The team at Ringbrothers are best known for their incredible American muscle car builds, having taken home several "Battle of the Builders" victories at the SEMA show over the years. But don't pigeonhole them; in 2023, the shop released its take on a 1961 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, proving their interests extend past Detroit iron. Now that Monterey Car Week is underway, Ringbrothers has just pulled the cover off of yet another modified British icon. Known as ‘Octavia’, this 1971 Aston Martin DBS might be the single coolest restomod of the year.
This magnificent Aston is the result of some 3900 man-hours of design and CAD work, which was then met with an additional 8200 hours of building and shaping. The project began with a donor DBS, which came from the factory with a 5.3-liter V-8 engine making around 320 hp. With the help of designer Gary Ragle, the team transformed the shape of the car into something more muscular. The front track is now eight inches wider than before, while the rear has been punched out by 10 inches.
Under the coke-bottle skin sits a Roadster Shop Fast Track Stage III Chassis complete with an independent rear suspension. The wheelbase was also pushed out three inches, adding a bit of stability and visual cohesion to the car. The chassis works with a set of RS SV by Fox Racing fixed-valve coilovers, big Brembo brakes at all four corners, and bespoke HRE wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. A Strange Engineering Ford nine-inch rear end transfers the power to the road, and a fully custom cage is integrated into the interior to add safety and extra rigidity.
Ringbrothers didn’t entirely abandon their American roots, instead replacing the DBS V-8 with a 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 from Ford. This particular unit was built by Wegner Motorsports, and features a custom 2.65-liter Happop supercharger on top. The team says that the engine is good for 805 hp—just a smidge less than the current twin-turbocharged, V-12-powered Vanquish. A modified fuel system keeps the engine topped up, while a custom Ringbrothers exhaust system brings the noise. Behind the engine sits a Bowler-modified TR-6060 Magnum six-speed manual transaxle, which shifts some of the weight over the rear axle for improved handling.
“Octavia is a combination of state-of-the-art fabrication and imagination. We asked ourselves, ‘What would an MI6 agent drive on holiday?’ This was the result,” added Ringbrothers co-owner Jim Ring. “The engineering and attention to detail that went into this project are unlike anything we’ve done before. We’re honored and incredibly grateful for our partners, including Gentex, HRE Wheels, BASF, Ragle Design, and more, that worked alongside us to create something we are decidedly proud to present.”
Given the adjusted proportions, the entire body of the DBS needed to be reworked. Ringbrothers collaborated with the team at Gemini Technology Systems to create the fully carbon-fiber bodywork you see here. It's hard to see much of the original car in the profile, with the package adopting more of the cues from the Vantage of that period. That’s not exactly a bad thing, as Octavia is quite simply one of the best looking Aston Martins we’ve ever seen.
The interior is quite lovely too, though it does make the aftermarket influence much more apparent. If the thing drives even half as good as it looks, Ringbrothers might just have a real winner on their hands. That said, we’d love to see what the brand could do with a proper Aston powertrain under the hood...
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