(1980? - 1985?)
Before the 'real' Vantage Volante was unveiled in 1986, 6 of the open cars received the more powerful Vantage engine from new by the factory. Only one of the cars was made for the UK and this was owned by Victor Gauntlett, the Managing Director of AML. A Cumberland Grey Volante, B549 WUU, it was used for the UK scenes in the James Bond film, 'The Living Daylights', driven by Timothy Dalton as 007. The other five cars were made for the overseas market where it would have been much easier to sell non-standard cars.
This particular 5 speed manual car was destined for South Africa but I believe it never actually got exported. The AM Heritage ‘Ronal like’ wheels are a recent addition as the car would probably have had BBS cross spoke wheels originally. I caught up with this ultra-rare car at the AMOC St. George’s Day parade in Windsor in 2005.
It must also be said that a number of Volantes have been converted to Vantage specification by either the factory of AM specialists following initial build.
