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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.
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 🥳
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 ✌👍
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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. 👍
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.
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!
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.
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.
@@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.
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. ua-cam.com/video/GLZCPkbjbCk/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/iEFoYfa_Z5w/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/jgdvJdiJ9Lc/v-deo.html By the way the steering wheel adjusts up and down with a small lever below the indicator
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 👍🏼⭐️
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 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.
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!
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
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.
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...
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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’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 🎉
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
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.
@@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`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.
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 :)
You were brave driving that on an icey road. I guess it you get out of shape in one you'd be just a passenger. Clarkson said, of the Vantage, (as well as it being a "Bentley with attitude") _"I guess when it rains you take the bus"_ .
Jack, I stumbled on this. Excellent as always. Did ford have an influence on AM going back to say 1980? They just look like a big mustang to me .(heaven forbid my uncles reading this with their P5B rover coupes lol), but they do
Yeah another great video , these sound better than you think ,but you have to be on the outside , would love you to do the 80s v8 vantage or even just the plain v8 or volante , I was not too overwhelmed with these cars at first but the 90s astons have really grown on me , maybe because they were truly the last handbuilt , great videos of these being crafted Newport Pagnall on YT , also a russian guy has done a great video on the rare 4 door and shooting brake commissions .
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.
That particular car comes from the Aston Martin Commemorative Collection now broken up. The 9 cars in the range in 1990 made with the 5.3 V8 in same colour and trim, all the consecutive CPL reg. (I have the limited edition print from 1990). Nice car
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
Jack, I just bought a 75 Jensen Interceptor after watching that video you put out a few weeks ago...Now you show us this. If I wasn't already broke I sure soon would be. Any chance you will review a Mangusta or an AM Oscar India V8? Thankfully both are out of the range of almost all of us, saving at least me my house and marriage.
Just found your channel today and I must say it has an old top gear/Clarkson's cars vibe, and I absolutely love it. Subbed for more great stuff to come I presume (:
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.
Hey Jack it would be awesome if you could get a hold of a Vantage v550 or 600(manual please). They are so badass and would make a fine follow up to this video. Love your car selections of late, much better than seeing new cars being tested as they are mostly bland and unaffordable anyway. PS...thank you for saying(correctly) "foot-pounds" when referring to torque numbers instead of the awkward "pounds-feet" we hear so much from reviewers. Keep up the good work, mate!
What a machine…if I had the money I would have one of these over a current model Aston - so much more soul and character, if at the expense of driving dynamics, reliability and build quality…probably…?!
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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.
What was the damage to the concrete block?
@@shanehnorman . Obliterated . lol .
and yet a modern 5 star safety test small hatchback would be much safer in a head on with this
@@mitchbuchannon6637 . Dunno about that................
@@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.
A guy at my gym in the 90s had a Vantage 600 and it was a show stopper. Utter beast.
You're going from strength to strength Jack - you've really hit your stride. Well done and keep them coming!
Thank you Joe, glad you enjoyed the video and a wave to Ontario 🇨🇦
Totally agree. This is THE car. So few people get it. Jack is nailing the subject.
Agree, this is where he does better than anyone else
Love the enthusiasm Jack - 🎉
😊 from Pampelonne
Lovely car with old world charm and character! Something that is often missing nowadays.
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 👌🏻👊🏻
How much did you have to pay? (I bet that brought a tear to your eye too! ;))
They are superb Lennox Lewis ex boxer had this shape, had mega upgraded stereo in it.
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 🥳
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 ✌👍
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.
Agreed on that. The rear on my long gone 1981 GTV-6 stuck fast no matter what I did. Stays flat.
@@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.
The Rover 2000 also used a de Dion rear axle, if I remember.
@@FangPaw quite correct - my father a 2000SC and then 2000TC which was much more fun to drive!
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.
Simply not true.
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!
The Virage got an updated engine with 4-valve dohc heads, by Callaway if I remember correctly
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!
Those old Aston Martin V8's sounds incredible. Even though the design is odd it has aged well. The interior looks fantastic! Lovely car! I like!
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.
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.
Taking it easy on roads like this is understandable. Still got a fine idea about the car and the noise it makes. Thanks!
You bet! thanks dude!
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. 👍
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.
@@type4968 now that I’d like to see 😀👍
@@paulgart Did you get your Virage back from Germany OK??
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!
When Mr. Bean approves, you know it’s gold! Loved seeing him on Top Gear, setting a new record! He’s an amazing driver. Amazing car! Great review!
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.
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.
A brutish charm. How though do Aston & Jag get their ali bodied cars so heavy, leather can't be that thick?! Thanks Jack! 🙏🙏
Do you not understand how heavy modern cars are?
@@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.
I remember reading Rowan's test of the Virage. I'll never forgot the caption under one of the photos - "Handling woolly but reassuring."
Sounds fantastic, what a stunning car that would be a pleasure to do long journeys in!!
I’m bringing one home from Germany to Ireland in the next few weeks which I’m really looking forward to 😊
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.
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By the way the steering wheel adjusts up and down with a small lever below the indicator
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 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.
Thanks!
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.
Beautiful car in lovely condition, I remember these growing up and drooling over them in all the car magazines of the 80's :)
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
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.
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.
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 👍🏼⭐️
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.
Glorious. Way more want factor than any modern Aston !
Agree!! Thanks for watching Alex
Hear hear!
Jack, you have some balls, driving anything, never mind this beauty in these conditions.
Was pretty scary.. and I took it very easy!
That interior is wonderful I can just imagine how nice that leather feels! The exterior design is interesting and really modern for its age!
Horrible Connolly crap that created huge warranty issues.
Thank you for this video! The Aston Martin looks amazing! The shape of the car is a bit dated but it grows on you!
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.
The coupe was so much more beautiful at the rear end, with its round lights!
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!
Well played sir, we'll played😂😂👍👍
This car's silhouette is elegantly Lagonda.
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
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.
Very very good car. This one should be more known as it was at its time. Its a piece or art if we talk in automotive design and features.
Really love these “special car” reviews, well presented - excellent stuff
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...
You're getting some incredible cars on the channel Jack! Keep the content coming buddy...... You're killing it 👍
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
Well done as always Jack! Love your channel! Keep them coming.
You’re a braver man than me driving such a car in those road conditions .
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.
Had a Maisto model of that exact car and colour as a child, for that reason only it remains a dream car.😊
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!
Ha thanks buddy!!
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.
Love these reviews of prestigious cars from the late 80’s early 90’s… grew up loving these types of cars 👍👌
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.
Astons have lost that subtle, understated, elegant attractiveness in favor of shouty, vulgar, look-at-me outrageousness.
The 2006 Aston Martin Vantage is the best looking car ever.
You said in one sentence what took me two paragraphs. Darn!
"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!
It is because ford stole their front end design language, after dumping Aston for the Mondeo.
@@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.
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.
Brilliant engine and performance. Another great video Jack. Roger
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’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 🎉
Grew up near there. Love seeing a crisp Cotswold morning and some beautiful stone walls.
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
This has become such a forgotten era for Aston Martin, I find these such interesting cars. AM was such a different company at this point.
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.
Been looking forward to this one
Never liked the virage back in the day but after watching that I want one
Any chance you could toot the horn? I'd love to know if the horn sounds as exotic as the engines on these old super cars. Many thanks in advance.
LOVE these; fairly rare, classy, muscular and just about affordable in terms of thoroughbred classics.
A standard Virage is now a very rare car indeed, a huge amount of them came back to Newport Pagnell to be converted to the 6.3 wide body version
@@nigelwest3430 glad to hear that as I recently bought a full standard one 😊
@@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 would love to go out and have a drink with Mr Bean and of course you Jack great video great car x
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.
Thank you Jack and James from sunny SOUTH AFRICA .
I think it’s a very beautiful car. Thank you Jack
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 :)
Interesting car as this is the 1st time I've ever heard of it. Thanks for sharing.
You were brave driving that on an icey road.
I guess it you get out of shape in one you'd be just a passenger.
Clarkson said, of the Vantage, (as well as it being a "Bentley with attitude") _"I guess when it rains you take the bus"_ .
You sir make fine car content :) I used to eyeball this car at oldtimer shows (seen it more than once), always was interested with the unique design
Now we are talking 👍
Jack, I stumbled on this. Excellent as always. Did ford have an influence on AM going back to say 1980? They just look like a big mustang to me .(heaven forbid my uncles reading this with their P5B rover coupes lol), but they do
Lennox Lewis the former boxer had one with mega pimped up sound system in its day.
Yeah another great video , these sound better than you think ,but you have to be on the outside , would love you to do the 80s v8 vantage or even just the plain v8 or volante , I was not too overwhelmed with these cars at first but the 90s astons have really grown on me , maybe because they were truly the last handbuilt , great videos of these being crafted Newport Pagnall on YT , also a russian guy has done a great video on the rare 4 door and shooting brake commissions .
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.
That is unfortunate, on the other hand, one could point out that without that Ford wheel, there might not have been *any* .
It’s a nice looking old classic that’s comfortable. Not my cup of tea, but I can see you enjoy it 😁👍🏻
That particular car comes from the Aston Martin Commemorative Collection now broken up. The 9 cars in the range in 1990 made with the 5.3 V8 in same colour and trim, all the consecutive CPL reg. (I have the limited edition print from 1990). Nice car
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
Jack, I just bought a 75 Jensen Interceptor after watching that video you put out a few weeks ago...Now you show us this. If I wasn't already broke I sure soon would be. Any chance you will review a Mangusta or an AM Oscar India V8? Thankfully both are out of the range of almost all of us, saving at least me my house and marriage.
Jensen interceptor is such a cool machine. Congrats. 👍
@@jibbyjabby7499 Thank you!!!
Mangusta is on the cards!! Congratulations on the Jensen.. I hope you enjoy it!
Great car nice 👍 one Jack shame about the frozen road
Just found your channel today and I must say it has an old top gear/Clarkson's cars vibe, and I absolutely love it. Subbed for more great stuff to come I presume (:
The V600 is my favorite Aston Martin. If you could get access to one of those, that would be amazing. I would love to hear a twin supercharged setup.
Had a passenger ride, thanks to a sporting bears owner, in the Vantage, every bit as fantastic as I’d hoped it would be.
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.
What a beast , never got the credit it deserved. Last of the old school v8
Hey Jack it would be awesome if you could get a hold of a Vantage v550 or 600(manual please).
They are so badass and would make a fine follow up to this video.
Love your car selections of late, much better than seeing new cars being tested as they are mostly bland and unaffordable anyway.
PS...thank you for saying(correctly) "foot-pounds" when referring to torque numbers instead of the awkward "pounds-feet" we hear so much from reviewers.
Keep up the good work, mate!
Is this the same area where Harry does his test driving .?
That is a drop dead gorgeous car and then some other stuff can be said about it. Love it!
What a machine…if I had the money I would have one of these over a current model Aston - so much more soul and character, if at the expense of driving dynamics, reliability and build quality…probably…?!
Virage is always amongst my fav's.
Good overview, thank you Jack. Interestingly, I can't hear hardly any road noise in the video. Must be well insulated?
Yes, it is!
Nice throttle modulation, not a single wheel spin in those conditions😁
😁 very true...
You're doing some very cool cars lately. 😀
Glad you like them! i've been very lucky of late!