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| Aston Martin Virage Coupe
(1989 - 1995) |
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Following the successful
launch of the Virage (the French word for corner), orders flooded into
AML. This was after all, the first truly new AM for 20 years and the
wealthy were spending money on the back of the 1980's boom. Based on a
modified Lagonda chassis, the Virage received an updated, catalysed,
fuel injected 4 valve per cylinder version of the classic V8,
developed in association with Callaway Engineering of Connecticut,
USA. Still
displacing 5340cc, the engine was certified for all markets so even
the US car produced 330 bhp @ 5300rpm and torque of 350lb/ft @ 4000rpm ,a
significant improvement against the 200bhp that seen in strangulated V8's throughout most of the 1980's.
Before production of the Virage ended, AML revised published power and
torque down to 310bhp and 340 lb/ft which I suspect was due tighter
emission controls being introduced. As with many Aston Martins throughout history, certain parts are borrowed from other cars.
For instance, the rear light clusters are from the VW Scirocco;
headlamps courtesy of the Audi 100. Whilst some might say that this a bad thing, but without these small but expensive to manufacture parts, there would be no Astons today.
What must be remembered is that the body panels have been hand made
especially for the individual car and the engine has been assembled by
just one man who will have spent a whole working week on it alone. |
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From the selection of
photos above, you will notice a shot of a US version with the seatbelt
fastened to the A pillar. Once the driver is in the car, the seatbelt
travels upwards along the pillar and roof edge preventing the driver
from driving off without being belted in. Of the 54 cars sold in the
US, only 14 had the rare manual transmission
In a production run of
about 360 cars there were a few visible changes from first to
last. The earlier cars have a front air dam that is straight whereas
later cars have a section along the lower lip cut out. The side vents
appeared on the designers model but were not seen on production cars
until sometime later. Wheels started out as 45 spoke 16 inch items,
but late in the production run were changed to 17 inch with a
noticeably narrower spoke. Most cars had a two spoke steering wheel,
instruments behind a single clear plastic sheet and trip computer; a
small number of later cars were fitted with the later Volante dash
with the air bag steering wheel and separate instruments. Also the 3
speed Tourqueflite auto was eventually replaced with a similar 4 speed
plus overdrive item.
It may have been 20
years ago now, but the list price of the Virage at £120,000 is still
greater than that of the current DB9. The first cars were
delivered to their lucky owners at the turn of the decade. Almost as
deliveries began, the world dropped into a deep recession and within a
little over two years, demand for the Virage coupe virtually
disappeared. |
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Virage Prototype DP2034 |
Virage Lightweight GT  |
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