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| Aston Martin V8 Vantage
(formally known as Series 1) (V540) (1977 - 1978) |
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There was an almighty problem in 1974 when AML went into administration, which must have delayed the prospect of a more powerful machine than the standard V8. Following the rescue of the company in late 1975 the new owners started to think of the future, and with emission regulations taking a serious toll on the output of the V8 engine, work began two projects to increase power output. Stage '1' state of tune, otherwise known as the V8 'S' appeared in the Weber Carburetter AMV8 during 1977. Stage '2' state of tune when installed into the V8 produced the mighty V8 Vantage. The 170mph projectile shot to fame as the fastest production road car in the world and is now universally accepted as Aston Martin's and indeed Britain's first ever 'Supercar'. The name 'Vantage' had previously been applied to cars with an optional uprated engine. But the V8 Vantage became a distinct model line in it's own right and was quite a different beast from the standard V8. As well as the hidden chassis mods and engine tweaks, the Vantage featured twin Cibie H4 driving lights within the blanked off grille (cooling air for the radiator being drawn in from beneath the bumper), a deep front air dam and a boot lid spoiler at the rear. All of these aerodynamic additions were essential to reduce lift - essential for a car with 170 mph potential. |
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The car features a large, sealed bonnet bulge to cover the down draught 48 IDF Weber carburettors fitted to revised inlet manifolds. Other mechanical changes from the standard engine included larger valves, revised camshafts and a higher compression ratio. Once run it, 375 to 380 bhp is available. The term 'series 1' is a classification from the AMOC register, strictly speaking, these first examples of the V8 Vantage should be called 'V540' as used by the factory - 540 comes from the prefix to the engine number. |
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The first group of 16 cars have two distinctive and unique features. Firstly, the rear
spoiler was added to the car after the body was built. Also, the bonnet bulge
opening is sealed with a bolt on cover. For the
remaining 23 V540 production cars, the spoiler was made integral to the body and
the opening in the bonnet bulge was welded shut during manufacture. These
slightly later cars are known as 'flip tail'.
The Oscar India cars, made from October 1978, shared the less pronounced integral spoiler and neater bonnet of the (Oscar India) coupe. |
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The important car on the left was in fact the second production V8 Vantage, the first sold to a customer (Gordon Procter) and the first ever to be raced in anger at an AMOC race meeting in 1977. Over time, it has lost many of the original features of the early cars. When first built, the car had Perspex covers over the headlights, smaller 5 inch driving lights and bonnet with bolted in cover. The car now runs on non-standard 16 inch Gotti wheels in place of the 15 inch GKN's, probably to enable the use of wider, low profile tyres. It's featured prominently here for two very good reasons. Firstly, it was the first Aston Martin I ever drove, but more important than that, is that it's first owner and it's current owner are both very good friends of mine who I have been truly fortunate to meet through the Aston Martin Owners Club. |
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The V8 Vantage pages have been written with the kind assistance of Kean Rogers of the Kangaroo Stable. For more detained information on the V8 Vantage, please visit www.v8vantage.com |
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| Page Updated Sunday September 02, 2007 |
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