Restomod Octavia debuts at Monterey Car Week

Ringbrothers spent over 12,000 hours and about $2 million turning a 1971 Aston Martin DBS into a one off restomod named Octavia.

Restomod Octavia turns 1971 Aston DBS into a muscle machine

Technically, the car began as a 1971 Aston Martin DBS but Ringbrothers has reshaped it so far that the original components are nearly unrecognizable. The team says only the power window switches remain from the donor car. They used a Roadster Shop chassis and widened the car eight inches at the front and ten inches at the back, with the front wheels moved forward by three inches to create a low, wide stance.

The powertrain moves well beyond the stock DBS. Ringbrothers installed an 805-hp, 5.0-liter Ford Coyote engine with a 2.65-liter Harrop blower on top, paired to a Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual. Power goes to Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 tires via a rear drive setup, with 19x11 inch wheels up front and 20x13 inch wheels in the rear. Braking uses 14-inch Brembos and suspension is upgraded with Fox RS SV coilovers to improve handling. The car was unveiled at The Quail during Monterey Car Week, signaling a deliberate move from a classic cruiser to a modern performance machine. The owner reportedly paid around $2 million for the transformation, underscoring the scale of this project.

Octavia embodies a growing appetite in car culture for extreme, hand crafted restomods that merge old world style with new world power. It is a showcase of engineering craft, not preservation, and it raises questions about what counts as value in a classic. Ringbrothers leans into a storytelling pass: Bond references, a martini-dipped oil dipstick, and a name drawn from cinema. Yet behind the glamour lies a business decision. The project demonstrates how a bespoke build can command serious money and attention at high-profile events, while also inviting scrutiny over costs, resale risk, and the long term appeal of such one offs.

Highlights

Extreme builds push the edge of taste and value.