Tell Me I'm Wrong: Aston Martin V8 Zagato

With Aston's 100th birthday celebrations underway, Monkey reflects on a controversial favourite of his

August 1987 was the month that probably changed the course of my life. Until that point the suspicion was that motor cars would have to play some role in my adult existence; after it there was no longer any doubt.

Styling was unique - but all the better for it

The September 1987 issue of CAR magazine left me transfixed: ‘There will never be another month like this!’ shouted the cover with preposterous self-importance. But they were right. It remains the single greatest issue of any car magazine ever published. And yes, even back then car magazines didn’t work to any sensible calendar.

The centre pieces of this issue for many people were the drives of the F40 and the 959, but for me the most memorable story was the comparison test between the 288 GTO and the Aston V8 Zagato. Here was a test format readers associated with small hatchbacks, only this time we had two pieces of fabulous specialness. I didn’t speak to anyone for weeks. I just sat and re-read the words and gawped at the pictures. Naturally, it didn’t matter that CAR thought the 288 the better machine; on looks alone, it immediately became my ultimate car, an opinion which hasn’t changed in 25 years.

Bonnet bulge housed bored-out IDA carbs...

Blunt stick
So where did this leave the strange looking Aston? Locked between the brutish V8 Vantages of the time and the largely pathetic Virage which followed, and carrying a list price which made seasoned Aston buyers cry. But there was always something beguiling about this particular Zagato, and I now find myself looking at them and wondering if they might be one of the coolest cars of the 1980s.

If the proportions look a little wrong in photographs, then the car is surprising in the flesh because it’s smaller and more delicate than you expect an Aston of this era to be. The thin pillars, exaggerated glass volumes and stumpy overhangs lend it a tension missing in the standard Vantages of the time. Dare I say it looks lightweight – but then it was comparatively so: over 200kg lighter than the car on which it was based thanks to all that Italian aluminium.

...housed in a huge air box atop the 5.3-litre V8

And then there was that power bulge. Allegedly fuel injection wouldn’t give enough power to hit the claimed 186mph top speed, so the engineers bored out some 48 Webers to 50mm and left Zagato scratching its head for a packaging solution. There was but one: a sodding great lump on the schnozzle. I love that proboscis, but many depositers at the time didn’t and there was something of a hoo-hah. It didn’t stop all 50 cars being pre-sold for £87,000. Adjust that for inflation now – it’s a few quid, as is the £135K paid recently for the car pictured.

Engorgeousness
I’ve never driven a Zagato so cannot comment on how the shorter wheelbase and lower kerb weight affects the way it drives, but knowing how quick a portly standard Vantage can be, these must have felt pretty loopy in 1987. And sounded rather special too.

Inside: Italo-British and unmistakeably '80s

There’s a strong possibility that my current yearning for this machine is mixed-up in a mild obsession with the decade in which it was built. I loved the 80s: the cars, the music, the complete lack of smug hindsight over previous decades. The world seemed to be looking forward and not concerning itself too much with what had gone before; hence a car which should have been an homage to the DB4 Zagato bore no resemblance whatsoever to its predecessor, but instead featured pretty much every styling cue from a motorshow concept of the previous five years.

There is, however, also a strong possibility that I’ve lost my mind. That the V8 Zagato is a lump of over-styled nonsense and a disgrace to the brand.

Someone had better tell me I’m wrong – or perhaps right?

ASTON MARTIN V8 ZAGATO
Engine: 5,340cc V8
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): c. 430@6,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 392@5,100rpm
0-62mph: 5.0sec
Top speed: 186mph
Weight: c. 1,650kg
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Price: £135,000 (as featured)