Why The Forgotten 2011 Aston Martin Virage is Everything Good and Bad About Aston Martin 

This is like listening to a very well written and informative automotive article being read aloud by the writer while he's driving the car he's talking about.

There's a reason why Aston's always seem to be in monotone colours - they've always been the gentleman's supercar. Understated and elegant, not flashy or in your face.

When they made the refreshed DB9 as this but with that added tail flick (makes a huge difference), I think, with those twin spoke 5-star alloys, its probably one of the best if not best looking modern GT ever made. Modern but still with a classic GT shape and not fussy in design. Stunner. ...... and then we had the DB11 (but lets not talk about that howler of a design....)

For my this is the best looking Aston Martin from the old VH platform range. Now get this to Q and do 8speed ZF conversion or even better a manual one. Now where is my Euro millions winning ticket!

Great video. The difficulty Aston had selling that model is best shown by the fact that I was able to buy a new Virage Volante in November 2012 for $57,000 OFF of MSRP. Gorgeous car, but always wished I had a DBS. Purchased like that, the depreciation was modest at worse and certainly nowhere near as bad as the 599 I had.

This is to my eyes, the prettiest Aston. It has the overall long and low shape that I like, without a bunch of aero things in the bumper and down the sides that made some of the cars with this overall shape a bit fussy IMHO. The wheels are a great match as well.

Your best Aston vid yet James. Very thorough and very accurate. Having had DB7, 2 x V8V and a DB9 I can attest to the accuracy of your review of the VH era Aston’s. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 also, the second gen Vanquish is THE Aston have. Which is my goal for my fifth Aston.

For me the issue was that the DB9 was eight years old by 2011. It would be like if VW sold the Mk7.5 Golf R alongside the Mk7, and badged it Corrado

I loved the Virage, I almost bought a white one with a chocolate interior and I still regret not doing so. It's one of my favorite Astons ever, gorgeous.

The amount of information and context you give about the brand is staggering. As a previous Aston Rapide owner, this video was the best I’ve seen on the history of the VH programme. You are really well read in each of the brands and I agree (as I am Grigio GT!) that all the Astons of the VH all look too similar just like Lotus with rhe elise, exige and the evora. The editing and b-roll were superb and you actually drive the cars on real roads and in real weather. Keep up the great content.

Thanks James! Great video. I really like it when you give comparisons to the test car, something you rarely get from other testers.

I love how frequently you have been posting new videos. Love your channel

I was always curious about this model. I remember reading the reviews on it back in the day and couldn’t for the life of me figure out why Aston would make and sell the same car under a different name. Thanks for the in depth look into the differences.

Thank you, the car still has awesome looks and a great engine sound! Good fun JayEmm series with the indepth presentations on this iconic marque.

Probably the best video you've done in my opinion James. But I'm a huge Aston Martin fan. Absolutely brilliant 👍

Congratulations on hitting 200k. Love your content, and great variety of cars you’re reviewing. Thank you.

Another brilliant video! I may go for a manual DB9 if my numbers can up. Congratulations on 200,000 subscribers!🍾

Thanks so much for this James! Mike from Bamford Rose says that these are often overlooked because of the short production run and the DB9, definitely one of my dream cars, which are all Astons! Top of the list would be Vantage 80s X Pack, 90s supercharged and Vanquish & S 👍😎

Brilliant review. It’s good to understand the history of Aston Martin as context for why this Virage was created. Well done.

Surely a car that you would find yourself gazing lovingly at after every drive…. You would always have to turn back for that last look 🤩

Another great video with excellent honest advice keep the videos coming 👍

Loving your content, Jay. Nice one buddy 🚗💪🏽

Good. This channel is good. I am Italian but I just love Aston Martin design and I am really enjoying this channel. I live in the states now and the Virage is available for about $80K which is not a bad price considering a DB11, DB9 or decent condition Vantage.

This is an excellent review and Jay eloquently explained why I don’t fancy an Aston, they look all the same rebadging trickery. It doesn’t evoke emotions to me personally.

Great review - was watching in silence but shouted when the van pulled across @ 19.42

Loved the Virage. Just learned from this video that it actually had bespoke body panels. Always thought it was just a DB9 with slightly revised but significantly better looks, as well as a slightly more powerful powertrain 😊

I recently purchased a 1 owner from new Porsche 2007 911 997.1 with 112,000 on the clock from a dealer. He had part-ex’ed his car at a Porsche garage, then been through BCA and then onto the selling dealer. Fortunately the old V5 was intact and passed on to me. So I wrote a letter (I know so old school!) to the previous owner and he was more than happy to hear from me and sent me all of the previous history (main dealer + independent) and the crowning glory the original purchase receipt. My thinking was that; you don’t keep a car for that long and for that many miles if it’s a wrong-un 😏 I now have a complete paper trail from purchase to the present day stating it’s full history. Yes it was a gamble! But sometimes a bit of legwork goes a long way and can add £1000’s to the value of your car 👍🏻 Great vid JayEmm and we’ll said 😉

Great review, very detailed. Also appreciate the ELFM music.

The wheels on this are near flawless. Possibly the best split 5 spoke ever.

I love the cars you do story’s on. I love astons, maybe I get one of them someday soon;).

Ordering one of these in grey or silver seems to me like a massive waste of beauty. Even more so if you look at the colors available to the later DB9 refresh and the Vanquish - the blue and lime on that car are simply stunning. I suppose it may have been influenced by possible resale value - akin to how, until just a few years ago, having a Porsche that was brown meant that you'd have to sell it at a much bigger loss than red, black or silver cars. Great video as always. Thank you for the little tech and history lesson at the start as well - it was extremely engaging. These more obscure cars that need more to be told for context seem to be a great fit for your kind of content.

The beauty of the car definitely helps but I enjoyed this video a lot. the length, information and driving section were right on point while being very entertaining too. You are also very right, Astons look amazing, but they look alike. My girlfriend would only distinguish the rapide because it has 4 doors, but for me, that wouldn't be a problem because I've always found discrete or less explicit cars cool but I have to agree that the specifications are very boring and it's sad because they have offered gorgeous colours and interiors and that also means that the special one command a big premium

Thank you, James for pointing out that there are others who find Aston models hard to distinguish between. I thought it was just me, so I was always too embarrassed to ask.

Good video. The selling points of the Virage were all picked up on the DB9.2, which for me was the best of the era

Very nice car. Shame some many of the cars use the boring black or boring silver colour. I had completely forgotten about this model and just how many different cars were VH. Nice video. Keep up the good work.

Hi James, great vid as always.....however........ You and I have been chatting for a while now on testing my DB9 in the future and it is specifically my car (Very late 2010 DB9) that throws a fly in this ointment and confuses things further. One of the issues you called out with the Vanquish is indeed the DB9 but more specifically the late 2010 and early 2011 cars that blend the lines even further. They too had adaptive suspension and whilst pointless (in my opinion it is only suited to track and that would be sacrilege), it is the biggest differentiator between the earlier "Mk1 450bhp" cars, my car and the Vanquish you tested. By the time you have Bamford Rose do their thing and Aston Installation sort the sat nav out, the extra power or upgraded nav in the Vanquish you tested is largely a moot point. I do like the style tweak on the Vanquish, I will concede that, but the DB9 is hardly Anne Widecome. The last point I will note is that whilst you mention the Vanquish slots in between the DB9 and DBS, that's not strictly true. The Vanquish actually replaced the DB9 but as you mention, it all got a bit confusing and after 18 months, the DB9 returned. Any DB9 2011 cars you find were heavily discounted to shift pre built stock at the time and there is no such thing as a 2012 DB9 (unless VERY old prebuilt stock). DB9 obviously reappears when the Vanquish was phased out. I can't disagree that the Vanquish is a better and prettier car than a late DB9 but the price difference is about £15k and by the time you've done the essential mods I mentioned earlier on both cars, I'm not sure the Vanquish is worth it.......2013 DB9 however, that's a different animal. The used prices for all these cars have done well the last 12 - 18 months and remained strong for good examples (despite the colour choice). Bamford Rose do a great video on annual price reviews that I would thoroughly recommend a watch.

Finally someone acknowledges this super gorgeous and forgotten model.this model is super elegant with that side sculpting which flows to the front

I saw one yesterday and didn't initially recognise it as an Aston. The lights reminded me of something more exotic.

I will always remember this car because of James May! 😅

The Virage is one of the best and most beautiful Aston Martin ever made. I like this car very much. Thank you for the review.

Virage in Cinnabar Orange just like the one May drove in TopGear is just oh so sweet-looking.

ive always really wanted a bright yellow v8 vantage because that's the colour my hotwheels one came in as a kid. im a simple man

Another excellent video James.

Spot on. Great review and a great car 🚗👍

It's never nice to hear someone criticize something you love....but these are an honest and interesting perspective from an obvious enthusiast....👍

Congratulations on 200k subs Should be double that on your content

AM then, (& now) somewhat out of my, (responsible), financial grasp. I am far from an AM expert..............As a kid I admired the original DBS (thanks to Roger Moore) & also the original 1970's Vantage. I have driven & was asked to be temporary custodian of a DB7 albeit I declined. I admired the 2003 DB9 & Vantage that followed albeit shortly after (as well outlined in this vid), many similar looking models were released. I remember walking around my local AM forecourt one evening with much head scratching going on. The beginning of this video helped me fill in "some noughties & beyond AM related mental gaps. Very informative & great content....Thanks to JayEmm & owner of the featured car !

Those dials when viewed from a slight angle are a work of art.

Congratulations on 200k subscribers

Personally, all other things being equal (or almost) the difference between the Aston and the Ferrari, the Maserati, and anything else, is that they are understated. They appeal to entirely different people because they aren't as in your face with the styling inside and out. I would take the less special but more simple Aston's interior over that of the 599 because of the simplicity. The 599 is too busy and I just don't like it. I would say that is probably why Astons are specced in greyscale too; anyone that wants something special but not too obvious and shouty would be unlikely to choose the Aston and then spec anything too bright because it negates the entire point of the car especially since it's a gamble that may or may not pay off when they come to sell it. Obviously we know that the cars onsite in interesting colours sell quickly, but that also makes sense when you consider that the buyer doesn't need to gamble as much with the future value or whether the car will look good. Also, Jame Bond drives a grey Aston and the other major reason to buy one is being a fan of the films.

Amazing how Jay's shirts always match the car's interior. 😄

Another great education on a great car James thanks

Excellent video.

Those wheels r the best I’ve ever seen. I wonder how they look on a second gen Vanquish ?

Virage is always the car I search when looking for an oldish AM on Auto trader. In my dreams.

Great review 👍

Love the review, top work! If you want to truly stand out as an Aston owner, buy a Cygnet...Fact.

The Virage was and still is one of the most beautiful designs. The DBS too. Wow...so beautiful but scary durability so I admire from a slight distance.

Yes with such similarity over the ranges, different colour options could have individualised more between the ranges.

I've never had a lot of interest in Astons, partly because I'll never be able to afford one. But this is a beautiful, sleek, and classy looking car !!

The Rapide was a four door four seater. The DB9 and Vanquish were the Grand Tourers. The DBS and the V12 Vantage S were the 'sporty' ones. So where did/does the Virage fit in? Was no point in Aston producing the Virage imo. Doesn't seem to serve a purpose against what all the other Aston's offered.

Thanks J, that Virage did look & sound good!

Great looking car, great sounding car, handbuilt car. That's all an Aston Martin needs to be.

Geezer you are the BOSS excellent review !! 👏 If you get bored maybe a visit to Bamford Rose 🌹 🤔

Still think it's one of the most beautiful cars of the last 20 years.

Liked the discussion of the visual similarity of all modern Aston Martins, and how -- in contrast -- Porsche gave/gives all their variants the same name. The "Bond in Motion" exhibit is now at the museum I docent at, and all but the DB-5 look awfully similar. Virage, Vantage, Vanquish, oh my.

Spot on about Astons of that generation looking fairly similar, especially for the uninitiated, but James why don't you mention that for Porsche or even Audi? It could be argued that a Panamera in appearance is just a stretched out 911 with two extra doors.

To me this is one of if not THE best looking gran tourer in history hands down. In the flesh i feel it looks way different from the original DB9, cleaner, slender and longer (It is not, but that's styling magic). It's all about the surfaces refinement and just very few and masterfully designed details on them. The blacked out struts behind the longitudinal chrome bars in the grille and the single curve tail in place of the lifted spoiler profile make a notable difference also with the facelifted DB9, so that the gaze can flow free and fullfilled with grace through the whole lenght of the car, without any unwanted disturbance. The FL DB9 fails at this for those two small differences. In terms of pure styling message this machine delivers the perfect gran touring statement and makes clear that the devil is in the details. Great review, thanks for sharing those experiences

The sound that is makes is giving me eargasms... Surely knew what he was doing... This car is gorgeous

Such a beautifully styled car. The proportions are just right. I never got this version of the Virage when it was launched even though it was fully explained. I thought AM were just taking the opportunity to re-use a name from their past. I think making it a variant of the DB9 may have helped its appeal. As for the pre-cat issue, my ‘02 MR2 roadster suffered from it too. Feels great mentioning that little car shared company with some motoring greats 😉 Another great video James. Keep em coming 👍🏾

Only like 3 of these for sale on autotrader! Such a strange car

Looking forward to the Rapide review.

From time to time it's always nice to get a taste of how the other half live. "You can pick one of these up now for around the £60,000 mark........" So that's alright, then!

My guess that most buyers went for silver, gray and black is just are trying to channel their inner James Bond, since most of the Craig Bond's Astons are mainly those colors in the films.

F-type parent by a lot of measures....... beautiful car and great review. Cost of ownership here in the US kills Aston's. A used 911 while less good looking by about 1000% can be fixed anywhere...this thing...not so much.

Lovely car, great engine, excellent review. However that rev counter would seriously mess with my OCD 🤨

Nice review of a lovely car

Excellent review JM. Hard to disagree with anything you said. The VH platform cars certainly do have a sameness about them, and it's probably only Aston owners that can tell them apart, and even they can struggle. I certainly do, especially seeing one driving past quickly. That, however, doesn't detract from the driving or ownership pleasure of your own Aston. At least my Rapide S is instantly recognisable for its much larger single front grille, as opposed to the split grilles on all the other VH cars. For such heavy cars, they handle amazingly well, courtesy of near 50:50 weight distribution, LSD, and double wishbone suspension all round. Couple that with the instant throttle response from NA V12, and hydraulic steering, these cars handle like no near 2T (in the Rapide) car should! I stepped out of a 996.2 911 C2 manual, into the Rapide S not expecting anything like the driving thrill that it in fact gives. Not a 911 or a sports car of course, but still a true driver's car. Here in New Zealand, Astons are a rare sight on the road, and I've had more positive feedback from people than any other car I've owned, apart from my still owned 20V ur quattro. PS: while you've brushed over the Rapide in that showroom piece you did, how about a driving review of one (the S) like this?

In Gran Turismo 4, I had a hard time telling differences between various versions of GTR r34 or Mazda RX-7. This Virage, without going into an AM dealer and test drive them all, has the same problem in the Aston lineup of the time. Would easily look past it and choose between DBS and Vanquish S.

Considering buying a Virage. Beautiful car and best of all, rare compared to the DB9 and DBS.

Great review. With that being said, though, at 1:26 you edited out the Cygnet. Yeah, I know, it's not a "real" Aston Martin, but it didn't use the VH platform.

The Virage is probably one of the best bet Astons of this era for future investment potential, as it combines the undisputed good looks of the DB9 cars, updated tech such as adaptive dampers, more power, more modern looks and was produced in very small numbers. The first generation DB9's are fairly plentiful but come the refresh, come the 2008 crash, and the number of DB9's produced dropped off the financial cliff along with everything else. Combine this with the fact it was only produced for a brief period and you have a very desirable and rare beast.

Astons are absolute class on wheels…that’s why you don’t find them in ridiculous tacky colors The client base has taste or else they’d be driving around in a bright green Lambo… All the best to everyone

It barely differed from the DB9 below it and the DBS above it. Only 40 BHP separated the 3 models and it's arguably the best looking waste of time ever.

It’s stunningly beautiful. Exotic. Hand built. 12 cylinders. British. It’s not going to be reliable like a Honda or handle like a Ferrari, but damn, it’s a hot car.

Gorgeous car. The Virage and DBS are still Aston's best looking cars imo.

DBS is still a dream car for me. Stunning car.

My old man had one of these for a few months. Great for a long drive but not that engaging...much preferred his V12 vantage and his now current xkrs

This is a solid lookin' car for sure😎

I think anyone buying an Aston for any reason related to whether or not someone else can tell it apart from "another Aston", then you really aren't in the market for an Aston to begin with -you're just in the market for a car with a name brand associated with it. Maserati GranTurismo is a lot bigger on the outside without being much bigger on the inside, the interior is vastly outdated, and Maserati reliability is.. well, you be the judge. Aston Martin is in my view very comparable to Porsche, but with a more British posh and exquisiteness in favor of the German mechanical neatness. I think the Vantage is a little odd in its proportions and in general when compared directly to the DB9 and Virage, you just get the sense that everything on the Vantage is a little bit "lesser". If you like the sporty and compact nature, and appreciate the cheaper entry to the Aston brand in terms of upfront cost and maintenance, this is a great choice that acts as the more exquisite generic Porsche alternative. If you prefer the grand touring aspect and want to maintain the essence of what pinnacle Aston of its time was, then the DB9 derived models are the way to go. Later vanquish models are a big incentive to compare against, but at the same time they do come at a premium. I personally, from a styling point of view, prefer the DB9 era of looks, they have more of a "modern classic" feel to them which I appreciate, while the Vanquish models are a bit more transitional in between clear style eras, and don't feel as committed to an aesthetic as the DB9/DBS/Virage. The DB9 design language is the simple and distilled essence, and I can see it grow in charm in the future, more so than the later Vanquish models of their derived language.

Seems it has the same as clarksons opinion on the dbs "it doesn't make sense until you call it a db9s, then it makes sense ", well similar to that effect.

7:24 This car has to have the tiniest speedometer known to men: 90 degrees are covered by 100 mph!

Nice looking car

a) vinyl full wrap, upholstry covers or leather re-spray are on very high level these days....b) there are other right-hand markets like Australia to research for better coor-specified cars...

This car looks so much better than the DB11....and all other new AM's. I'll have one please....even if it has a bad gps..

I liked the virage, always felt it was unlikely to sell well, and as such would be rare

Wow cool new intro

Having lots of grip is no good if the car won't tell you about it... brilliant.

Aston should have continued with the DB10 the one used i the Bond film but they did not mass produce. It was cutting edge and I think would have put Aston far more up in the market and then set a precedent for more edgier cars and step away from tried and tested older cars that have only a few tweaks as in design

Gorgeous machine!