One to Buy: 1 of 1 in Gris Fume ex-Shogo Watanabe 1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato
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When Aston Martin boss David Brown wanted to create the ultimate low drag super light DB4 GT, he commissioned Zagato of Milan to come up with an air piercing featherweight body.
With its handsome lines and status as arguably the ultimate British performance car of its day, the resultant DB4 GTZ quickly came to be regarded as one of Aston Martin’s most revered models. As a consequence of its exceedingly low volume (just 17 were built if you exclude the DP209 specials), it didn’t take long for GTZs to assume telephone number valuations.
26 years after the GTZ’s London Motor Show debut, Aston Martin unveiled a production-ready version of its second collaboration with Zagato, this time based on uprated mechanicals from the formidable V8 Vantage.
Unveiled at the Geneva Salon in March 1986, the appropriately named V8 Vantage Zagato combined a short wheelbase chassis with a 410bhp version of Aston Martin’s existing 5.3-litre V8 engine. Upon delivery to Italy, each rolling chassis was draped in an avantgarde body fashioned primarily from lightweight aluminium (the nose and tail fascias were composite). Inside, Zagato added a completely redesigned two-seat cockpit.
The result was the fastest Aston Martin ever offered on the open market and, unsurprisingly, all 50 customer copies quickly found buyers with 21 of these being completed in left-hand drive.
Of these 21, among the most interesting was chassis 20025 which is currently residing at the Autosport Designs showroom in Long Island, New York. Uniquely configured in Gris Fume Metallic (a Peugeot shade of Smoke Grey), this one-off colour was combined with Brown upholstery, optional walnut cockpit inlays and the super desirable five-speed manual gearbox.
Chassis 20025’s first owner was Japanese collector Shogo Watanabe who also took delivery of another two Vantage Zagatos. He retained the car until April 2005 at which point it joined the Swiss-based collection of a Kuwaiti enthusiast with 880km on the odometer.
The new owner immediately had chassis 20025 dispatched to Aston Martin Works Service where the engine was rebuilt to unleaded specification, the cooling system was uprated, a new exhaust was installed, the brakes, steering and suspension were overhauled and an Alpine multimedia system was added.
Today, this one-of-one V8 Vantage Zagato is showing a little under 1500km and is accompanied by its original handbooks, manuals and tool kit.
