Lot 274 - 1977 12848 V8 Series III Saloon

 The six cylinder William Towns styled DBS had been around for a couple of years, but customers were anxiously awaiting the new V8 engine. Raced in 1967 in a Lola, the 5.1 V8 needed 3 years of development to turn it into a powerful and reliable road engine of 5.3 litres. It was in April 1970 the DBS V8 was finally made available immediately making it one of the fastest cars in the world. With space for four people in luxury, it was a true Grand Tourer. The fuel injected 5.3 litre Tadek Marek designed engine was able to develop around 320bhp which gave the ability to reach 160mph. Demand for the car was great with production reaching 402 examples in its two years of production. From April 1972, the DBS V8 received a restyle and a new name. The 'DB' was dropped as David Brown had sold the company and the car became known simply as the 'Aston Martin V8'. The most visible change was the adoption of two seven inch quartz iodine headlamps and black mesh grill, the design of which was the work of the original designer, William Towns, to bring back the familiar shape of the DB3S and DB Mark III. In August 1973, a new Aston Martin V8 was unveiled. Keen to re-enter the American market with its new emission control regulations, the mechanical fuel injection was replaced by four twin-choke downdraught Weber carburettors which offered greater low down torque, smoothness and reliability. This led to the deeper, purposeful bonnet bulge of the Series three cars; there were further improvements both mechanical and to the interior with only 921 of these cars built.

 
This more desirable Aston Martin V8 Series III fitted with ZF five speed manual gearbox was first purchased by Mr J Green in February 1977 as his every day motor car before selling it to Mr P Hutchinsky in 1984; from the history file it can be seen that this car was properly maintained throughout both their ownership and nearly all the mileage was attributed to them. At some point in the early 1990's this Aston Martin was re-painted changing the colour from blue to red; the next owner of this AM V8 according to the history file is Mr M Knight who had work carried out on the Aston in 1997 with the odometer reading 00531 miles and since then the car has only covered a further 1000 miles. In 2002 it was purchased by Mr Spiller, an Aston Martin enthusiast, as a present for his eighteen year old son who, unable to get insurance, put the car into dry storage. The vendor purchased the Aston late last year and took the car from the storage garage, re-commissioned it and was given an MoT test certificate on the 6th December 2012 with no advisories on it. Within the last six months the car has been the subject to a bare metal re-paint in Aston Martin colour tourmaline blue, fitted with a new front valance and re-chromed bumpers and overiders.  A full service has been carried out, changing the oils, spark plugs, filters and fan belts. The brakes were overhauled including new brake servos, rear callipers and various brake pipes including front flexible hoses. Other items that have been replaced are a new battery with cut out switch, a heater valve, boot lid springs, air filter and two new Avon tyres to the rear of the car. The engine compartment has been detailed with the cam covers and air box power coated in silver. The original black leather interior is in good condition and the alloy 'cookie cutter' wheels have recently been refurbished. This Aston Martin V8 Series III is supplied with a V5C registration, an MoT test certificate and a file of invoices and old MoT test certificates. Aston Martins of all types are still increasing in value and the post David Brown cars are now becoming a very good investment for the future.