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It may no longer have had Sean Connery as a pitchman, and its Bulldog prototype had failed to attract engineering business, but Aston Martin entered the 1980s with confidence. Even the relentlessly geometric Lagonda sedan didn’t satisfy the automaker’s appetite for avant-garde design, so it turned to Zagato. The Italian coachbuilder that had previously clothed Aston chassis in curvaceous sheetmetal and double-bubble roofs delivered.
The V8 Vantage Zagato was as different from the Zagato-bodied DB4GT of the 1960s as then-new brick cell phones were from the rotary-dial ones Connery’s Bond used to call back to HQ. But it was also of the moment, and if you want to relive that moment, there’s a practically new V8 Vantage Zagato for sale through brand specialist Nicholas Mee. It’s only got 600 miles, and 250 of those were added in road testing for the car’s recommissioning. “Restoration” isn’t the right word for getting a car running that basically sat untouched after it was built.
Nicholas Mee
Nicholas Mee
Nicholas Mee
Nicholas Mee
The 1980s and early 1990s were the last hurrah for limited-edition specials from Italian coachbuilders. Before automakers started taking more of that work in-house, Zagato fired off the trifecta of the V8 Vantage reskin, the Alfa Romeo SZ, and the Delta-based Lancia Hyena. All three layered styling that’s more striking than pretty onto existing platforms. As the name states, the V8 Vantage Zagato was based on a Vantage chassis, but the finished car was about a foot shorter than Aston’s version despite having the same wheelbase.
Aston shipped complete chassis to Milan, where they were fitted with mostly aluminum bodywork (the front and rear fascias are fiberglass) that helped reduce weight, while flush-fit glass and a more streamlined shape helped reduce drag. The 5.3-liter V8 carried over from the standard Vantage, but the Zagato got the “X-pack” spec that made 432 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque—the highest output of any production Aston engine at the time. That enabled the Zagato’s claimed top speed of 186 mph.
Nicholas Mee
Nicholas Mee
Nicholas Mee
Nicholas Mee
First shown in concept form at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show, the Zagato went into production two years later. Just 50 coupes (plus two prototypes) were built, along with 37 Volante convertibles. Either slow build times or slow sales meant that, while this car had a 1987 build slot, it wasn’t registered until 1990. It’s passed through three owners, none of whom spent much time behind the wheel.
Aston Martin still calls on Zagato occasionally for limited-edition models, but they tend to be more conservative than this Reagan-era collaboration, often stopping short of full reskins. That just makes the 1987 V8 Vantage Zagato all the more special.
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
