You?ve got to be quick to get yourself a limited-edition Aston Martin. Once again, the company has announced simultaneously that it is planning to build one and that all have been sold.
This time, it?s the production version of the Vanquish Zagato concept that was shown at the Villa d?Este concours in Italy last month. Just 99 will be produced, and the company says it has buyers for all of them?this despite a price that, although officially undisclosed, will be substantial. The last Z-badged Aston was the V12 Zagato, which cost more than $500,000 when it was produced back in 2011. Mix in five years of inflation, a lower production run, and the standard Vanquish?s higher price, and we?d be surprised if this one isn?t at least 50 percent more expensive. The Vanquish Zagato sits on a modified version of the mechanical package of the Vanquish but gets unique carbon-fiber bodywork and a ?double bubble? roof that?s supposedly profiled to make it easier to drive the car while wearing a helmet. The front fenders gain venturi-shaped air channels, and at the back there are bladed taillights similar to those developed for the Aston One-77 megacar, plus a diffuser that accommodates quad exhaust pipes.

Mechanical tweaks are more limited; any U.S. buyers will have to make do with the same V-12 engine found in the standard Vanquish, meaning a mere 576 horsepower. In the rest of the world, a 600-hp version is fitted. Aston claims a zero-to-60-mph time of 3.5 seconds, one-tenth quicker th...