Thursday 8th October 2015

The Ogle Aston Martin: Under the Hammer

Three exotic wrecks from the 70s to be auctioned off after decades hidden away

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My inner space hopper is bouncing wildly, my taste buds are a-tingle with the memory of orange Spangles and my nostrils are flaring wider than a pair of Bay City Rollers bell-bottoms.

In short, a long-lost part of my brain is relapsing back to the 1970s. I can feel myself back on my old Raleigh Chopper - almost literally, since the iconic '70s bicycle was the creation of the same man as the car in this story's headline: Tom Karen of Ogle Design.

In the glory days

Sorry if I seem over-emotional here, but as a child of the 1970s, the re-emergence of such a beast as the Ogle Aston Martin DBS V8'Sotheby Special' is something special indeed.

Up for sale at the H&H auction at Imperial War Museum, Duxford on October 14, this is the original 1971 show car (Ogle went on to build two more).

It's been hidden away for the last 40 years. It may now look totally mullered, but the bodywork is glassfibre so it hasn't rusted, and the steel tube-supported glasshouse looks complete.

Check out the rear light clusters which house (or should house) no fewer than 22 lights. The indicators flow outwards (rather like the current Audi A8) and the harder the driver brakes, the more brake lights come on.

They're not bullet holes, they're for lights

Ogle's bright green interior seems sadly partially stripped, but the oh-so-1971 green corduroy rear seat is still there. Being the 1970s, nothing could be straightforward so, naturally, this was a single, sideways-facing seat.

It's got a nice spec, too: a prototype fuel-injected 5,340cc V8 and ZF five-speed manual gearbox. For a car as shagged and incomplete as this, you might think the estimate of £100,000- £120,000 is outrageous, but once restored it could easily be worth double that.

Wrecked
Speaking of wrecked 1970s Astons, how about this 1973 Aston Martin V8 worksdevelopment car and model launch car? It's described as "historically important" because it's Newport Pagnell's carb-fed V8 Series 3 development car that was also its 1973 press demo car. At some stage it's acquired a later Vantage-style front spoiler.

Yep, definitely of the 70s...

You've got to love the period Lonsdale Yellow paint scheme, and you also get the 'XCT 9' number plate with the car.

This V8 is clearly in need of lots of restoration work. That ain't going to be cheap, but the auction estimate of £25,000-£35,000 seems fair given that a good Series 3 V8 can fetch around £80K these days.

Be avenged
For the headiest mid-1970s vibe, though, look no further than wreck number three at the H&H sale - nothing less than John Steed's wide-body Jag XJ-C V12 from the TV series, The New Avengers. Come on!

One for the committed Avengers fan!

It's based on a pre-production XJ-C, fitted with a massive Broadspeed wide body kit and Carlos Fandango-style wheels especially for the TV series.

The original metallic green paint and beige leather interior remain intact, but the whole car is in dire need of restoration, since it's been stored away for over 20 years and has suffered damage by vandals.

The odometer reads 4,920 miles but that's unwarranted. It is, frankly, a hideous brute and so naff that it's gone over the edge into extreme coolness. It could be yours for £10,000-£12,000, reckons the auction house.

[sidesauce]

I'm a 70s child too but to all of these I have to say "hell no".

[British Beef]

I like the Jag XJ coupe thing, looks like a love child with a '70s Mustang fastback!

[loose cannon]

Steed's jag it's just outrageous and full of want
Be great to see it back on the road and hopefully somebody will do it justice

[Burnham]

'Being the 1970s, nothing could be straightforward so, naturally, this was a single, sideways-facing seat'

Ey?

[burningdinos]

"The indicators flow outwards (rather like the current Audi A8)"

Didn't the Mustang had something like that in the mid-sixties?

Burnham said:

'Being the 1970s, nothing could be straightforward so, naturally, this was a single, sideways-facing seat'

Ey?

Something like this. It does looks very odd.

Edited to add the pictures.

Edited by burningdinos on Thursday 8th October 11:06

[cookie1600]

I'd take Steed's Jag all day. I know it's probably as rot as a pear (the windows are held in with tape currently) and will probably take north of £30k to restore properly, but if you check out the interwebs this has been hidden away for years and enthusiasts around the world have been looking for it since it was on screen last. The general consensus by those who know was that Patrick Macnee found it an absolute pig to drive on location because of the huge wheels.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=382...

http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forums/british-televisi...

I really doubt it will go for as little as £12k and I wouldn't mind betting it ends up somewhere nearer £25k when the hammer comes down. But if I could secure it for the aforementioned, I might be tempted to wave my hand around and then crack open someones piggy bank to start a serious restoration.

[Z28DUNC]

The Cougar and Thunderbird had flashing sequential lights. Don't think the Mustang ever had them.

[andyps]

I would love the Jag, it is anything but naff in my view, it was cool when first on TV and has remained that way since. I also suspect that the estimate is a long way below the price it will sell for on the day but will wait and see with interest but hands held firmly in pockets!

[MajorMantra]

Burnham said:

'Being the 1970s, nothing could be straightforward so, naturally, this was a single, sideways-facing seat'

Ey?

Per the listing:

listing said:

Also of note is that the car had a single transverse rear seat, presumably making the Ogle the only post war three-seater Aston Martin.

So it was talking about the rear seat. The article makes it sound like there's just one seat, not three.

Edited by MajorMantra on Thursday 8th October 14:37

[anonymous-user]

I reckon AML should buy back the Ogle Aston, give it a lick of paint and launch it as their new "SUV / Crossover" thingy!
It's already got the ridiculously high ride height and it looks absolutely awful, so it would save them the hundreds of millions of pounds of doing a new version.............

[anonymous-user]

That Jag is cool as fk

[burningdinos]

Z28DUNC said:

The Cougar and Thunderbird had flashing sequential lights. Don't think the Mustang ever had them.

Ah, fine. I knew it was some 60's Ford model but wasn't sure which one so the Mustang made sense. Just to show it's nothing new or revolutionary, although Audi marketing still try to make believe it's all the rage

[castex]

Max_Torque said:

I reckon AML should buy back the Ogle Aston, give it a lick of paint and launch it as their new "SUV / Crossover" thingy!
It's already got the ridiculously high ride height and it looks absolutely awful, so it would save them the hundreds of millions of pounds of doing a new version.............

It doesn't ride particularly high in the period shots. Wonder if the suspension collapsed so they had to jack it up to move it. I'd buy that and go to town if funds allowed.

[KMB]

I'm also another one that thinks the Jag could be a lot more desirable than the auction estimate in the article!

[dc2rr07]

I think the Aston looks as though it has come straight from the Mad Max set.

[jamespink]

burningdinos said:

"The indicators flow outwards (rather like the current Audi A8)"

Didn't the Mustang had something like that in the mid-sixties?

Burnham said:

'Being the 1970s, nothing could be straightforward so, naturally, this was a single, sideways-facing seat'

Ey?

Something like this. It does looks very odd.

Edited to add the pictures.

Edited by burningdinos on Thursday 8th October 11:06

Rather than make two utterly useless front facing seats, it provides one, but with enough room for legs as well (unlike most Audi coupes). Not so hot in a crash me thinks...

[jamespink]

Love the Ogle. Remember lusting after it when I was a kid. Smallish car with huge mechanical parts hidden... Big budget restoration, makes me shudder to think how much of it you'd throw away...

[anonymous-user]

castex said:

Max_Torque said:

I reckon AML should buy back the Ogle Aston, give it a lick of paint and launch it as their new "SUV / Crossover" thingy!
It's already got the ridiculously high ride height and it looks absolutely awful, so it would save them the hundreds of millions of pounds of doing a new version.............

It doesn't ride particularly high in the period shots. Wonder if the suspension collapsed so they had to jack it up to move it. I'd buy that and go to town if funds allowed.

The sill covers have fallen off, so it looks higher in the latest photo's.

[LotusOmega375D]

Ogle this then (1989, Roger Bell, Supercar Classics article)

[Ozzie Osmond]

Dear me that's ugly!

But they redeemed themselves by selling this beauty instead.