Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato: “Machismo” defined
After they introduced their stunning new Touring-bodied DB4 GT in 1959, Aston Martin decided to take on Ferraris SWB 250GTs with their own weapon.
Pen & ink and Prismacolor pencils on Canson green archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2009
They commissioned the Milanese firm of Zagato to make their new car competitive. Young designer Ercole Spada penned a fabulous lightweight “Superleggera” body, “super-light” in Italian, which refers to a Touring-developed construction method of a frame of small-diameter metal tubes built on the main chassis, and covered with aluminum body panels.
The car is a stunning purposeful-looking racer; Doug Nye described it as "a man's car" in his 1982 Salon feature review in Road & Track magazine. It is beautiful from every angle ... rolling sculpture.
Though the Zagato was slightly lighter the original DB4 GT, they were not competitive enough to beat the all-conquering Scuderia Ferrari, which introduced the GTO. They were raced by such famous drivers as Roy Salvadori and Jim Clark.
19 of the Zagatos were built originally, and in 1991, Aston Martin authorized the building of 4 more DB4 GT Zagatos, utilizing unutilized chassis numbers; these were labeled as Sanction II cars. The original cars rarely come up for sale, but if they did, the expected sale price would be at least $3 million USD.
Pen & ink and Prismacolor pencils on Canson green archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2009
They commissioned the Milanese firm of Zagato to make their new car competitive. Young designer Ercole Spada penned a fabulous lightweight “Superleggera” body, “super-light” in Italian, which refers to a Touring-developed construction method of a frame of small-diameter metal tubes built on the main chassis, and covered with aluminum body panels.
The car is a stunning purposeful-looking racer; Doug Nye described it as "a man's car" in his 1982 Salon feature review in Road & Track magazine. It is beautiful from every angle ... rolling sculpture.
Though the Zagato was slightly lighter the original DB4 GT, they were not competitive enough to beat the all-conquering Scuderia Ferrari, which introduced the GTO. They were raced by such famous drivers as Roy Salvadori and Jim Clark.
19 of the Zagatos were built originally, and in 1991, Aston Martin authorized the building of 4 more DB4 GT Zagatos, utilizing unutilized chassis numbers; these were labeled as Sanction II cars. The original cars rarely come up for sale, but if they did, the expected sale price would be at least $3 million USD.
Tazio Nuvolari in an Auto Union Type-D
Pencil on paper, digital coloured © Paul Chenard 2006
Tazio Nuvolari won the 1938 British GP driving the V-12 Auto Union. The inset shows the gold turtle pendant "logo" that he wore at all his races.
So-Cal Belly Tank Lakester
Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock 9"x 4"© Paul Chenard 2008
Gary Grant Collection
The American hot rod scene developed very quickly after WW2. G.I.’s with speed on their minds picked up surplus WW2 fighter belly fuel tanks, and build hot rods around them.
One of the best known is the So-Cal Speed Shop “Lakester”, built by Alex Xydias. It was built using a P-38 belly tank, with a flat-head v-8 stuffed in the back.
In 1951, at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the So-Cal team ran the racer at 145.395 mph, a new record for their class.
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