More than an old car #222: Aston Martin V8 Zagato

In my years of car spotting, I have come across various curiosities and rarities. This particular 1986 Aston Martin V8 Zagato was all the more special, especially when I never knew it existence until then! Further research revealed more info about it's history, which made it a lot more incredible to behold!

Zagato is a coachbuilding company founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919. Zagato used his knowledge of aeronautics to designed sleek, light bodies for race cars in the 1920s. The cars that he designed saw great success in racing, and his reputation grew throughout. Various manufacturers looked to Zagato for special designs and one-off creations. Zagato also expanded to make custom-built cars, and continues to exist today by producing its own cars.

Aston Martin first collaborated with Zagato in 1964, with the creation of the DB4 GT. When the Aston Martin show stand was placed near that of Zagato during the 1984 Geneva Motor Show, a proposal was raised to rekindle this partnership. Aston Martin and Zagato wanted to produce a supercar capable of taking on the fastest cars in the world: a top speed of 186 mph and a 0-60 sprint in less than five seconds was thought to be sufficient. Interestingly, before the V8 Zagato officially debuted, Aston Martin used a 1978 V8 Vantage as a test mule: most of the interior trim and rear seats were removed, and the windows were fitted with Perspex. The test mule was noted to be as fast as a standard V8 Zagato.

A styling sketch was presented in 1985 and this was surprisingly sufficient for customers to snap up all 50 units that were earmarked to be made. Deposits of £15,000 were needed from prospective customers in order to secure a car, but the initial price, quoted as £87,000, quickly rose to £95,000.

The car featured both Zagato and Aston Martin design signatures, with a hint of the famous ‘double-bubble’ Zagato trademark on the roof and the stylished angular shaped grille. Its design was stout and aggressive, and rode on unique Zagato designed Speedline 16-inch wheels. A convertible version, known as the Volante, was subsequently introduced in 1987.

Production cars were powered by a 5341 cc 580X V8 engine, allowing it to reach a top speed of 310 km/h with an acceleration of 5.1 seconds [0-100 km/h]. It was 4390 mm long and weighed 1250 kg, with a very thirsty fuel consumption of 24.5 litres / 100 km.

Production ended in 1989 with 52 saloons and 37 convertibles made, with LHD/RHD split as 32/20 for the saloons. This unit with chassis number V8ZHL20010 and registered C779 DRO is a very unique prototype: it featured a more powerful engine putting out around 430-440 bhp while standard ones were 410 bhp. It was also fitted with a special non-production exhaust system, front and rear spoilers and also did not feature a passenger side mirror as seen above. 20010 was 1 of 4 pre-production specials, all of which were finished in Gladiator Red paintwork.

On 8 July 1986, it reached a top speed of 298.75 km/h (185.8 mph) with an acceleration of 4.8 seconds [0-60 mph] on an empty highway near Paris (with the permission of French police). C779 DRO was extensively road tested by many magazines in period and was also displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in 1986. 

Subsequently, C779 DRO was exported to Indonesia in Oct 1986 after it finished duties as the prototype Zagato. It was refurbished with a new engine fitted, and the headlight grilles were reinstalled back. At some point in time, a Zagato decal and black roof were added (they were not original). Interestingly, C779 DRO disappeared off the radar, until it inexplicably appeared here a few years ago! The last I saw, its engine was removed (possibly being overhauled) and the car vanished again a few months later.

It is quite unbelievable that a car with so much heritage even appeared on our roads, although no V8 Zagatos were sold in Singapore back in the day. Curiously, Aston Martin did not seem to make efforts to acquire C779 DRO back. I believe you may be wondering just why and when it made its way to Singapore, although your guess is as good as mine. While I do not know if it is still locked up in a garage somewhere, it is my wish for it to be back on the road and hopefully you may see it!

 

 

More than an old car #89: Aston Martin Lagonda

Mention Aston Martin (AM) and you may immediately think of James Bond and the iconic DB5 that has appeared in many films. Or it may also conjure images of exclusively well-heeled people who consider a Mercedes/BMW to be too mainstream. Most of the AMs you see nowadays are the 2-door versions--this 1989 Aston Martin Lagonda would be a surprise to you!

AM was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Richard Bamford, and it was previously known as Bamford and Martin. Mr Martin also raced vehicles at Aston Hill, a racing track at Buckinghamshire and gradually the name was changed to 'Aston Martin'. Throughout its history, it ran into financial problems--it went into receivership in 1974 and was bought over by Ford briefly in 1991. As of today, it is partly owned by an Italian private equity firm and it is still not doing as well as before.

The Lagonda was conceived during the time AM went into receivership and the oil crisis in 1973. Somehow, it was unveiled in 1976 to the disbelief of many journalists. It featured an extreme "folded paper" style, designed by William Towns (ie very boxy and angular) that continues to divide people today: publications such as Bloomberg Businessweek and Time labelled it as one of the worst 50 cars ever made! Over its production history, 3 generations were made and this unit is the Series 4, made between 1987 to 1990. The number discrepancy is because the original "Series 1" was essentially a 4-door version of the AM V8, which is totally different from the one in this post.

The Series 4 cars underwent a marked restyling, with more rounded edges, elimination of the pop-up headlights and having 6 fixed headlamps. It is rumoured that the final product was not what Towns had intended: a draftsman might have misinterpreted the blueprints and the errors were undiscovered until it was too late...

Another area that caught many by surprise was the futuristic-looking LED dashboard. It was very sophisticated and also multilingual as well: one could choose between English, French, German or Arabic. Unfortunately, it also drew much criticism as the electronics broke down often, and fixing it costs a bomb too! Each car took about 1 week and 1200 man-hours to assemble by hand. It was powered by a 5341 cc V8, allowing it to reach a top speed of 230 km/h with an acceleration of 9.3 seconds [0-100 km/h]. It was 5283 mm long and weighed 2095 kg.

Production ended in 1990 with a total of 645 that were made, of which 105 was the Series 4 model. According to its chassis number, this unit is the 639th that was manufactured. Decked out in classic British Racing Green and a beige interior, it provides a pleasing contrast to the eyes. From what I know, this was originally sold in Singapore: Lagondas were introduced here in 1983 but were not sold under any dealer. It has just been sold recently and I managed to see this curio up close when it was exhibited at the Fullerton Concours in June.

Recently, I was made aware of a Series 2 that was still around (chassis number 13129) which caught me by surprise. Apparently, that unit has been off the road for 2 years and it is undergoing restoration currently!

Interestingly, there was at least 1 other car that existed here [a Series 2], which was owned by the family behind the TANGS department stores and the Marriot Tang Plaza Hotel in Orchard Road. I knew about its existence back then and being able to see it for myself after so long was a treat. I am aware that there are 5 units here; you have to see it for yourself to appreciate its weirdness!