Another British V8 - Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Discussion
It all started I guess from having a Dad, Uncle and God Father who were in the motor trade with various main dealerships (my Uncle really did it for me with Lancia, Fiat, Ferrari, Lotus and briefly Venturi). My homework wasn't as good as scouring new car brochures/launch info to fuel the car obsession. I became a surveyor and whilst I was still petrol mad, I got on with life driving hot hatches and their lesser siblings (I peaked at an Astra GTE 16V).
I helped buy an Aston Virage 6.3 just like the one in the photo from Nicholas Mee as a purveyor of hand built British cars when he was based in garage in a Kensington mews.
As a thank you I was given this (now quite well worn)....
It was/is a nice watch and I didn't appreciate it until I one day needed to get the battery changed and my local watch repairer explained how good it was as he showed me the Swiss movement etc.
Life moved on and as a teenager/20s person it was all about Ferraris as I'd been allowed to drive a 328 GTS demonstrator when I was 18 but as someone in their 30s I had a brief period with a mk2 Lotus Elise before moving to Porsches and after having a 968 Sport and then a 996 Carrera.
It took three 996s and a Boxster 3.2S over the next 20 (all were 2nd cars really) plus others including an Audi S4 V8 and an Alfa GTV V6, as I thought about what I really wanted. I'd been dreaming of either a McLaren or an Aston V8 Vantage for a while (fuelled by trips to watch the LM24) - MrsC was adamant that even if we had the £s (which we don't) she wouldn't provide "management approval" for a McLaren. She didn't know I was already scouring the classifieds and watching every YouTube clip on buyer's guides and ownership stories!!
Before Christmas 2025 I was getting serious "car fever" as the lads call it, and my latest 996 aerokit C4 (owned for 7 yrs) was therefore going to be sacrificed probably and a serious upgrade needed in price terms.
I had found a car but I'd set my heart on a manual Vantage and it was a black V8S Sportshift - I kept looking and decided I really wanted a 4.7 Coupe as the early cars were now c.20 yrs old and were similar in price. I found manuals were rare and fetching more and a friend in the group had had both a manual 4.3 and then a later Sportshift before he moved up to a DBS and his previous advice was "try a Sportshift".
I sold my 996 to a friend's car mad 23 yr son (l'll leave him to share his story).
Here's the car....a 2011 V8 Vantage S with Sportshift and importantly a few upgrades from Bamford Rose which just add to the whole driving experience which I bought in March....
I helped buy an Aston Virage 6.3 just like the one in the photo from Nicholas Mee as a purveyor of hand built British cars when he was based in garage in a Kensington mews.
As a thank you I was given this (now quite well worn)....
It was/is a nice watch and I didn't appreciate it until I one day needed to get the battery changed and my local watch repairer explained how good it was as he showed me the Swiss movement etc.
Life moved on and as a teenager/20s person it was all about Ferraris as I'd been allowed to drive a 328 GTS demonstrator when I was 18 but as someone in their 30s I had a brief period with a mk2 Lotus Elise before moving to Porsches and after having a 968 Sport and then a 996 Carrera.
It took three 996s and a Boxster 3.2S over the next 20 (all were 2nd cars really) plus others including an Audi S4 V8 and an Alfa GTV V6, as I thought about what I really wanted. I'd been dreaming of either a McLaren or an Aston V8 Vantage for a while (fuelled by trips to watch the LM24) - MrsC was adamant that even if we had the £s (which we don't) she wouldn't provide "management approval" for a McLaren. She didn't know I was already scouring the classifieds and watching every YouTube clip on buyer's guides and ownership stories!!
Before Christmas 2025 I was getting serious "car fever" as the lads call it, and my latest 996 aerokit C4 (owned for 7 yrs) was therefore going to be sacrificed probably and a serious upgrade needed in price terms.
I had found a car but I'd set my heart on a manual Vantage and it was a black V8S Sportshift - I kept looking and decided I really wanted a 4.7 Coupe as the early cars were now c.20 yrs old and were similar in price. I found manuals were rare and fetching more and a friend in the group had had both a manual 4.3 and then a later Sportshift before he moved up to a DBS and his previous advice was "try a Sportshift".
I sold my 996 to a friend's car mad 23 yr son (l'll leave him to share his story).
Here's the car....a 2011 V8 Vantage S with Sportshift and importantly a few upgrades from Bamford Rose which just add to the whole driving experience which I bought in March....
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