Understanding the DB4

I would like to hear more about the Sanction II cars. If Edmond does not want it in this thread, please start a new one.

 

I welcome them in this thread! They were approved by Aston Martin so I regard the sanction II cars as authentic DB4s even though they were built in 1991/92.

 

The sanction 11 Zagatoes came about as a pay off to Richard Williams for
AM's Lemans racing program as Ford was at the helm and had just purchased Jaguar who also had a Lemans team. AM then disbanded there Lemans efforts and in that it was headed up by RS Williams, he was given the GT so called open chassis numbers as partial pay back, ie, # 0192, 0196, 0197, and 0198 , although, chassis # 0192 had been previously used by AM to rebuild 2VEV after a severe crash, this was simply to avoid the taxes involved in registering a completely new car.

But the fact is that Am did not even own the chassis # as all of the factory drawings and the sole rights to all of the DB4 series including the DB4/GT's had been purchases by Ivan Forshaw-Aston Service Dorset.
I had a number of conversations with Richard Forshaw on the subject and his take was that even though Aston Service had been wronged by AM they need AM more than AM needed them.
This was because Aston Service had a discounted buying arrangement with AM for later model car parts.

The Sanction 11 Zagatos were blessed by Am and as they had previously worked with Zagato it was a perfect inroad for RS Williams.

I was at the Zagato facility during the time of the build of these four cars and non were to be seen at the facility as Zagato was then out of Alloy coachwork only concentrating on composite and fiberglass bodies, they did arrange a meeting for me with Carrozzeria Galbiati who was building the cars, I took one photo of the hard station buck before I was advised that no cameras were permitted. Galbiati was essential an Itialian panel beater and running a Zagato salvage yard. There was no signs of the car that Richard had said that he sent to them to be dismantled for patterns, so why the Am station buck. I had attempted to buy the bucks years earlier at one of AM's Auctions at Newpor Pagnell and was told that they were spoken for.

Williams did build other Zagato's on previously registered DB 4's the chassis were reconfigured to GT specs and given Zagato type coachwork, which were called Sanction 111 Zagatos, but should be only regarded as reproductions. It is not known where the so called Sanction 111 cars were bodied as Galbiati was out of business, but I suspect that they were bodied in the Uk as there are
many high end panel beaters that have produced Zagato type bodies.

cheers kdl

 

Interesting- thank you for sharing.I sort of regret not bidding for the Bonhams sanction II that recently sold. I think they are beautiful cars- probably better built and more reliable than the ones built in the 1960s. And nobody can tell the difference- not even experts.

 

They have 15" wheels and DB5 brakes!

 

Thank you for the clarification on this point. Recently my Lancia Flaminia Touring convertible was in a shop adjacent to an AM specialist, and there was much amusement among the staff about how differently the two "Superleggera" cars were constructed.

 

I just discovered this beautiful car- the lancia Flaminia touring. Its stunning! I think Aston Martin would have not had the success it did if it did not outsource the coachbuilding to Touring of Millan. British engineering (or Polish with Tadek) combined with Italian style- ofcourse the DB4 was going to be a huge success!