MDX

Make
Acura
Segment
SUV

With only four Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Sanction IIs made, when one hit the auction block over the weekend it represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone to take ownership of one of the rarest DB4s in existence. It's perhaps not so surprising then to hear that bidding for the car was ferocious, ending with a world record bid for a DB4 of £1.23 million (almost $2 million) at Bonhams' Aston Martin Works auction, held in Newport Pagnell, England.

When Aston Martin and Zagato first collaborated, the result was a production run of 19 cars built between 1961 and 1963. 23 were originally planned and so the chassis for each was completed. Thirty years later, and a factory-approved project was launched in 1987 to refurbish the four untouched chassis, with renowned Aston Martin specialist Richard Williams commissioned to take it on. Zagato then built the exquisite bodies to the same specs of the original 19 and the cars were dubbed 'Sanction II,' sanction being a term from early motoring history that was later replaced by 'Mark.'

All four Sanction II cars featured an engine built to 4.2-liter spec rated at 352hp, whereas the original was fitted with a 302hp 3.7-liter unit. They also came with a four-speed 'David Brown' manual transmission, limited-slip differential and disc brakes. 0-60mph was clocked at 5.5 seconds and top speed is claimed to be 153mph. If you love this car but not its astronomical price tag, consider heading to a company such as Evanta, who recently transformed a 2001 DB7 Vantage into a vintage DB4 GT Zagato that sold in auction for around €140,000.