Legendary Aston Martin at auction

22 October, 2015

Ask me, if money is no object, what car I’d most like to own and you’ll always get the same answer — Aston Martin’s gorgeous, and incredibly rare, DB4GT Zagato. With only 19 examples ever built, these special cars are, undoubtedly, the priciest and most coveted road-going Aston ever built — a breathtaking combination of the iconic DB4 kitted out with Zagato’s beautiful and lightweight aluminium bodywork.

Quite simply, opportunities to obtain one of these spectacular Astons are virtually non-existent — until now! Yes, one of these DB4GT Zagato will be on the block at RM Sotheby’s Driven by Disruption sale, scheduled to take place on December 10 at Sotheby’s New York. This rare Aston will be joined by a carefully curated selection of some 30 pioneering motor cars.

The DB4GT Zagato featured — chassis number DB4GT/0186/R — is the only example delivered new to Australia, having been completed in 1961. Purchased by businessman Laurie O’Neil, the car was raced extensively during the 1962 season and enjoyed numerous victories and podium successes in the hands of Doug Whitehead, including victory in the South Pacific GT Championship and fourth overall in the Sports Car Championship on the same day. The car remained in Australia for the next 30 years before returning to the UK in 1993. Since then, the car has been fully restored to concours standard and has scored numerous awards at events such as the Louis Vuitton Concours, Villa d’Este and Pebble Beach.

Alas, I have to report that, much as I’d like to, I doubt that I’ll be bidding on this amazing Aston Martin — even if I cracked open the piggy bank I doubt if I’d be able to scrape up enough to afford this blue-chip beauty.

Merry Christmas from NZ Classic Car magazine

The Classic Car magazine team is taking a few weeks’ holiday from the work computer and heading to the beach for some kickback time.
Merry Christmas, and have a wonderful summer holiday to all our readers, followers, and fans. Enjoy this special extra time with the family. We will be posting archive articles again in mid to late January.
Have fun, be good and be careful out there.

Two engines instead of one?

Popping two motors into a car is not only complicated, it doesn’t always end well. Donn Anderson recalls early attempts, including John Cooper’s ill-fated original Twini Mini built 58 years ago

For a boost in performance, better traction, and perhaps improved handling to some, two motors seems an obvious solution. It would also eliminate the need to develop a larger engine replacement from scratch, but would that outweigh the not inconsiderable technical difficulties?
The idea of using a pair of engines dates back at least 86 years to the Alfa Romeo Bimotor single seater racing car that was officially timed at 335km/h, or 208mph. Taking a lengthened Alfa P3 chassis, the Italians fitted two supercharged straight eight 2.9-litre and 3.2-litre engines, one in front of the cockpit, and the other behind the cockpit.