The auction house Bonhams has put on sale an unicorn of Aston Martin that left of factory in 1996: a Shooting Brake that happened to be called V8 Sportsman Estate. With automatic transmission, left hand wheel and 20,000 kilometers on its odometer, only three copies of this creation were commissioned by two Swiss brothers.
It uses the V8 Coupe as base and it borrows the same 334 hp that allow to reach the 257 km / h. Aston Martin has meticulously maintained this peculiar model since it left the factory more than 20 years ago, and next month it may reach more than 400,000 dollars at the auction. Who wants an SUV having this?
Personality contained over two decades
At a time when Aston Martin is not going through its best financial moment, the leaders thought of proposing all kinds of variants based on the Virage to win a few customers. A 5-door break, a 4-door saloon and a Shooting Brake joined Al Coupé and the Volkswagen (cabrio). Of the three bodies, the Shooting Brake is the one that managed to conquer some other customer.
These were manufactured by the brand, between 1992 and 1999. Initially it was presented with the rear drivers of the Renault 21 Nevada, but after the restying of the Virage, that changed that name to V8 Coupé, the rear pilots happened to be round and of Shooting Brake was renamed “Sportsman Estate”.
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The Aston Martin models that most lent themselves to a conversion in shooting brake were the DB5 and DB6. But in the 70’s, these types of bodies were no longer so attractive. Still, FLM Panelcraft made a shooting brake based on the successor to the DB6, the DBS, in 1971. It is the only DBS shooting brake of the era. The DBS Estate was made at the request of a Scottish fishing enthusiast and both the car and the conversion were purchased through the famous dealer HR Owen.
In 1999, the engine of this V8 Sportsman Estate was completely rebuilt by the factory, having been driven along 9,263 kilometers. It would then be sold to its second owner, a French art collector named Fedoroff, who registered the car in Monaco. After the death of the artist, the car was sold again at an auction in 2014, and now will change ownership next May 13.
The interior finish of green leather fits perfectly with the British Racing Green body; it seems that the years have not passed. With 21,000 kilometers on its odometer, it has formed part of Aston Martin’s private collection for two decades. A shooting brake with a lot of personality that can still give a lot of play.
