Immense 6.3-litre Aston Virage Volante for sale
Once a Geneva show car, then in Brunei, and now a concours winner, drop-top Astons come little greater
Provenance is everything when it comes to a collectable old car. You want to know who’s owned it and how they’ve looked after it, confident that it’s as good as it seems. What’s even better than a good history, however, is a genuinely interesting back story, a vehicle with a tale to tell and some significance to boot. And boy, do we have just the car…
When Aston Martin wanted to show a Virage Volante to the world at the Geneva show in 1992, this was the car they did it with. Back then it was yellow with tan and not quite so muscular (more on that in a sec) but this was chassis 003, the one for the crowds to pore over 32 years ago. And it’s not every day a motor show car is for sale. The story gets even better from there, too, as the Virage was sold by Aston to be part of the Brunei collection; but not before being converted to 6.3-litre, widebody spec, the first of just 19 ever made. Quite some claim to fame. And imagine how this looked with the pumped-up arches in yellow…
Returning to the UK later in the '90s having barely been used (as was so often the case with Brunei cars, sadly), the Volante went to Newport Pagnell for ‘refurbishment’. Some time later, improved, wheels, tyres and brakes were fitted - plus an airbag and ABS - then, in 1999, it was finally UK registered and sold to a member of the public. With 100 miles on the clock.
Fortunately, the mighty Aston got some use from then on, racking up 20,000 miles under the care of a marque enthusiast who always had it serviced at a main dealer. Come 2016 the story takes on another very interesting chapter, as the Virage received its bare metal respray in the fabulous Galloway Green; the work included a new roof as well and, most encouragingly, a rebuild of the legendary V8. The dyno test after showed very nearly 500hp (497hp/490bhp) at 6,200rpm, with a burly 443lb ft at 4,500rpm alongside. Proper engine, then - expect a suitably stirring soundtrack. And, thank heavens, there’s a manual gearbox to make the most of it.
Keen to make the most of their very special Aston, the most recent owner invested in a raft of upgrades and detailing work to make this into a concours-winning Virage Volante. On top of being a motor show car, a Brunei car, the first 6.3 widebody and still just 24,000 miles old. Pretty cool, huh? Not the most elegant convertible Aston Martin ever made, perhaps - but these old V8 muscle cars have an unrepeatable kind of charm. Values have been increasing because these brutes in suits really are like nothing else.
This particular Virage Volante is offered up at POA, as is one of the others - a left-hand-drive car in Midnight Blue over Parchment - that’s also for sale on PH right now. There is a 6.3 Coupe, however, available at £120k, for some idea of a ballpark figure. They’re the slightly less rare derivative (around 60 6.3 conversions were done in total), so expect to pay a premium for the drop-top. And feel like a million bucks from behind your green Connolly leather wheel.
The way the body seems to rise towards the rear has never made any sense to me at all, yet the ‘parts bin’ approach to switchgear, door handles, headlights etc sits ok.
I’m sure this will appeal to a good few AM fans, but the POA, as always, would put me off (please PH, stop allowing such adverts, which imho are just speculative attempts by dealers to rinse potential buyers).
Like this, but not the interior - mint / biscuit overload, like an ice-cream parlour. Bit trite for an Aston.
The way the body seems to rise towards the rear has never made any sense to me at all, yet the ‘parts bin’ approach to switchgear, door handles, headlights etc sits ok.
I’m sure this will appeal to a good few AM fans, but the POA, as always, would put me off (please PH, stop allowing such adverts, which imho are just speculative attempts by dealers to rinse potential buyers).
As for POA, that should be an invitation for PHers to flood the seller with email enquiries asking for more details. Let them then try to figure out what is a genuine enquiry from all the chaff...
The way the body seems to rise towards the rear has never made any sense to me at all, yet the ‘parts bin’ approach to switchgear, door handles, headlights etc sits ok.
I’m sure this will appeal to a good few AM fans, but the POA, as always, would put me off (please PH, stop allowing such adverts, which imho are just speculative attempts by dealers to rinse potential buyers).
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