Guide: Aston Martin V8 Volante Zagato
Background
After the economic doom and gloom that permeated many western economies during the 1970s and early 1980s, things began to rapidly improve as corporate regulations were stripped back and new technologies came to fruition.
Emerging markets also played their part in the recovery; countries like Japan suddenly became much wealthier and joined the Gulf states as major destinations for high end auto makers.
Among the worst affected manufacturers during those not-too distant dark days had been Aston Martin Lagonda (AML). After David Brown sold the company in early 1972, AML’s new owners took a battering during the Oil Crisis and the firm was placed into administration.
An Anglo-American consortium subsequently nursed the firm back to profitability and expanded the model line up; the long-running V8 was joined by a high performance Vantage, an open top Volante and the radically styled Lagonda saloon.
When Ferrari unveiled the 288 GTO at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1984 (CH), they found themselves inundated with orders for the limited production new model. Although the GTO was easily the most expensive car the firm had ever offered, it seemed their was a burgeoning market for low volume specials.
Accordingly, Aston Martin decided to get in on the action.
As the DB4 GT Zagato was regarded as the most sought after model in Aston’s catalogue of road cars, management reasoned a light weight Zagato-bodied V8 Vantage would appeal in a similar fashion to Ferrari’s recent GTO.
The specification called for a 10% weight reduction, in excess of 400bhp and a more aerodynamic body.
As expected, the new Zagato-bodied Aston proved a major hit. It was announced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1985 when potential purchasers were shown sketches of the proposed design. As hoped, the entire 50 car production run quickly sold out.
The production-ready car was then displayed at Geneva in March 1986.
However, soon after construction of the first customer car was underway, Aston’s Chairman, Victor Gauntlett, discovered that Zagato was perilously close to entering administration. To ensure all 50 cars would be completed, Aston Martin purchased a 50% stake in the Italian coachbuilder.
With their newly acquired shares and many customers that were disappointed they had missed out on the Zagato-bodied Vantage fixed head, in November 1986, Aston management decided to green light a Volante version.
So as not to upset their existing buyers (who may otherwise have felt they purchased the less desirable iteration), this latest Zagato creation would be based on the standard (non-Vantage) Volante with the fuel-injected V585 EFi engine that had been introduced during January 1986.
A prototype using the existing Zagato-styled nose was then displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1987. At this stage, it was announced a limited run of 25 units would be manufactured.
Subsequent production examples adopted a restyled front end and, as expected, in what was now a red hot collector car market, Aston Martin had no trouble finding buyers – by this time the original batch of Zagato-bodied Coupes were selling at well over list price in the secondary market.
Chassis
As before, the construction process saw each steel platform chassis shipped to Milan for hand-beaten aluminium bodies to be fitted.
To compensate for the lack of a roof, these latest cars came in for significant additional strengthening below the waistline. As it transpired, this unusually resulted in a more rigid structure than the fixed head variant.
Front suspension was independent with unequal transverse wishbones. At the rear was a de Dion axle located by parallel trailing arms and a Watts linkage. Coil springs and telescopic Koni shock absorbers were fitted all round. A front anti-roll bar was fitted as well.
Like the standard V8 Volante, the Zagato variant was more softly sprung than the Vantage.
Ventilated disc brakes were fitted all round (mounted inboard at the back). The fronts had a 267mm diameter and the rears measured 264mm as per the rest of the V8 range.
The Zagato Volante came with the same special 16 x 8-inch Speedline alloy wheels as per the Coupe variant. These were designed to channel cool air towards the brakes and originally came shod with Goodyear tyres.
Similarly, a smaller 95.4-litre fuel tank was fitted above the rear axle instead of the 113.6-litre unit used by standard-bodied examples.
Engine / Gearbox
In the engine bay was the latest V585 EFi version of the V580 lump that had been introduced back in March 1980.
The V580 had been introduced in order to have a common basic specification throughout the entire V8 range; this meant it was only a matter of selecting the appropriate camshafts and carburettors to make a V8, Lagonda or Vantage engine.
Compared to earlier Aton Martin V8 engines, the V580 ushered in a new cylinder head design similar to the type already fitted to the four-door Lagonda. This featured bigger valves, uprated camshafts, revised porting and pistons and a higher 9.3:1 compression ratio. As a result, the engine became quieter with improved mid-range torque.
The updated V585 EFi version had been introduced at the New York Motor Show in January 1986. It came with a compact electronically-controlled sequential Weber / Marelli system that gave cleaner and more efficient running.
Peak output of these all-alloy DOHC 16 valve V8s was 315bhp at 5000rpm and 345lb-ft at 3500rpm.
Production versions of the Zagato Volante used Aston Martin’s further updated motor with a second belt-driven air pump that had been introduced in May 1987.
Transmission was through a ZF five-speed manual gearbox with Borg & Beck single dry-plate clutch and Powr-Lok limited-slip differential. Unlike the Zagato-bodied Vantage (which was only offered as a manual), the Volante could also be specified with a three-speed Chrysler Torqueflite ‘box.
Bodywork
The Zagato Volante’s new front end with its blanked off nose and fixed headlights mounted behind rotating covers was actually a more faithful interpretation of Zagato’s original 1984 design than the Coupe had been.
In addition, the fuel-injected engine enabled the designers to use a lower profile hood as a power bulge was no longer required to clear the carburettors.
Instead of a trademark Zagato double bubble roof, the Volante had a power-operated top with a plastic rear window and a leather tonneau to cover the mechanism when lowered. Although the roof did not fold away completely out of view, it was a very neat and compact arrangement, especially compared to the bulky set up used by the regular V8 Volante.
Another feature of the fixed head not seen on the Zagato Volante was two piece side glass (ditched in favour of conventional single piece windows).
As before the overall design was characterised by is short be-spoilered overhangs and air piercing nose. The only non-aluminium body parts were the composite nose and tail panels that meant conventional bumpers were not required.
To give a more slender profile, the A pillars were always finished in black regardless of body colour.
Interior
Like the Coupe, the Zagato Volante’s cockpit was completely different to the standard-bodied V8s. The rear seats were also ditched making these coachbuilt Italian variants strict two seaters.
Upholstery was a mixture of leather and alcantara. High-backed bucket seats were the same as on the Coupe.
All seven gauges were housed directly behind the two-spoke steering wheel in a normally black instrument binnacle that matched the centre console and glovebox.
The dash top, sides and knee roll were trimmed in leather to correspond with the rest of the upholstery. The forward section of the dash was normally covered in black anti-glare material.
Door panels were a mixture of leather and carpet. Large grab handles were provided on both sides.
Electric windows, air-conditioning and a stereo were standard.
Options
In addition to either a manual or automatic gearbox, customers could choose to add burr walnut cockpit inserts, monotone upholstery and contrast seat piping. Various audio systems were offered in addition to an in-car telephone.
Via Aston Martin Works Service, cars could be converted to the Vantage Zagato front end styling. Engines could be taken out to Vantage specification with anything up to a seven-litre displacement.
Weight / Performance
As a consequence of its reinforced chassis, the Zagato Volante was 35kg heavier than the Coupe (1685kg as opposed to 1650kg).
Top speed was 155mph.
0-62mph took 5.5 seconds if equipped with a manual gearbox and 6 seconds for the automatic variant.
Production
The Zagato Volante prototype displayed at the 1987 Geneva Motor Show (chassis 20042) actually started life as one of the Coupe variants.
Customer deliveries took place between early 1988 and late 1989, by which time the list price had risen by nearly 50%.
Although Aston Martin had originally announced a production run of 25 units, 37 examples were eventually completed (to include two prototypes).
Of these 37 cars, 23 were right-hand drive and 14 were left-hand drive.
A believed ten were fitted modified by Works Service with the Vantage specification nose and engine (nine right-hand drive and one left-hand drive).
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Aston Martin - https://www.astonmartin.com & Bonhams - https://www.bonhams.com/
