Z cars and a wacky racer

Bonhams, London, UK 1 December

IF YOU WERE inspired by last month’s Octane cover story to peek into some of the darker corners of Aston Martin history for cars that might be a little less obvious, then Bonhams has an intriguing trio of them coming up at the under-new-management company’s Bond Street Sale on 1 December.

First up, as you might expect, is an example of the car that Octane showcased as a comparative bargain next to other Zagato variants, even at half-a-million quid. With an estimate of £450,000-550,000, the red 1986 V8 Vantage Zagato could be a great buy.

That is joined in the catalogue by an even more overlooked Zagato Aston, the DB4 GT- inspired DB7 that then-boss Ulrich Bez and Andrea Zagato dreamed up while they were sharing judging duties at Pebble Beach. It all sounds very civilised… and with a production run limited to 99 cars, 10 more than the V8 Zagato, the model’s collectable status can only increase. All of which makes an estimate of £250,000-300,000 look entirely reasonable.

Pitched in somewhat thinner air is the £425,000-475,000 expected to be raised by a non-Zagato but highly desirable ‘modern classic’ Aston Martin, a muscular-looking V8 Vantage V600 Le Mans. This 1999 car was one of just 40 built with a twin-supercharged V8 able to deliver 600bhp. If more obscure Astons still don’t cut it for rarity and you were inspired by a slightly earlier edition of Octane, the same auction is offering the Arnolt Bristol Bolide that John Simister drove for issue 176 (February 2018). There is even an Aston Martin link, because the Bertone-styled Arnolt bears a remarkable resemblance to the three-off Aston DB2/4 Spiders penned by the same design house for ‘Wacky’ Arnolt a couple of years earlier.