Ringbrothers has always operated in that sweet spot between genius and mild lunacy—the place where creativity flourishes because nobody stops to ask whether something is sensible. The Wisconsin-based brothers, Jim and Mike Ring, built their reputation turning American muscle cars into carbon-fiber fever dreams that somehow still drive like cars rather than science projects. They started with an autobody shop. They stayed with an autobody shop. And then, almost accidentally, they became the most interesting restomod builders on the planet.

So when one half of the duo showed up at The Quail during Monterey Car Week standing next to a radically reimagined Aston Martin DBS, it felt less like a left turn and more like destiny finally catching up.

Meet “Octavia.” No, not a Škoda—though apparently the name caused a mild tightening of legal neckties somewhere in Europe. This is Ringbrothers’ vision of what Aston Martin’s early-1970s DBS might have been if it were raised on cheeseburgers, superchargers, and a steady diet of American V-8 thunder.

“We’ve combined the ferocity of American muscle with the stiff upper lip of English sophistication,” Mike Ring says, deadpan but clearly delighted. “Octavia is beyond anything we’ve built before.”

That’s not marketing fluff. This thing is unhinged in the most deliberate way.

Googling Their Way to James Bond

The origin story is peak Ringbrothers. A local client—described as “super cool,” which in Ring-speak usually means extremely patient and financially brave—asked a simple question: What do you guys want to build?

The answer, apparently, came from a Google search.

“We literally Googled ‘European muscle car,’” Mike admits. “A DBS was at the top, and we’re like, yeah dude, we want to do James Bond.”

Within a week, the owner bought a non-running 1971 DBS off Bring a Trailer. Ringbrothers had never seen one in person. That didn’t slow them down. If anything, it emboldened them.

“They’re so flat-sided,” Mike says. “Straight away we knew we had to put some booty on the back.”

Carbon Fiber, Not Rivets

“Some booty” turned into ten inches of added width. The finished car measures a staggering 82 inches wide at the rear and 78 inches up front—roughly modern supercar territory and not far off a Lamborghini Revuelto for sheer presence.

The difference is execution. This isn’t a bolt-on widebody with exposed fasteners and wishful thinking. Every panel was designed in CAD and formed entirely in carbon fiber. The proportions stay intact, the surfacing flows, and the car somehow looks more Aston than the original while being dramatically more aggressive.

“It still looks balanced,” Mike says—and annoyingly, he’s right.

From CAD screen to finished car took roughly two and a half years, with about a year of actual assembly once parts began arriving. The original DBS shell didn’t survive in any recognizable sense. Ringbrothers stripped it down, bonded the body together, and turned what remained into—yes—a martini bar.

“It’s a James Bond thing,” Mike shrugs. “We got to serve martinis.”

Forget the Straight-Six

Purists, look away now.

Octavia does not run an Aston engine. Not even close. Early conversations with Aston Martin didn’t go anywhere—Ringbrothers is refreshingly candid about that—so they pivoted to what they know best.

Enter Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote V-8, topped with a 2.65-liter supercharger and good for 805 horsepower. It’s bolted to a six-speed manual gearbox and sends power exclusively to the rear wheels, because of course it does.

“The last thing we want to do is build something we can’t make run,” Mike says. “We’re not engineers.”

That statement becomes increasingly hilarious the longer you look at the rest of the car.

The drivetrain lives in a bespoke chassis with the wheelbase stretched by 76 millimeters. A full structural roll cage is integrated into the body. There’s independent rear suspension, C7 Corvette sway bars, Fox Racing dampers, and Brembo brakes. This is not a hot rod pretending to be a grand tourer—it’s a genuinely serious piece of hardware wearing a Savile Row suit.

Coke-Bottle Bond Villain Energy

The design work was led by Gary Ragle, with what Ringbrothers describes as “echoes” of William Towns’ original DBS shape buried in the final form. The goal was “Coke-bottle curvature,” and they nailed it. The car looks taut, muscular, and vaguely menacing, like a Bond villain’s personal transport after an intense off-screen gym montage.

Inside, the madness continues—tastefully. Carbon fiber, stainless steel, and leather dominate, with subtle (and not-so-subtle) nods to 007 lore. The standout? A dipstick handle shaped like a martini glass. Shaken, presumably, not stirred.

The Cost of Doing It Because You Want To

As for the price, Mike won’t give a number. Not because he’s being coy—but because he genuinely doesn’t seem to know.

“We’re trying to sell another one so we can spread the cost a bit,” he says. “It was quite expensive.”

That might be the understatement of the week. The raw stainless steel for the exhaust tips alone cost $1,000. A first quote for four pieces of glass came in at $92,000. That’s not a typo.

Still, Ringbrothers isn’t interested in efficiency, scalability, or anything else you’d find in a business-school case study.

“If I had to build the same car over and over, I wouldn’t be doing it,” Mike says. “I’d lose interest. If it was all about money, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”

Why Ringbrothers Matters

That’s the secret sauce. Ringbrothers doesn’t chase trends or algorithms or easy wins. They chase curiosity. Every project is an extension of their taste, their humor, and their willingness to learn by doing—sometimes publicly, sometimes expensively.

Mike doesn’t see himself as an artist. He sees himself as lucky. Lucky to work with his wife. Lucky that his son is now involved in the machining side. Lucky to keep building cars simply because he wants to.

“I don’t want to retire,” he says. “This is what I’d do if I was retired.”

Octavia isn’t just a spectacular Aston Martin restomod. It’s a manifesto—proof that the best automotive creations still come from people who care more about having fun than getting rich.

They’re not curing cancer, as Mike puts it. They’re just building ridiculously cool cars.

And honestly? The world needs more of that.

Source: TopGear