From the only ca. 365 coupes built just 54 are over here in the United States. So it is unlikely you meet another one on the open road. A very rare car indeed. It just oozes coolness. And the wall of appreciation that the car is getting from bystanders is amazing....
Every screw and bolt has been touch by a passionate craftsman, every panel has been beaten into shape by the hands of a skilled artisan. It's as if the consciousness of the men who put this car together entered the machine and if you are near it you can feel that. Not unlike how Japanese sword-smith could bestow certain character qualities on samurai swords by mentally forging them into it as they were beating the blades to perfection.
This is why the car cost around a quarter million dollars when new. Anincredibleopportunity to own a piece of very rare Aston Martin history at a fraction of the price. Values are bound to rise and haverisencontinuously over the last couple of years. This Virage is the last Aston-secret.
It looks amazingly good from every angle. Especially with all the modern Astons looking the same these days. While the shape isincredibly understated, this car hasenormous road presence.This is a big car.The design aged fantastically like an expensive wine and people not familiar with the model have a hard time dating it. Back in 1991 it had a number of advanced design-features that arecommon only toady, such as flush fitted glass all around, integrated bumpers,integrated rear spoiler (not evenvisible from most angles) and minimalamount of shut lines.
This is a GT in the most literalsense of the word, not a sports car but a grand cruiser with plenty of power on tab (around 340 BHP in itscurrent configuration) that can push past 155 MPH. It comfortably seats two grown ups and two children.
Theinterior is like a first class cabin featuring wood, acres of the finest leather and an Alcantara headlining. I call it a "zero altitude lear jet".
I am a long time Aston Martin enthusiast, owner and AMOC member (Aston Martin Owners Club). I used to run a righthand-drive 1989 Aston V8 Vantage when I lived in London in the early 2000s, that I sold when I moved to New York. Over here I looked for a long time for a lefthand replacement to finally find thisbeautiful Virage that I bought from the Vintage Aston Martinauthority on the East Coast: Autosport Designs. The color combination ofChichester Blue and Magnolia hide is justabsolutelyexquisite and so very "Aston". And the noise it makes is justunbelievable.
This is an originalCalifornia car and as such it came with the original 16" Astonaluminum wheels, chromed for the California market. Those original wheels (with fairly new tires) are included in the sale, as is the original rear muffler that was replaced by thestraight-through pipes.
The originalCalifornian owner used to ship the car yearly to Autosport Designs on the East Coast for servicing. And Autosport has been doing the service for me. This is also where the car iscurrently located and can be inspected. Autosport is very familiar with the car and with Virages ingeneral.Probably 30-40 of the 54 US cars wenttrough their handsover the years. Due to being an original California car there is very littlecorrosion. The only place that may need some attendance in the future is thepassenger side door sill. The areas around the window frames look excellent as does the rest of the car.
I put the 18" Fikse wheels and low profile tires (basically still new) on the car that not only dramatically enhance the look but also the driving dynamics. Thewheels have no scratch.The sport exhaust and the rear-muffler weight-loss, give a sportier and more alive feel on the paddle. In addition to the above the car recently received a new potentiometer, a newfuel pump. Thetroublesome vacuum pipes have already been upgraded in the early 2000s. I also had the runners of the drivers seat extended for a morecomfortable seating position (I am 6”5').
The on-board-computer which wasgroundbreaking at the time is not working anymore. Many Virages have thisproblem and at the moment there is nobody in the world who can fix these. The only Aston MartinTechnician in the UK who was able to do that retired a few years ago. However, I know form the Aston Martin factory that they are working on a re-issue, ready hopefully later this year. The on-boad computer shows the milage or in this case not. Again, a number of Virages have this problem and it cannot be remedied at this present time. I bought the care from Autosport Designs, whocertified at the time that it had run 25,000 miles. I put no more than 5,000 miles on it, see detail below.
This is a fantastic, original preservation car that drives and sounds great. I have stored it in a climate controlled bubble, heated in winter and cooled in the summer. I drove this car only in goodweather however regularly, which is important. These cars do not like to sit (Which means that very low milage cars that were stored long term are actually less desirable). In my ownership the car was never parked longer than for about 3 or 4 weeks. I drove this car mainly to AMOC club events and other car events around Westchester,Connecticut, Long Island and didoccasional trips to Lime Rock Park. This car has not let me down once. It startsevery time and drivesvery where.
This is a much loved and well cared for car that will make its newowner very happy and proud.
About the Virage in General:
The Virage was Aston Martin’s replacement for the decades-old V8 models, introduced at the Birmingham Motorshow, in 1988.
This V8-powered car was intended as the company's top model, with the 6-cylinder 1994 DB7 slotted below it. Although the DB7 switched to a V12 engine and claimed the performance crown, this V8 model remained the exclusive, expensive, and hand-built king of Astons. It was replaced in 2000 with the Vanquish.
When compared to the preceding V8, the design was fresh and more modern. It looked more like a Lagonda than the V8 it replaced. Indeed, the chassis was an evolution of the Lagonda's, with a de Dion tube rear suspension, located by triangulated radius rods and a Watts linkage, and a double wishbone unit at the front.[2]
The Virage was a large car with an all-aluminum body, and the 32-valve 5.3L V8 engine's 364lb·ft torque elevated its performance to near super car levels. "Acceleration just never seems to run out", claimed “Sports Car International” on a first test. They also praised the "eager and quicker revving" nature of the 335BHP engine with its Callaway-designed heads and Weber-Marinelli fuel injection. "Nothing sounds quite like an Aston V8," they concluded. The 3,946lb car could reach 158mph. The automatic could reach 60mph from standing in about 6.5seconds.
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