One to Buy: 397 mile 1 of 1 in Gladiator Red / Parchment 1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato
Having seen how quickly Ferrari shifted over 200 examples of its premium priced 288 GTO, Aston Martin decided to get in on the act with their own low volume special: a short wheelbase Zagato-bodied version of the V8 Vantage tuned to V580X trim.
Unsurprisingly, the limited run of 50 customer cars sold out even before the first prototype had emerged and, over a two-and-a-half year period following the late 1987 Stock Market crash, speculators hyped prices up to extraordinary levels. As the market peaked during mid 1990, some examples of the Zagato-bodied V8 Vantage had traded hands for in excess of $800,000 or £500,000 which represented a mark up of over 500%.
With cars like the V8 Vantage Zagato having become the latest high-yielding asset class, it was unsurprising that quite a few covered tiny mileages in the years that followed. Even today, the odd almost delivery mileage example will occasionally emerge.
Currently, just such a machine can be found at the Dylan Miles showroom in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where chassis 20049 resides with just 397 miles recorded on the odometer.
Uniquely configured in Gladiator Red with Parchment leather upholstery (the other Gladiator Red cars all had either Tan, Magnolia or Black leather), chassis 20049 also received a desirable manual transmission. The car was collected from Newport Pagnell by the Stratton Motor Company on November 12th 1987. Stratton then sold it to a Mr Saunderson, who never took delivery, and during subsequent changes of ownership the car never left Stratton’s storage facility. 20049 was eventually registered as a new car in January 1990 following its sale to one Michael Fleming.
Having been professionally stored for its entire life, chassis 20049 effectively remains in as-new condition.
Reprinted below is Dylan Miles’ description:
The V8 Vantage Zagato was the ultimate iteration of the Aston Martin V8, clothed in a lightweight coachbuilt aluminium body by Zagato on a shortened version of the mighty Vantage 580X platform, featuring the 432bhp V580X drive train and over 100kgs weight saving over the standard Vantage, giving the Zagato scintillating performance.
Just 52 cars were constructed, including the pre-production ‘20010’ and prototype ‘20011’.
Of the 50 ‘production’ cars only 27 were right-hand drive manual transmission models like this car. Of these cars only two were finished in Gladiator Red, this car is trimmed with red-piped Parchment leather while the other has a black interior, making both cars unique.
In an accompanying letter dated 31st March 1998, Stratton Motor Company states that it had collected the Zagato by transporter from Newport Pagnell on 12th November 1987 before selling it to a Mr Saunderson, who never took delivery. During subsequent changes of ownership, the car never left Stratton’s storage facility.
When it was eventually registered in January 1990 to Mr Michael Fleming, the car had still not been used. Stratton’s later reacquired it. Their managing Director, Roger Bennington, concludes the letter by saying: ‘The only person to have driven this Zagato since leaving the factory is myself, on the occasional removal from storage to run the engine.’
Acquired in the mid 1990s by respected Aston Martin broker Andre Bloom on behalf of a client with a significant private collection of sports cars, the Zagato remained under his careful custody with regular maintenance carried out ‘in house’ by workshop personnel and resident fully qualified Aston Martin mechanical engineer in order to ensure the car has remained ‘on the button’ despite its incredibly low mileage. This has included regularly running the engine up to full operating temperature and yearly replacement of all fluids, filters and the battery.
With just four recorded keepers from new, we are delighted to offer this special Aston on behalf of the vendor who has owned the car for the past decade. The Zagato remains 100% factory correct, even down to retaining the protective wax coating sprayed over the engine bay before it left Newport Pagnell.
With only 397 miles recorded, this rare and desirable Aston Martin is a timewarp example and arguably one of, if not the most original example of its type extant having been carefully stored in dehumidified professional storage for its entire life. Presented in effectively ‘as new’ condition and thus represents a unique opportunity for collectors to own this exceptional specimen of the flagship V8 Vantage model range in a unique colour combination, offered with owner’s handbook, V5 registration document and its Vehicle Storage Maintenance Log detailing dates and mileage of all works carried out from new.
