Aston Martin vehicles are already out of reach for most mortals, often carrying stickers around $200,000 just for their standard entry-level models. But for a select group of ultra-wealthy enthusiasts, simply owning a rare British grand tourer straight from the factory isn’t enough. They demand absolute exclusivity and will gladly pay extraordinary sums to have their luxury machines converted into entirely bespoke creations.
The ambitious owner of this 1987 Aston Martin Lagonda Series 3 fits that description perfectly. Rather than preserving his exceptionally scarce sedan, considering only 645 were ever manufactured in the 1980s, he commissioned Switzerland-based Roos Engineering to transform it. The result is the world’s only known Lagonda Series 3 Shooting Brake, a polarizing masterpiece that took four painstaking years of labor to complete between 1996 and 2000.
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With Help from the Aston Martin
Creating this striking estate vehicle was no simple task. The exhaustive build process required completely stripping the luxury sedan, even though the Lagonda was only nine years old when fabrication began. Aston Martin actually gave the project their official blessing, directly assisting the Swiss builders by supplying original factory spare parts to ensure the shooting brake faithfully maintained its British purebred pedigree.
Mechanically, the custom estate received a thorough overhaul to match its new purpose. The fuel-injected 305-horsepower V8 engine was entirely disassembled, meticulously rebuilt, and paired with a heavily upgraded four-speed automatic transmission. Roos Engineering also modernized the engine management computer, rewired the electrical system, and fabricated custom rear shock absorbers specifically designed to handle the added mass of the new rear end.
The visual transformation, however, is where this uncompromising build truly shines. Retaining its factory wheelbase to bypass tedious new homologation regulations, the car wears a completely redesigned rear end enveloped in gorgeous Antrim Blue paint. Adapting the traditional sedan body meant engineering custom parking lights and an ingenious safety exhaust system to prevent dangerous fumes from creeping into the Grey Connolly leather cabin whenever the tailgate is lifted.
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Not for the Faint of Bank Account
Wild car conversions are not a new phenomenon to us in the automotive sphere. For instance, this bizarre Ford Mustang limousine build occasionally surfaces online to remind us how far enthusiasts will push the boundaries of sane engineering. But chopping up an ultra-rare vintage Lagonda to create a custom estate is truly unhinged, particularly since classic values for unmolested examples of these wedge-shaped icons have been steadily climbing.
Now, this coachbuilt unicorn is crossing the block at Broad Arrow’s Zurich Auction this November with no reserve. Pre-auction estimates suggest the unique vehicle could fetch anywhere from $300,000 to an eye-watering $433,000. The seller is throwing in a digital copy of the original Aston Martin build sheet and all historic conversion invoices, but it remains to be seen if bidders will pay top dollar for such a polarizing modification.
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