachbuilder modify the seats to accommodate taller occupants, providing a welcome improvement over the stock configuration.

Included in the sale is a copy of the Certificate of Origin, previous title and registration documents, service invoices for recent work, and a full-size spare.