After the great successes of 1959 Aston Martin terminates its works teams in Grand Touring and then in Formula 1. The development efforts concerning the DB4GT include however competition versions. The domination of Ferrari calls for weight reduction for which Aston Martin cooperates with Carrozzeria Zagato. The DB4GT Zagato coupe was unveiled at the 1960 London Motor Show.
John Ogier, owner of the Essex Racing Stable private team, desired to maintain a full British participation in international competitions. He bought two DB4GT Lightweight in 1960 and two DB4GT Zagato in 1961 and obtained for his team the support of the factory. At the same time the American sportsman Briggs Cunningham was trying a comparable approach to Jaguar.
In 1962 Aston Martin feels that it will not be enough for winning. Under the project reference MP209, Zagato goes even further in lightening including major changes in body shape.
One of the two 1961 Zagato of Team Essex is heavily damaged in May 1962 at Spa. Major repairs are needed and Aston Martin turns this car into the DP209 configuration. It is again crashed in August 1962 in Gooodwood, this time by the future world champion Jim Clark.
In the high end the victories generate sales. The Aston Martin berlinetta has a lot of issues in competition, including with handling and with tire wear. The collaboration between Aston Martin and Zagato is ended after the 19th car while 25 had been originally planned. Only three cars had received the DP209 configuration. They can be considered as prototypes for the P214 chassis released by Aston Martin in 1963.
The ex-Ogier Zagato DP209 was restored to its 1962 configuration after a road accident in the 1990s. It will be sold as lot 335 by Bonhams at Goodwood on July 13. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house. The rear view is shared by Hipwell on Wikimedia.
The 14th Zagato, which was not a DP209, was sold for $ 14.3M including premium by RM Sotheby's on December 10, 2015.
SOLD for £ 10M including premium
John Ogier, owner of the Essex Racing Stable private team, desired to maintain a full British participation in international competitions. He bought two DB4GT Lightweight in 1960 and two DB4GT Zagato in 1961 and obtained for his team the support of the factory. At the same time the American sportsman Briggs Cunningham was trying a comparable approach to Jaguar.
In 1962 Aston Martin feels that it will not be enough for winning. Under the project reference MP209, Zagato goes even further in lightening including major changes in body shape.
One of the two 1961 Zagato of Team Essex is heavily damaged in May 1962 at Spa. Major repairs are needed and Aston Martin turns this car into the DP209 configuration. It is again crashed in August 1962 in Gooodwood, this time by the future world champion Jim Clark.
In the high end the victories generate sales. The Aston Martin berlinetta has a lot of issues in competition, including with handling and with tire wear. The collaboration between Aston Martin and Zagato is ended after the 19th car while 25 had been originally planned. Only three cars had received the DP209 configuration. They can be considered as prototypes for the P214 chassis released by Aston Martin in 1963.
The ex-Ogier Zagato DP209 was restored to its 1962 configuration after a road accident in the 1990s. It will be sold as lot 335 by Bonhams at Goodwood on July 13. Please watch the video prepared by the auction house. The rear view is shared by Hipwell on Wikimedia.
The 14th Zagato, which was not a DP209, was sold for $ 14.3M including premium by RM Sotheby's on December 10, 2015.
SOLD for £ 10M including premium
This 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato race car is going up for auction @bonhams1793 in July, where it is expected to fetch more than $13 million: https://t.co/6H2ijKVauJ pic.twitter.com/Dd5DCRAzZ9
— ForbesLife (@ForbesLife) June 3, 2018
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