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Zagato reveals custom Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake

Of all the pan-European collaborations, the decades-old partnership between Aston Martin and Zagato is among our favorites. It's a tie-in that dates back to the DB4 GT from 1960 and has materialized in numerous forms over the years since. What you see here is the latest. Unveiled today at the Chantilly Art & Elegance show in France, the Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake Zagato follows in the same style as the DBS Coupe Zagato Centennial and the DB9 Spider Zagato Centennial one-offs revealed last year as part of Aston's 100th anniversary celebrations. It adopts a similar rectangular style to the previous two examples, but reinterpreted in a classic, low-slung, three-door wagon form to celebrate Zagato's 95th birthday. Completing the trilogy, this coachbuilt custom is based on the Virage model that itself was based on the DB9 and slotted in below the DBS until being discontinued two years ago. The atelier didn't reveal much in the way of technical details, but its underpinnings suggest it's powered by Aston's long-serving 6.0-liter V12 with 490 horsepower. Whereas the previous models were commissioned by American and Japanese collectors, the Shooting Brake was built for a European customer. This shooting brake follows in a long line of Zagato-bodied Astons including the aforementioned DB4 GT, the 1986 V8 Vantage Zagato and V8 Volante Zagato, the 2002 DB7 Zagato, the one-off 2004 Vanquish Roadster and the 2011 V12 Zagato. Scope out the latest in the quartet of images in the gallery above and the press release below. ZAGATO ATELIER ANNOUNCES THE WORLD DEBUT OF THE ASTON MARTIN VIRAGE SHOOTING BRAKE ZAGATO AT THE CHANTILLY ARTS & ELEGANCE CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE Chantilly, France (7 September, 2014) – For Zagato, 2014 is a very important year. It commemorates 95 years of continuous activity, innovative design and three generations of Zagato family leadership. Following the world debut of the Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, Zagato Atelier continues celebrating its 95th anniversary with the grand debut of the Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake Zagato at the Chantilly Art & Elegance. This mark's Zagato's second world premiere in 2014. This one-of-a-kind car was commissioned by a European client who desired an atelier-level, collectible modern car.

Rare 1958 Aston to be auctioned in Tennessee

Decaying Aston Martins are showing up on the auction block all over the world. The final, original DBS recently went up for bid in the UK, and to go up for sale on the other side of the Atlantic, a 1958 DB Mark III was recently found wasting away in a Tennessee garage. "I didn't know much about it, except it was old and worth some money," said owner Tammy Maxwell to Clarksville Now. Her husband bought the Aston in Hawaii in 1975 and carried the car along with him until the family settled in Tennessee. He originally intended to restore it but an illness got in the way. Now, the vintage coupe is crossing the auction block in Cumberland Furnace, TN, on April 11 through Auction World Gallery. This example is in very rough shape, though. The paint and trim are gone from the entire front end, and the interior is a rat's nest of parts. There's no mention of whether the powertrain is intact, although a crankshaft is visible sitting in the boot and possibly a carb on the passenger seat. It's going to be a big project to get this Mark III back on the road. According to Aston Martin, the company built just 552 examples of the DB Mark III, and 462 of them were the coupe body style shown here that featured a hatchback. Power came from a 2.9-liter inline-six routed through a four-speed manual gearbox. The car also grabbed a unique footnote in pop culture history as James Bond's car in the book Goldfinger, rather than the DB5 in the film version.

Watch Top Gear lap the Aston Martin Vulcan at Yas Marina

Late last month, we reported on Top Gear – that's the magazine, not the TV show – getting its first crack at the new Aston Martin Vulcan. While impressions of the track star were limited to text, the famous British mag has now released video of its close encounter at the Yas Marina Circuit. You want to watch this video. Despite Top Gear not actually being on the air, it's pretty clear the video team on the magazine end has taken a lot of inspiration from the telly. Stylistically, this is a good thing. But it's also good because of the details we can see on the Vulcan. Every louver, scoop, and slat seems to get attention, and the footage where the entire car is featured is just gorgeous. If you don't have flashbacks of Clarkson, Hammond, and May within the first five seconds of the video – when the Vulcan executes a lovely slide on corner exit – then we suggest you watch more TG. Driving the car is Ollie Marriage, the same bloke that wrote last month's piece on the Vulcan, and his sentiments largely echo the text. Only, you know, there's a lot more engine noise. And gear whine. And flames. Like we said, you want to watch this video. And you can. It's embedded up top. Have a look. Related Video: