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| Aston Martin Vantage Development Prototype, DP2055 (1992) |
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DP2055 was the code number used for the twin supercharged Vantage development cars. This was the first, known as DP2055/1. The main picture was taken at the Factory open day in 1995. The car as it is now is a two seater with a substantial roll cage. I'm reliably informed that when the present owner purchased the car from AML, it was in a poor state and may have been a non-runner. Since then, the car has been extensively refurbished. I believe that initially the coachwork resembled that of the standard Virage, and that the Vantage front and rear were put there by the next owner, an AM dealer from Norfolk. Power output is estimated at around 600bhp. |
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Here is another supercharged Vantage prototype that has not
been so fortunate as the above car. For many years now, it is mandatory
for all manufacturers to take and example of each new model and perform
quite expensive crash testing. Following this, the shell has to kept until
production of the model has finished. This crash test prototype was
captured in 2000 shortly before it was moved out of the scrap yard behind
the Newport Pagnell factory for destruction. The cost of destroying this car could only be shared between a mere 280 cars over 8 years adding hundreds of pounds to the purchase price of every one. This must go some way to explain why AM can no longer afford to produce vehicles in such tiny numbers in the traditional coach built way. |
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