Hot Wheels Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato and One-77

Aston Martin is known for making beautifully styled sports cars and at the start of their stylish adventures they lucked out and managed to get one as the first Bond car complete with gadgets for the Goldfinger movie.  Since then Aston has continued the stylish designs and still teams up with Bond and here are a few examples from Hot Wheels with the classic (and seldom used) DB4 GT Zagato and the One-77 in the best deco example by far.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato

Hot Wheels introduced the Classics series in 2005 that contains the best of specraflame paint, all metal construction, and classic car designs.  A perfectly done series that has been successful and warranted three more years of the series.  About half of the vehicles in the series was also new castings that have been superior and still look great today.  The final year in 2009 released a range of castings that was diverse from the custom Studebaker (Studa-beaker) to the famed Texas Drive 'em 4x4 Ford Truck.  One unique one that never caught on until years later is the DB4 GT Zagato. Before the DB5 casting arrived in 2015 this was the only way to get close to a DB5 is this DB4.  The Zagato factory in Italy got a hold of the Aston Martin DB4, a rather upright design compared to later Aston Martin designs, and made a streamline version that was lighter and more rare (only 20 units made).  The round styling has also inspired two retro recreations on the DB7.  In addition to a smooth body most of the metal components were replaced with aluminum and any non-essential parts like the front and rear bumpers were removed to save 100 Ib's off the car.  The engine is the same 3.7L DOHC twin-spark I-6 that produces 314 horsepower through a 4-speed manual transmission with a 0-60 of 6.1 seconds.  The Zagato DB4 has also a great racing history even if it has not made big important wins like winning the 24 hours of LeMans.

This Hot Wheels casting is a one-and-done affair and even with Aston Martin alive and well in the Hot Wheels line this DB4 has never came out of the Classics shadows and into the mainline.  I regret not picking up the metallic red and metallic green DB4's when I saw them plenty of times in stores back in 2009: now these cars are desirable gems well above $10 or more on the secondary market.  The body is gorgeous with a smooth, flowing look that mates well to the metallic paint.  It's a beauty!  The front has round headlights in silver, signal lights just below, the Y-shaped grille with mesh pattern inside that is part of the metal base, and smooth lower fenders where the bumper used to be.  From the sides the smoothness continues with a fastback roof and a slight coke-bottle flare of the rear fenders.  Just below the front fender vents is the Z logo for the Zagato brand.  The rear has two round taillights with two round signal lights just above, gas cap on the right-rear fender, license plate bracket on the trunk, and with the missing bumper the dual-tipped exhaust can exit out freely.

The car wears lace wheels that fit the car properly (just like what the DB5 has), and if you get the chase version you get wire 8-dot wheels with rubber tires famously used in recent Ferrari premium castings (I believe this was the first use of this wheel).  The downside is the way the metal body is constructed to the metal base as the front-end sits high while the rear-end squats down.  Also body tilt can cause the car to lean on one side and can make handling a bit tricky for such a fantastic performance machine.  The metal base shows off the I-6 engine at the front leading to the rear with the exhaust system a straight shot out to the back.  The interior is nicely done in tan with seating for two up front (the rear seat has been removed), 3-spoke steering wheel on the right-side, and a typical simple dashboard layout with toggle switches and gauges above the 4-speed shifter.  It's great how this car managed to influence the design of the DB5 and set the standard for Aston Martin designs.

Aston Martin One-77

Now fourty years later the same thing has been applied to the DBS platform in a car called the one-77.  This was a concept car that debut in 2009 at the Geneva Show and put on sale in 2011 in a limited run of 77 units costing a million dollars, each.  The One-77 uses a carbon fiber monocoque chassis with hand-crafted aluminum body panels to cut down on weight.  The basic layout is similar to other Aston Martin models, including the 7.3L DOHC V-12 that now makes 750 horsepower through a six-speed automated manual transmission.  The vehicle's design has influenced many upcoming Aston Martin models including the recently-introduced DB11.

When this casting came out in 2011 it was a nice car, but seemed too generic among other fantastic exotic cars out at that time including the Lamborghini Aventador and even the Ferrari FF.  After a few not-so-great deco's the one-77 finally hit the mark with this 2017 release in a gorgeous metallic red sporting 10-spoke wheels and only a slight pinstripe design on the hood and roof.  The look is incredible and works well with this car.  The front has slender and blacked-out headlights that have a side scoop that flows down from the headlights.  The famous Y-shaped grille is here as a separate piece that is part of the base and in black it looks even better.  The long hood has dual slots in the middle while the front fenders have stylish side scoops.  The rear fenders really start to stand apart from the rest of the car adding character at the rear.  The taillights are the new C-shaped design with the upper portion connecting along one long bar, while the dual exhausts below hide in the diffuser.  The rear spoiler that pops up is visible on the trunk.  The interior is stylish Aston with seating for two in superb luxury that starts with a three-spoke steering wheel, gauges that rotate opposite from one another, and a center stack that gracefully flows down into the center console.  To add to this beauty is the recolor in dark blue that just adds more gracefullness to this casting that was otherwise a rather bland model from Aston Martin.  See what color, wheels, and graphic changes can do to a casting!

Update 9/4/17: Here's the dark blue version of the metallic red 2017 Aston Martin One-77 by Hot Wheels.  While not as sharp as the metallic red it still looks great on this casting.