DB4GT Zagato

[GT6 Jonsey]

Are we likely to hit a new British auction record for this rather lovely machine
https://www.bonhams.com/press_release/25575/

[Deptford Draylons]

The most beautiful car ever made, and makes a 250GTO look fugly.

[Keep it stiff]

One of the ultimate GT cars, outstanding provenance, surely it has got to hit £20m?

[TypeR]

I'd often see this car parked up behind an office in Beaconsfield Old Town in the late '90's. Damn it's beautiful.
What a car to travel to work in........

[GT6 Jonsey]

Managed to find a picture of the accident described in the Bonhams blurb, before the second Ferrari ploughed into the two stationary cars . One of the few occasions where a heavy accident would add value to a car, what an amazing history . Imagine the same accident occurring at this year’s Revival, it would be an eye watering repair bill

[GT6 Jonsey]

Ferrari number two, luckily Jim and John were out of their cars

[a8hex]

Deptford Draylons said:

The most beautiful car ever made

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. These Zagato's look good, but to my eye the model they're based on looks even better. I wonder how many still have their bumpers fitted.

[grumpy52]

That car gives me tingles in my tackle !
Am I curable?

[a8hex]

grumpy52 said:

That car gives me tingles in my tackle !
Am I curable?

Yes, but from the above predictions it sounds like the treatment is going to cost over 20M and is unlikely to be available on the NHS.

[Cold]

Anyone fancy speculating on the sort of person who might be bidding on this lot? And what do you suppose would be their intended future use of the car?

[williamp]

It will be there or thereabouts, but personally Ive always thought the nose of 2VEV makes it look to heavy. I prefer the look of 29 ALY myself. Lickily I am not in a position to have the choice. I considef myself blessed...

[lowdrag]

1995; I am visiting clients who are hosiery manufacturers, well off people, and they like their cars. "Do you want to go and see a few cars owned by a friend Tony?" Off we go to a small back street garage, a showroom big enough for three cars at most. I walk inside, and see a Peugeot 205 on a ramp being serviced. Then I see a car in the corner under a cover. The cover is removed. Underneath is one of the 6 or 7 (I forget) RHD Californias made. Incredible I think. Then I am asked to open the door behind, and walk into Aladdin's cave. amongst nearly 30 cars are the Aston DB3S that came second twice at Le Mans, 62 EMU. Then there is the Bugatti Type 35 that belonged to Dick Seaman. I am later shown the buff log book with his signature therein. I am also shown a DB4 GT Zagato with but 5,000 miles on the clock, a car the owner of the garage had bought for a paltry £5,000 many years before. Being, shall we say, somewhat corpulent, he had taken out the real seats and put in Tiger seats so he could drive. There was an XK150S 3.8 roadster, one of very few made, given to him by an old friend who no longer drove, there was a Prince Henry Vauxhall, there were so many cars all behind a little nondescript garage in a small town in the Midlands. I sat in the Zagato, and as we became friends I drove one day the DB3S. I shall never forget though, that moment when they opened the door.

[Blue62]

lowdrag said:

1995; I am visiting clients who are hosiery manufacturers, well off people, and they like their cars. "Do you want to go and see a few cars owned by a friend Tony?" Off we go to a small back street garage, a showroom big enough for three cars at most. I walk inside, and see a Peugeot 205 on a ramp being serviced. Then I see a car in the corner under a cover. The cover is removed. Underneath is one of the 6 or 7 (I forget) RHD Californias made. Incredible I think. Then I am asked to open the door behind, and walk into Aladdin's cave. amongst nearly 30 cars are the Aston DB3S that came second twice at Le Mans, 62 EMU. Then there is the Bugatti Type 35 that belonged to Dick Seaman. I am later shown the buff log book with his signature therein. I am also shown a DB4 GT Zagato with but 5,000 miles on the clock, a car the owner of the garage had bought for a paltry £5,000 many years before. Being, shall we say, somewhat corpulent, he had taken out the real seats and put in Tiger seats so he could drive. There was an XK150S 3.8 roadster, one of very few made, given to him by an old friend who no longer drove, there was a Prince Henry Vauxhall, there were so many cars all behind a little nondescript garage in a small town in the Midlands. I sat in the Zagato, and as we became friends I drove one day the DB3S. I shall never forget though, that moment when they opened the door.

I know that feeling. When I was about 10, my family lived fairly close to Nick Cussons (he's mentioned in relation to the Zagato) home in Cheshire and I used to take a walk down the lane to gawp at the wonderful DB4 he owned, which was followed by a Lola T70, they would often be sitting in his courtyard being prepared for race day. His boy Ben was a few years younger than me but we would play together occasionally (my older sister babysat) and one day I was invited to steer the T70 as it was pushed back to the house, after it had popped an oil leak while being tested (illegally I presume) down the lane. It's almost 45 years ago but the pictures in my mind are crystal clear, just as the smells of the car and its garage evoke memories I will always cherish and it cemented my lifelong love of cars. Nick was a warm, funny, unpretentious man who understood and indulged a starstruck kid that day, top bloke.

[AgentM]

TypeR said:

I'd often see this car parked up behind an office in Beaconsfield Old Town in the late '90's. Damn it's beautiful.
What a car to travel to work in........

I too worked in Beaconsfield then and it did seem to be used regularly. I also used to see the very rare DBS shape Lagonda around and I wondered whether they shared a very nice garage....

[lowdrag]

In the same vein I am going to see the owner of a chateau to book it for the Classic. Probably all 28 rooms of it. But I am curious as to what I will find there too. I have often seen her out and about and saw this one parked at the local supermarket:-

Daytona 1 by Tony Brown, on Flickr

I've seen her in a 512BB and last autumn in a new California. Be interesting to see what else she might have.

[OLDBENZ]

AgentM said:

TypeR said:

I'd often see this car parked up behind an office in Beaconsfield Old Town in the late '90's. Damn it's beautiful.
What a car to travel to work in........

I too worked in Beaconsfield then and it did seem to be used regularly. I also used to see the very rare DBS shape Lagonda around and I wondered whether they shared a very nice garage....

I think that may have been co-incidence. I owned the 4 door DBS Lagonda prototype for five years form 2010. It is one of one. Before that it was owned by a chap Peter B**** , for 35 years who bought it direct from the factory in the early 70s. It was Sir David Brown's personal car and sold by the administrators during the insolvency. When Sir David Brown ran it it was Roman Purple with crimson velour but before sale the factory had painted it blue with blue trim which it wore during my ownership. I believe it is now in Switzerland.

[Mike-tf3n0]

Interesting thread this. I grew up in Beaconsfield, used to stand in the doorway of Maurice Leo's Lagonda garage in Gregories Road as a small boy, after several years they allowed me to stand inside when it rained! One of my first jobs in 1962 was in Chalfont St Peter and there used to be a Zagato around there from time to time, could have been the same car. Scroll forward to 1966 and I was by then living in Kensington and working for European Cars in South Kensington. One day I had the opportunity to blag a ride in a DB4GT Zagato, one of my absolute icons, it was fabulous and it sounded even better, then a few days later I got a ride in a Cobra - and it was so much quicker than the Aston you wouldn't believe it. Never saw the Aston in quite the same light again.......

[MarkM3Evoplus]

Deptford Draylons said:

The most beautiful car ever made, and makes a 250GTO look fugly.

Just no

[Deptford Draylons]

250GTO is like a Datsun 240Z next to an E-Type in comparison.