Aston Martin V8 Convertible
(by Paul Banham & Specialised Engineering Ltd)		  
A convertible version of the V8 wasn’t offered until the 1977 with the introduction of the Volante. But individual cars received non-factory conversions such as this example of a series 2 V8 with coachwork by Paul Banham Conversions. The marketplace did not have a convertible Aston Martin for quite a few years after the DB6 Mark 11 ceased production and I guess some customers couldn't wait for the real thing.

Paul Banham was well known for his cabriolet conversions on Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, Daimler and Jaguar cars. His company also offered interior kits and styling kits and are perhaps most noted for their stylish XJSS conversion on the Jaguar XJ-S. Nowadays the company sticks to Kit Cars

The car on the right was sold during the Brooks/AML auction, May 2000, for a fraction of the cost of a real Volante at £12765 including commission.

Below is a later car based on a series 3 V8. Don't be fooled by the Vantage bonnet and front air dam, the boot lid shows the cars origin as no real Volante had a boot like this.

 

aston martin v8 convertible by banham
I'm afraid that I have no idea as to the number of V8's converted, but somewhere between 10 and 20 is my best estimate. Oddly, I did see a series 4 Oscar India based convertible by Banham for sale on the web which is odd as the Volante was already on sale when that particular car was converted.
I have taken this particular image from an advertisement for Specialised Engineering Ltd, London, in an issue of the AMOC magazine, Aston Martin Quarterly, Autumn 1973. The add states that a very limited number of these cars were scheduled to be built in 1973/4 but I don't know if any were actually built, I suspect not. From this artists impression, it looks like perhaps it was intended to be a targa - something similar to the Triumph TR4A. Interesting concept nonetheless. aston martin v8 convertible by specialised engineering

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