Today’s Rare Ride started out in life as an already very expensive Aston Martin Vanquish. Then it was reworked in a significant way by that Italian house of all things coupe, Zagato. Surprisingly, the Italians resisted painting it Rosso Corso Collezione or whatever, as its owner demanded a nice BRG-adjacent matte color.
Let’s check out this sports wagon shaped Aston Martin.
This Zagato edit will actually mark the second instance we’ve had a customized shooting brake Aston Martin on these pages. You may recall the first example of the type, a 1998 V8 Vantage customized in Switzerland. Today’s Vanquish rolled off the assembly line in 2018 and proceeded directly to the Zagato factory north of Milan. The second-gen Vanquish went on sale in 2012, after the model was absent from the brand’s lineup between 2008 and 2011. The original Vanquish was Aston’s modern take on a big, comfortable grand tourer, and when it debuted in 2001 it was the official replacement for the dated Vantage which went away after 2000.
The second Vanquish was a replacement for the outgoing 12-cylinder DBS and used many of its styling cues as expected. It also used some more exclusive design elements from the ludicrously expensive One-77 (a separate Rare Ride). Though it looked similar, the Vanquish rode on a new third generation of Aston’s VH platform, a chassis that debuted on the DB9 in 2004. VH version three used more carbon fiber than the second version, for additional lightness and strength. Vanquish was available from the factory with two seats, or as a more GT-like 2+2. Unlike the original Vanquish, this generation was also offered in convertible form.
Earlier examples of the Vanquish used the AM28 series (the Ford Duratec one) V12, of 5.9 liters in displacement. Later cars after 2014 switched to an AM29 version of the same engine. Transmissions were automatic only and had six speeds pre-2014, and eight speeds after.
Vanquish production ended in 2018, so today’s example was one of the last off the line, and titled as a 2019 after its modifications. As its customer requested, Zagato turned the brand new coupe into a shooting brake. They tossed the trunk in favor of an all-new hatchback design. Extensive changes were made to the side and rear windows, the roof, and the entire shape of the rear end. A flat cargo floor trimmed in leather was installed behind the seats, and accessed through the fairly narrow rear hatch area.
Up front, Zagato re-trimmed the already hand-trimmed seats and did so with a cream and black color scheme. Above passengers, a blue glass panel was inset into the full length of the roof, perhaps in the name of visual interest. Your author, though supportive of shooting brakes generally, finds these modifications reside on the bad side of questionable.
Today’s Rare Ride was registered in July 2019, and since that time it’s traveled 960 miles. The listing indicates the exterior shade is Xenon Grey, but come on. This green shooting brake is on sale presently in England for $724,817, which is about 2.5 times the cost of a standard one when new.
[Images: seller]
A perfect example of, “just because you can doesn’t mean you should”. What a waste of a perfectly good Vanquish. I remember back in the 60s/70s people did the same thing to Corvettes with similar results :(
Oh, and that price? Hahahaha!
Shooting Brake: “Historically, the term comes from the vehicle that shooting parties would use on hunts. The vehicle had to be practical to hold the rifles, marksmen and shooting game while out and about. It’s called a ‘brake’ because this described the carriage used to train and break in young horses.”
https://www.carwow.co.uk/guides/glossary/what-is-a-shooting-brake
I officially object to all this violence against animals… and I need to speak with your manager.
Your full name is Karen ToolGuy huh?!
@Corey, are you attempting to de-anonymize my data? I am offended (but not shocked).
Exposed!
Ok NOW I’m shocked. :-)
“I gave your mother a Bang & Olufsen, Trebek!” – Sean Connery
RIP.
Toyota called – it wants the rear end from the C-HR back.
Looks a little too much like a Veloster.
Count me as a shooting brake fan. I wished GM built the Solstice/Sky based Nomad and Toyota Subaru built the prototype BRZ shooting brake hatch. Also the Volvo 1800 is one of my all time favorites. But this Aston that costs as much as a suburban home and looks like Zorro designed it, no dice. You can find a Ferrari FF for 1/8 of the price.
I’m a fan too. My 1st Lotto car purchase would be a Panamera Sport Turismo.
I saw one the other day. It looked so much better than the what Jeremy Clarkson called the J-Lo butt Panamera.
There were supposedly 99 of these made. I saw this particular one https://www.astonmartinnewportbeach.com/inventory/j54565 about a month ago in local traffic. The silver almost makes it blend in compared to this matte BRG example. I didn’t think anything of it when I saw it in my mirrors, then it went by and… oh…