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In the very early '90's I worked in Prototype Transport. Aston Martin were a client. I took one of these to be crash tested. It was the first car we tested that could still drive back onto the truck afterwards. These things are built like nothing else.
@@mitchbuchannon6637 Sadly, it wouldn't. These really are built strong. Pretty much the whole car shape is made from 1.5cm box bar. it is a web of the stuff under the Alloy. Even the doors are made up of row after row of box bar. De-skin the car and it wouldn't look that much different. I worked in the business for years and never saw another vehicle that came close.
"New" new money sadly, apparently the form of a DB9 or the DBS doesn't cut it any more. Still....there will still be a few DBS's knocking about once I win the Euromillions! I managed to get lovely Saab over a decade after they closed for good so there is hope!
@@tuffandco3745 hmm. Yeah my mate came out with that line when he got a Mondeo as a company car but as Aston Martin are a grown up company and they are definitely going for Instagram and oil state money, we can only really blame them and their management...so they give things those customers want, just like when jaguar ruined the F type with the new front end. British design was well respected in the automotive world and it only seems to be land rover that are confident enough to stick with it.
Don’t underestimate how good a De Dion set up is, it keeps the tyre contact surface parallel with the road and works exceptionally well in some cars. Don’t forget many F1 cars used it, as did the Alfas from the GTV to the SZ, which was one of the most grippy cars ever made.
@@michaelisaacson9735 Aston Martin used it on many cars, and Caterham still use it today, I had two Alfa 75’s with it and in the dry you were more likely to burn the clutch out than spin the wheels up. Both the 75 and the GTV had the De Dion transaxle, which gave an equal weight distribution too, so plenty of advantages.
@@simonelliott5956 Well, having the 50/50 weight distribution was wonderful. Aside from effortless handling, in the snow (but only with snow tires) it was amazing. You could dial up exactly how much rear movement you wanted and a flick of opposite lock straightened things out precisely. My girlfriend hated that car. I adored it.
It's too bad the weather would Vanquish the possibility of driving more Rapide. I am glad you could take Vantage and let us hear the Vulcan roar of that mighty powerplant though. It's totally understandable today was not the day to drive The Living Daylights out of it through the Virages, lest you be met by a Valkyrie. Excellent work!
I had magazine cut outs of the Virage and Vantage on my wall as a kid. Thought they were so cool looking: aggressive and sturdy, sporty and manly. Never really forgot about them, but know they would be SUPER hard to come by here in North America. Maybe someday I'll find one! Nice review, brings me back to when all I could do was stare at photos and zip my matchbox cars around on the carpet.
I bought the Vantage version in 2006 and I can honestly say every time I open the garage and see the car I am filled with joy. I am also humbled and feel so lucky to have been it’s custodian. Obviously one day I will have to sell it and I’m sure it will bring a tear to my eye just as it did to the original owner.
The vantage is my all time favourite car, I have seen a couple for sale at £500k! I bet you wish you had kept your now aye mate, awesome that you managed to own one though 👌🏻👊🏻
Lovely thing……. one of my favourite Astons 🙂🇬🇧 Sounds so much nicer than a local Vanquish……. I’m all for that old school fire and brimstone V8……. One lives on the neighbouring farm and the deep thunder across the fields when it makes an occasional run is splendid……… Nice one Jack 🥳
A guy I used to work with - in the late 80's or early 90's - him and his brother were doing fibreglass work. One thing they did was making wheel arch liners for Aston. After making a number, they had a complaint "Why are you drilling the holes in different places in each one" [I believe it was an access hatch to get to something, the lightbulbs?] "We're not" they said "Each one is exactly the same". The problem was the body work was hand made, and each one was different - half an inch or so different in many cases, that when you presented the arch to the wing, each one would fit differently to the point it was in completely the wrong place.
You think the design is odd? I saw these when they were coming out, in the 90s, and I thought they looked stunning and badass then. They look JUST as amazing today, many samey supercars and hypercars later. No aging needed, no aging seen.
What's beautiful about the Virage is that it's charming and full of character! Also that V8 sounds sublime! A special GT indeed! Thank you for the great content Sir Jack. Keep it coming ✌👍
I know I’m comparing Apples & Oranges, but my 2007 Corvette ZO6 weighted about 3,300 pounds, the hand built pushrod V8 produced 505 horsepower @ 6,300 R’s, 470 lb.ft. torque @ 4,800 R’s (7K redline) and a 6 speed manual. It was no where as refined as the Aston, but if you wanted on the road performance, it was the way to go. I do enjoy your videos. My very first car was a very well used/abused XK120 FHC. The only foreign car I’ve ever owned.
My old boss (RIP) had a vantage that was stripped and fully track toy prepared with (apparently) between 700 and 750 HP, by all accounts I heard from people that had driven it, it was verging on terrifying!
A well balanced review Jack, well done. The car looks fabulous and makes me look forward to collecting my recently bought 1990 Virage in a few weeks time. It’s in Germany and I’m taking it home to Ireland so hoping it’ll be an epic journey, all 1,600km of it 😊 It’s also a RHD and manual and is the 50th car made.
When you do Paul, be sure to stop off at Chicane Classics, just south of the M4 near Reading (if you go via Fishguard, you'll almost on route). We are doing up a couple of these, one being Rowan Atkingson's actual old car.
Spotted a few Xj40 parts in that Aston. Aircon panel, plus the dashboard gauges. Nice review though Jack. Really enjoyed it as I regularly do. Keep up the good work. 👍
Another great video Number 27! The Virage - as with the Espada, the 400i etc., - needed a manual gearbox to bring out the best in them. That Tadek Marek designed V8 coupled to a dogleg manual.. what a car!
Funny you should mention manual boxes Leo in the Virage and the 400i as I have both of those cars 😃 You can see my 400i GT on my YT site if you head on over and hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll have my Virage home from Germany to my home in Ireland 😊👍
Hello Paul! Your garage stable is incredible my friend.. Congratulations on your equisite taste. I imagine they must both be unique in their own ways.. and what a joy to drive.🎯 Thanks so much Paul!
It's actually a really simple line-up. First is Virage, owners criticised it for being somewhat crude in some areas compared with the old V8 (Vantage), once 'new' Vantage came along, Virage was replaced by the V8 Coupe as the 'base' car, which was far superior in terms of assembly and interior fit/finish. It's also not the last 'hand built' car at Aston Martin, id argue that accolade goes to Vanquish, which was still all hand assembled at Newport Pagnell.
Around that time, I remember someone from Engineering at AML telling me they had started using a robot to do some assembly work, but they had named the robot "Hand" so they could still claim their cars were "built by hand" 🤣
At 5.21 you show a Virage G511 VUU. I bought G512 VUU in 2010. They were part of a series of Virages sold by HWM and the number plates were meant to match the chassis number but I think mine was the only one to actually match. It was looking very sorry for itself at a classic car garage, not because it was in bad condition, but because it had such bad writeups in the motor magazines. It is a manual and also only done 24,000 miles. (according to the random display on the trip computer.) I drove it down to Rome and it was a very comfortable cruiser with good aircon. It broke down in Rome due to the cheapskates in the account dept at Aston specifying cheap vacuum tubes to inform the computer. They had crumbled to nothing. I managed to replace them with aircraft quality tubes and fitted them with a snake camera and a bit of keyhole surgery. At the same time I discovered that the cats were not compulsory on a 1990 car and they had crumbled to dust inside so I blasted them clear to allow a free flow. All this made quite a difference and second gear acceleration was enough to startle passengers. I had read all about the deficiency of the De Dion rear end but never found anything untoward. However to really find out I took it to a track day at Cadwell Park. Now those familiar with the circuit will know that it is not suited to a car like this. A friend was there who raced big saloons and has a shed full of trophies and I suggested that he tried it. "Nah, I've read the road tests and I'd rather not" I pushed him a little more and he did have a go. I was in the passenger seat and after the first lap a smile started to appear on his face by the fifth lap I am sure now that there is a large dent in the passenger footwell where I tried to find the brake pedal. He could find nothing wrong with the handling and was full of praise. He loved the engine and gearbox and sharp steering all on standard tyres and wheels. As far as looks go, I am indifferent , it is smart, bit arse heavy, bonnet looks too big compared to the boot. Women like it generally, men less so. But when you look at the workmanship it is more a mobile work of art than a motorcar. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GLZCPkbjbCk.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iEFoYfa_Z5w.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jgdvJdiJ9Lc.html By the way the steering wheel adjusts up and down with a small lever below the indicator
@@byteme9718 Yes, I'm aware, but this is 1989 & Ali bodied. No extra safety equipment, crash structure or electronics to weigh it down. Porsche 911 was 1375=1475kg Appreciate Porsche engine is smaller. It's smaller than a BMW 7 Series of the time, but weighs more.
@@eze8970 It's not an aluminium bodied car, it was a steel body with an aluminium skin. Weight saving was not a consideration it was just a side benefit of the alloy required to hand craft the panels. Any benefit would have been limited to no more then 30% of the body panels alone, not the rest of the car. This type of construction doesn't produce a rigid structure so is reliant on the steel which is not used like that in the unitary body of the BMW. Newport Pagnell construction was crude and not surprising given the fact these cars were built in a series of sheds using the most basic of equipment. If you understand anything about limited production methods you'll understand these cars weren't particularly heavy.
No perhaps it is not pretty but it is a real Aston Martin. This one is a nice colour and sounds great. You are right, the names do get a bit confusing sometimes but I don't pretend to know marketing so I can't comment on their reasons. Glad you kept it on the black stuff Jack and thanks for the review.👍👍
I was on the stand at the British motor show in 1988 when they launched the car. I was invited by chairman Victor Gauntlett himself, because I was one of the owners' club members who submitted suggestions for a name for the new car x
Awesome car. Apart from Gran Turismo and a few book images never seen or heard one of these cars. Thank you for showcasing this rare car. Keep up the good work.
Great video Jack. Like you say, cars like this illustrate what's wrong with (or lost from) so many modern designs - not least Astons. It's got effortless charm, cool, and singularity in spades, and kind of puts them all to shame like that.
I owned for a number of years a 85 V8 Vantage and while servicing the car at Roos Engineering in Bern Switzerland, i was given the opportunity to take out on my own a V600, It was a car i was considering upgrading to .However i couldnt wait to get back into my 80s Vantage, The V600 felt heavy a similar experience when at Porsche Lausanne while they serviced my 964 C4 i was given a Boxster though it wasnt a weight issue, it lacked character. the Virage is good value when compared to 80s Vantage but its lines have not aged that well.
From the license plate you can tell, that this car was part of the legendary Hunter Green Collection, nine Astons from1990, all finished in the same color combination Hunter Green with tan leather upholstery. CLP means complete, because every car you could have bought at Aston Martin was put in that collection, even the Vantage Zagato (and Z Volante), the V8 Volante POW spec and a Lagonda IV. The cars were registered consecutively with numbers G 901-909 CLP. Unfortunatetly the collection was sold at Bonhams in 2005 and never been brought together since...
Great video, this one is in considerably better condition that my dads one. He has a 1990 Virage in the same green with a cream interior and auto box. It was bored to 7L at RS Williams we think after it left the factory. This video makes me want to get it back on the road even more.
I remember seeing Mark King(level 42) pulling out of his drive in one of these, and wishing so much that I was a rock star. Beautiful car from an even more beautiful heritage.
My mate's dad had the 6.3 'Works Prepared' version of the Virage and I went with them to Switzerland as a kid, with 4 peple in the car, it smoked Ferraris and Porsches on the way and the drivers did not look best pleased, lol
I had one of these for a short while, and a later (1999) V8 Volante LWB. Both were short on power and the Volante shook its scuttle like a Turkish dancer... Nice cars though.
pretty sure from memory rowan was a long time fan of astons ,i think prior to the virage he bought the zagato coupe which was a bit steep when new ,great vid cheers my man
I subscribed on the back of influenzo but lost a little bit of interest with the Citroen and Mercedes builds but am really enjoying these videos of older fabulous cars. Your videography and editing is on point and there’s so much detail in the info you provide. They are the perfect length too. Great work Jack 👍🏼⭐️
@@paulgart I toyed with the idea of buying one a few years ago, I liked the idea of owning a car I'd worked on but decided that I couldn't live with the running cost, I don't mind paying for a vehicle but I really object to spending money to service them, it always seems a lot of money to part with just to get your car back just as it was when you gave it to them 🤪
@@nigelwest3430 I know what you mean! I bought myself a McLaren 650S Spider for my 60th birthday and fantastic as it is it still costs about £8k a year to run 🫣
I was looking for a job when I moved to Dorking, I was only in town for about 2 days when I saw a sign for pizza cooks outside this little restuarant so I went in to enquire. I met the boss, John West and talked with himfor a while and he took me on, as I walked out there was the V8 Vantage of that era, this was 1980. It belonged to John West, he'd swapped his Roller for it with his brother. Man, that was a monster. He was as camp as row of tents but he loved his cars. His secretary, Rosemary, in her 40s, used to drive him around in it, she loved it too. She was not a quick driver and John was in a hurry one day on the M3 and he told Rosemary to boot it, it was scariest ride he'd ever had but Rosemary got used to and floored it up and down to London. They would arrive at the Dorking restuarant with big cheesey smiles on their faces. You are right about those older Astons, the new ones are just run of the mill and those were exclusive and still are, DB7s and DB9s etc are quite common.
What an awesome car, I’m loving these reviews. I started watching you in lockdown and like so many others really loved the Influenzo videos. So nice to see how you and the channel have progressed Jack.
Great video. It's not a bad looking car apart from the front grill, it looks like they forgot to fit one. The rest of the car is a mixture of fine English craft work embellished with parts from an auto jumble.
almost lost control of my bows when i saw this on the highway. it was an 80’s era boxy aston of some sort. dark green. never spotted one before in 30 some years of car spotting
Of course it's a frosty British day! You are in the UK - and we've gone from 40 to minus in a few months. Some countries get almost that in 24 hrs...each day.
Cool review. I think it explains why I don’t remember seeing a 90s Virage on Top Gear (Clarkson, May, Hammond era), or on Grand Tour. I don’t think Jeremy would have liked explaining why the old Virage had a much nicer & far plusher interior than a brand new AML. They really lost the formula, not withstanding the Ford era, on car interiors. To this day they only offer an uninteresting dashboard, and I’m not sure if you can delete the Birmingham spec on the upholstery. Thanks for the video.
That's the car that first comes to my mind when I think Aston Martin, amazing design and the interior is even more spectacular. I totally agree that they lost their way these days. Now they're most known for an SUV with a Mercedes engine...pretty sad.
Hi ! As I said on another vid, I'm glad to see that this car is starting to attract the interest of real connoisseurs. It is indeed the sign song of the "real" Astons built entirely by hand in Newport Pagnell . According to the latest AMHT (Aston Martin Heritage Trust) count only 357 Virage coupes were built (+ 9 LE editions which use the later V8 coupe type v595 349hp engine) . I bought my coupe in 2015, I had a few odds and ends to rectify but it runs beautifully. It is a very sound handling car, heavy when stationary but light once it starts to roll. I wanted a 1984 Oscar India but they were becoming too expensive and finally I took this Virage and I don't regret my choice, let's hope that they will be appreciated one day at their true value ! thank you for the video Jack ! bye from France 😀
Good to hear you are happy with your Virage as I recently bought one and hope to collect it from Germany soon and take it to my home in Ireland. Do you know how many were produced in RHD and in manual? Mine is both RHD and manual and is painted black with a black interior. It is chassis number 50050 making it the 50th one off the production line.
I’ve been going to buy one for the last 20 years heard the horror stories. I do have a DB9 with 80,000 miles on it and has been really reliable. Might get one yet 🎉
All Virages had limited slip final drive units. Incredible cars. Very quick cars and their weight gives them exceptional road holding and handling. Similar Weber Marelli fuel injection system as used on Ferrari F40, Lancia Delta (in half form), RS Ford Cosworths. Seats that are deceptively comfortable. Last of the hand built Aston Martins. I have driven both auto and manual and the auto is quicker, manual has higher top speed. Auto models use torqueflite transmissions, early models had three speed(best three speed auto transmission ever made) and later versions had the four speed = best three speed plus overdrive. Fantastic motorcars.
I`m not 100% sure, but those round plastic buttons look very much like how I remember the dashboard buttons in my father`s first generation Ford Scorpio, when I was a child.
Although this Aston Martin is somehow to new for my taste it still had what I LOVE in cars: CLASS! We had Astons in our body shop. In general most of them were older and therefore classier and prettier: But look at this leather and wood interior. It is stunning! Rivalled only by Rolls Royce and Bentley. The interiors of classic Maseratis were also beautiful. With beautiful leather. But classic Britsh cars carry the crown there. I admit that in spite of being partly Italian.
Nice video! I like the way this car looks, and the Vantage version of this used to be my dream car. It would still be, but I don't know if I could find one, let alone at my budget :D
Thanks Jack. Again, so glad i found your channel!! What an amazing car. And no, it isn't pretty....or is it? I felt myself leaning towards the good-looking the more I watched!
Love this car! Some of the parts make me laugh though. The steering wheel looks like it came off a 1990 Vauxhall Nova 1.2. And the side rear windows look like a 240 SX. The lights, mirrors and switchgear are also obvious. Yet I still crave for one :)
If that is true then they have also gained proper functioning drivetrain and electronic architecture. We used to have rickets and polio but nobody misses that either.
Had one of these cars it was a beast to much power , a super car of the old school super quality , but running cost were out of this world , services were in 4 figures every time , love another .
Not quite right I'm afraid, the Virage only ran for a couple of years, its production (and the name) was dropped in favour of the Volante, the interior styling of the Virage died with the car, later cars had different style interiors, a few Virage LE (Limited edition) were produced a few years later, the Vantage was introduced a couple of years later, this was built as a 550bhp and the V600 was an upgrade offered by the service dept (The other side of Tickford St to the factory - This is now "Aston Martin Heritage") later on the V8 coupe came along , running along side the Vantage and Couple was the Volante LWB that had the V8 coupe style front and rear end The Vantage that you showed as the V600 was actually the Vantage LM (Le Mans, different grill and side vents to mention just a couple of the differences) this was the last real hand build traditional Aston made in any quantity, right at the end there were 10 Vantage LM Volantes produced and 1 Vantage LM Volante LWB, this was built to be offered to the then Prince of Wales but it was declined because it wasn't thought suitable that the future King should be seen to be driving a one-off gas guzzling Aston. Astons then switched over to the production of the Vanquish and Vanquish S this was not built like a traditional Aston but was the last Newport Pagnell model...............If anyone thinks I've missed out the DB7 I haven't, the DB7 was a piece of shit based on an old Jag XJS designed by TWR/Jaguarsport (who built the XJ220) they offered it to Jaguar as a replacement for the outgoing XJS but it was deemed too expensive to produce so Aston Martin who had been planning a cheaper car took it on and it was re-styled with an Aston grill and side vents, you only have to look at the headlights, window line and the original wheels to see the XJ220 styling cues it was built at the Jaguarsport facility in Bloxham Oxfordshire, The only thing "Aston Martin" about it was the badge
The older (true) Aston Martin’s for me have so much more character and panache than anything built in the 21st century. I’d much rather have the Virage over the DB9 or ever a DB7. They just have the Aston Martin lustre. They feel much more (special) and that’s what and Aston should do. Like a gentleman’s club on wheels, with some aptitude thrown in too.
Love the styling of these cars, and the engine, drivetrain etc. I just hate all the cheap switchgear, which is why I always preferred the Continental R. In the later airbag cars they fitted a wheel lifted straight from a Ford Crown Victoria.
@@byteme9718 pretty sure 'had' does not mean 'owned' love..anyhoo, apparently keith bought it half way through the series,watch for change of reg plate..toodle pip
Audi 100 headlights, Citroën CX mirrors, Volkswagen Scirocco taillights, column stalks from another Volkswagen and mostly Ford switchgear. And there's probably a lot more.
My boss had one, had an engine bay full of ford parts that weren't up to coping with the power output, and it failed on a regular basis. It put him off Astons for life.
