When I was a child, book stores were a big deal. Waldenbooks was a place I spent a lot of time, usually reading some hardcover coffee table book about exotic sports cars produced by far-flung design studios overseas. One car that often graced the pages of these texts was the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato, a wild build that added an aerodynamically-enhanced exterior with serious power under the hood that increased dramatically if the car in question was one of 3 conceived with factory-fitted carburation – like this example listed here on Pistonheads.com. In addition, it’s one of two pre-production prototype examples.

The Zagato was intended to be the ultimate Aston, adding flush-fitting glass to make the high-performance model even more slippery through the wind. Unfortunately, it was not considered a truly beautiful or elegant model, as Aston was historically known to produce. It almost seemed to mimic the Brutalist style of architecture that is undoubtedly captivating but certainly not treasured by design critics. Nevertheless, the Zagato’s performance spoke for itself, but yet another ding occurred when emissions equipment was fitted that resulted in a reduction of nearly 30 horsepower in production form.

That’s what makes this pre-production model so special: it isn’t penalized by said emissions equipment, making the full 432 b.h.p. at the factory intended when it set out to prove an Aston could be a world-beating supercar. This version of the Zagato could rocket to 60 in safely under 5 seconds, and considering this was achieved in 1986 while going onto a top speed of 186 miles per hour, there was little doubt as to the car’s potential. Still, its place in the world of limited-production supercars hasn’t achieved the same status as the likes of the Porsche 959 or Ferrari F40; in a way, that makes it even more special, a car with fantastic pedigree that slips below the radar. How wonderfully Aston-like of it!

This Zagato remained in the company’s care for the first few years of its life before going to live with its first owner in New Zealand. It attended numerous rallies and concours events, along with benefitting from a full reconditioning by an Aston specialist. The car looks absolutely stunning in Gladiator Red with a black leather interior and wood trim. The asking price is £325,000, which works out to be around $437,000 U.S. – hardly chump change despite the car’s somewhat obscure role in supercar history. Still, if you wanted to own a car that was a centerfold in numerous car books that are now functionally worthless, a V8 Vantage Zagato should be at the top of your list. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Nevadahalfrack for the find.