1989 Aston Martin V8 Zagato Volante Fi

Description

Introducing our 1989 Aston Martin V8 Zagato Volante!

In 1986 ‘The Motors’ magazine observed the following: ‘The Aston Martin Vantage Zagato, to give it’s full title, sets out to be one of the fastest and most desirable supercars in the world. Since the Aston Martin Vantage, on which it is based, is already one of the fastest and most desirable supercars in the world, Zagato’s prospects of attaining the required levels of speed and desirability look distinctly good’.

Whilst the remarks concerning the speed may not be quite so true in this generation, the Zagato is probably more desirable now than the observations of the Motor’s journalist had quoted at that time.

With the introduction of the Vantage Zagato in 1986 Aston Martin renewed it’s association with one of Italy’s most illustrious Carrozzeria, Zagato having been responsible for that most celebrated and desirable of all post-war Aston Martin’s, the DB4GT.

Part of Zagato’s brief had been to shred some of the standard Vantage’s not inconsiderable weight, and this was achieved by shortening the car by over 17cm with the redesigned super structure, the body and then using composite materials reducing the overall weight by some 10%.

The Zagato saw 52 Coupes in production but in 1987 the Zagato Volante was introduced to sit alongside its counterpart but with some changes alongside the necessary torsional upgrades to counter the lack of a roof and in fact improved torsional rigidity.

Firstly, mechanical and the former quartet of Weber carburettors were replaced in favour of a sequential Weber-Marelli Electronic Fuel Injection system a seen on the V585 engine (5.3 Litre Quad Cam V8) which, although reducing power output to 320bhp was thought to give a smoother fuel delivery for a more relaxed drive.

Cosmetically, the Volante had a deletion of the front grille and ‘Covered In’ headlamps, to make it distinguishable from its Coupe counterpart and more in line with Guiseppe Mittino’s original penned design, along with the deletion of the former bonnet bulge seen on the coupe and necessary to house the taller carburettor set up.

Over time owners have upgraded their Volantes, returning to the former carburettor set up, returning to ‘open’ headlamps and a grille and some alongside the use of the X-Pack engines.

Only 37 Zagato Volantes were ever produced, 12 of which were left hand drive, so just 25 right hand drive making them one of the rarest Aston Martins ever produced and hence a must for any discernible Aston Martin Classic Collection.

This particular model was originally sold by the Murray Motor Company in Edinburgh in March 1989 and was originally supplied in Pastello Bianca (White) with the existing Burgundy interior. However, it’s original owner from Kensington London sold the car to the owner of Racoon International Ltd from Warwickshire in 2000 and it was then that the car was re-painted Star Silver and probably by Murray Motor Company. The majority of its current 16730 mileage was clocked up between 1989 and 2000 (14256) with only minimal mileage since and only 100 miles since 2012. It retains all of its original features including the headlamp covers and 16” Speedline wheels, and a comprehensive document file with the original sales invoice and photographs of the car in the showroom prior to sale and in the original white coachwork.

• Aston Martin
• Aston Martin Heritage
• V8 Zagato