What’s that, chum? You’re finding your Lynx Eventer to be a little, shall we say, common? Your friend the Sultan of Brunei has six Ferrari 456GT Sportwagons, courtesy of Pininfarina, and you require a competing conveyance that is both brutally subtle and subtly brutal? Well, then, you’ll need to find one of the two fellows who took delivery of an Aston Sportsman in 1996 and pry it out of his clutches.
If a recent auction result is any guide, however, you’d better have about seven hundred Krugerrands to make the deal…
Based on the 1996 V8 Coupe, which itself was a direct descendant of the 1969 Aston DBS, just two Sportsmen (Sportsmans?) were built. One of them reportedly has well over 100,000 miles on it and is in use as a near-daily driver. It’s unknown whether that was the example which went up for auction at Bonhams in September, but we do know that the estimated sale price was in excess of four hundred thousand English pounds. The highest bid turned out to be a little more modest; $432,650 was not sufficient to meet reserve.
Sports Car Market sniffed that they have doubts as to the Sportsman’s future collectibility. They may be right, but the fact is that, if you want an Aston shooting brake with eight cylinders, you have just two choices in the world. And even if it would take eight hundred grand to put it in your garage, wouldn’t it be nice to turn up your nose at the proles in their Veyrons?
This is special and all…
…but I daresay that owning an RS6 Avant and a DBS would be pretty special too.
Very nice car. A little bit on the expensive side. But without a Diesel option my grocer would not like it (think of the fuel costs with an V8!).
It’d look nice in the garage next to a P-1800 Volvo.
Nice. An English car that was able to attain 100,000+ miles? Now that is collectible.
Come on Baruth, no references to what size air mattress will fit in the back?
Nice looking despite the resemblance to a Pinto wagon.
Ed.Dan +1
Looks to me (from certain angles) like a stretched Z3 Coupe.
Here’s hoping those little quarter windows are opening vents.
Not being one to believe that there are ever only two options, the obvious third possibility is to acquire a very clean 1996 Aston Martin V8 Coupe for about $50,000 and give a friendly neighborhood coachbuilder $200,000 to make it your way.
I think I’d be okay with just having Ed’s M Shoe, even though it’s as relative to this as an Aveo5.
I knew I wasn’t the only one who saw the resemblance!
Technically, the Virage/V8 is not directly related to the ’69 DBS, but the ’76 Lagonda. The Virage is made on a shortened Lagonda platform. Apparently, there were two different techniques, and it was simply easier to adopt the Lagonda platform. As I understand it, the superstructure is handmade from small bits of flat steel panels, with an outer skin of manually stamped aluminum panels. Indeed, the Virage prototype was a simple cut-and-weld job, a Lagonda with 30cm taken out behind the front seats. After its job done as a factory prototype, it was later restored and finalized for a private buyer who wanted something distinctly unique.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2424/3787807517_6fd70faf62.jpg
I knew the Virage was substantially different from the DBS/V8, which is why I said “descendant” as opposed to “evolution/variant”, but I did not have the depth of knowledge you’ve displayed on this subject. Appreciate the heads-up!
Needs curb feelers.
I hate to say both the bidder and the owner are a bit un-realistic, I would have gave it to him or her.
Even though are 2 around that doesnt make it 433k.
A little bit on the expensive side. But without a Diesel option my grocer would not like it (think of the fuel costs with an V8!).
let alone if a car cost 40k one shouldnt have to worry about the fuel mileage.
At 433k u would want a car to use 10 gals per mile so u could aggravate your neighbours and have not friends, relatives.
I’m looking at the back glass. It can’t have been made for that car. It had to come from another machine. I’m just wondering what . . . .
That’s an… interesting vehicle. If you really want to attract attention, I think the original Fiat Multipla does a better job.
http://www.cartype.com/pics/6919/full/fiat_600_multipla_2_55-60.jpg