Love is lovelier the second time around, so the song goes. Whether this is true of Aston Martin's new V12 Zagato is a matter for time to decide. It has certainly been an intense affair for this writer, who has had the privilege of driving both this new car and the original to which it pays homage.
In May, on the shores of Lake Como, Aston Martin and design and engineering company Zagato unveiled a stunning new concept that won the design award at the Villa D'Este Concorso D'Eleganza car competition. Just a month later, that same car was being raced at the 39th Nurburgring 24-Hour Race in Germany - with a small Hong Kong flag next to one of the drivers' names.
The legend the V12 celebrates is the DB4 GT Zagato - a racer created by re-shelling Aston's DB4 GT in a lightweight aluminium body designed and created by the famous coachbuilder from Milan. While Zagato's delicious lines and hand-beaten panels have adorned many cars since the 1920s (especially Alfa Romeos) the firm's rendition of the DB4 GT receives most praise.
It's one of the most beautiful vehicles ever created - an opinion validated five years ago by the heads turning as we drove through the streets of London - and extremely rare; only 19 were made. Incredibly, they have all survived despite being raced in the early 1960s by some of the sport's greatest names against the iconic Ferrari 250 GTO.
On reflection, it should not have been such a shock to learn how valuable it was. 'That car is worth five million quid!' a text message read. 'Who gave you the keys?' The answer was a generous - and trusting - Hong Kong collector. This time, with the V12, it was Dr Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin's chief executive, with whom I was a co-driver.
Being German, and responsible for research and development at Porsche for many years, it is natural that Bez should be familiar with the original and infamous Nurburgring-Nordschleife. The 23-kilometre, tree-lined band of asphalt was home to the German Grand Prix until Niki Lauda barely survived a fiery crash in 1977. It was then deemed too dangerous for Formula One, but for the world's leading car and tyre manufacturers, the variety of corners and road conditions made the Nordschleife a perfect test track.
It has made it also the ideal venue for perhaps the most challenging and extreme endurance event on the motorsports calendar. The ADAC Nurburgring 24-Hour Race is a twice round the clock race in which some 230 of the world's top sports cars (think Audi R8, Ferrari 458 Italia, Mercedes-Benz SLS, Porsche GT3) skid and fly, bump and crash around a 26-kilometre course created by combining the Nordschleife with the modern F1 circuit to which it is adjacent.