1998 Aston Martin V8 Sportsman Shooting Brake

This is a 1998 Aston Martin V8 Sportsman Shooting Brake. It is finished in Metallic Green over a tan interior with contrast light mauve dash top and accent trim. It is powered by a 5.3 liter V8 engine, running power to the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission. The car has covered 53,371 kilometers to date, and is with its second owner, registered in Germany. The genesis of the entire Shooting Brake project was the result of a collaboration commissioned by the original owner, who worked directly with Aston Martin. Based on their production V8 coupe, it was the first of only three Shooting Brakes that Aston made in total. A two-owner example with full receipts, it also comes with the original custom 7-piece fitted luggage in matching light mauve leather.

For details about this incredibly rare Aston Martin, the representatives of this special car went to the trouble of finding the original owner that had commissioned this incredible car, and it’s a story worth sharing.  Here’s what they had to say, and the conversation they had about it…

“Some time ago, we received an order for the brokerage of some interesting vehicles from a collection from our customer base. One of these vehicles was this Aston Martin V8 Sportsman Shooting Brake.

We had never heard of this very rare Aston Martin model before, and began researching the model in general and in particular the history of the chassis number.

The customer gave us the original "Owners Guide" with the vehicle. The history of this car quickly turned out to be easy to follow and very well documented.

The owner's manual specially prepared for this V8 Sportsman with an integrated service checkbook documented the first delivery to Germany, and a complete service history by the Aston Martin dealer Autohaus Kronberg GmbH in 61467 Kronberg. The car was serviced here for the first owner up to the mileage of 47,570 kilometers on 22.06.2008.

The original European Emergency Service Card, issued in the name of the first owner, is still in its original condition and is enclosed with the service booklet. The current owner bought the car directly from the first owner in 2009.

The first owner of this car tells us the very individual story of how this car came to be and his very personal vision of his Aston Martin V8 Shooting Brake. While researching the history of the car, we were naturally very keen to track down the first owner in the hope that he would tell us a little more about his car.

We were lucky and managed to track down the first owner. We were even luckier to meet an open-minded, friendly and very interested person. He was delighted to hear something about his Shooting Brake after many years. He told us how much he enjoyed the time he spent planning and building his Shooting Brake. He often flew from Germany to Newport Pagnell to discuss numerous details of his car with the Aston Martin engineers. He told us how much he enjoyed working with Aston Martin. He also told us that he was the one who initiated the V8 Sportsman project at Aston Martin. Another Aston Martin customer from Switzerland who was informed of the project quickly joined him, and ordered two more V8 Sportsmans.

The first owner also kindly provided us with the conversion invoices from Aston Martin. They document the takeover of the V8 Coupé as the base vehicle for the conversion. At the time of handover, the speedometer shows the new car status as 00001 kilometers. In detail, the entire conversion of the car with factory documents is fascinating and fully documented. The purchaser of the car invests a documented £139,000 for the conversion to a Shooting Brake. With the purchase of the new V8 Coupé, his costs totaled around €306,855.

In addition, there are various photos showing the vehicle during the conversion at the factory with the first owner and the mechanics. The engineer who completed the vehicle's engine was immortalized by name with a plaque on the engine.”