RE: Aston Martin Vantage V600 Le Mans | Spotted
Discussion
ivantate said:
Top trumps for us of a certain age.
Not sure how people can complain about panel gaps. It’s the beast to end all beasts.
You're spot on. I remember seeing the original Vantage Le Mans at the Geneva Auto Salon in 1999. It was an incredible car for its time: 612 hp was unheard of at the time, even the Zonda C12 only had 394 hp! Twin superchargers, carbon fibre diffusor, titanium (!) interior trim, magnesium cast wheels.Not sure how people can complain about panel gaps. It’s the beast to end all beasts.
And let's not forget the hand crafted aluminum bodies ... an incredible amount of work went into these cars. Check out this rare Video from 1994 showing the Newport Pagnell workshop. It's fascinating and shocking at the same time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RxihhTuTms
However, I would really be interested from an owner how these beasts actually drive. I have heard the De-Dion rear suspension can be quite a handful ...
thegreenhell said:
It may be a shock to learn that Clarkson sometimes uses mild hyperbole in his reviews, especially for British cars.
No shock there. The query was regarding the 100% agreement. Say what you want about this car, but the idea it makes a Diablo lump sound tame is a bit fanciful.This is the Clarkson clip I remember.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d-gAn3piaA
It was a while ago that I had mine (late model 550 from 1999 and a couple of cars before the Le Mans). If memory serves I bought it in 2003 or 2004 and sold it in 2008.
It was bought from a main dealer at a significant discount to the asking price. It was approaching the end of the tax year and it had been on the market for a while. I think I paid just over 60k against and asking price of 99k with approx 10k miles on the clock.
I had loved them for a while. I had visited the factory when a colleague's car was in build (in 1997) and also went with him to collect it. I had been invited to the launch of the Bentley Arnage (in Le Mans) in 1998. That was my first time up close with with high-end cars and I remember being disappointed with the body fit and finish of the new Bentleys and thinking that the hand built stuff was all overblown and that you would be better off with a Merc or a BMW. We went from there to pick up my colleague's new Vantage and I was blown away by the fit and finish - it was just perfect or at least seemed so to me,
Anyway, back to my car. It was immediately apparent that it was not running 100% correctly - a bit fluffy and consuming a little coolant. They do run quite hot - there is quite a lot going on under the bonnet with twin superchargers in a confined space. A head gasket and new plugs and HT leads sorted that out. I can confirm the monster time charge to replace the plug and leads discussed earlier in this thread. For some reason 16 hours sticks in my mind.
The body was perfect save for some minor corrosion creep where the fibreglass bumpers has rubbed against the aluminium wings which of course i had to have fixed. The factory installed a Sony sat nav music system and I had the gearbox internals super-polished to fix an annoying whine in 6th.
All that completed, it was reliable and ran well. It felt well planted in the dry with great steering feel and a notchy gearbox: a world apart from the synthetic nannying experience of today's cars with electric steering and electronic overrides for this and that. A real man's car (if you are still allowed to say that). There have been some critical comments in this post about the interior. All I can say is that I loved it. I also had reservations about the Lincoln steering wheel but Aston re-trimmed it and it was good to hold so I soon scratched the Nardi replacement from my 'to-do' list. Man's car or not, it did seem to be sensible to keep the airbag. I did find it a handful in the wet and had a couple of wet weather spins in it when on my best behaviour. As a late model car mine had the anti-skid control but suffice it to say I was never entirely sure which switch position was on and which was off.
The most unfortunate incident was not the car's fault. The car was one of three vehicles being delivered down to France by a well-known transport company. The Vantage was in the back of the transporter with the other two cars in front, one on top of each other, The Vantage in the back was raised half way so its windscreen was in line with the platform the upper level car ahead was sitting on. Of course, the Vantage was not properly secured and it transpired did not have its handbrake on (fly-off handbrake in case you are interested). When the inevitable happened and the driver hit the transporter brakes the Vantage ricocheted between the upper-deck platform ahead and the rear door behind which made a real mess - crumpled front and rear, bent A-pillars, smashed windscreen etc. Not good but to the transport company's credit they had it fixed by Aston Martin Works Service which took the car back to bare metal for a not inconsiderable £45K or so.
All in all , I am very pleased I owned this car. The sweetener was that I sold it for rather more than I paid for it including the GBP25k or so I had spent on it to make it perfect so I guess that is a result. I think I covered about 10k miles in the car which I reckon is reasonable given I am based overseas and the car was in the UK. Marvellous car, just be careful in the wet.
It was bought from a main dealer at a significant discount to the asking price. It was approaching the end of the tax year and it had been on the market for a while. I think I paid just over 60k against and asking price of 99k with approx 10k miles on the clock.
I had loved them for a while. I had visited the factory when a colleague's car was in build (in 1997) and also went with him to collect it. I had been invited to the launch of the Bentley Arnage (in Le Mans) in 1998. That was my first time up close with with high-end cars and I remember being disappointed with the body fit and finish of the new Bentleys and thinking that the hand built stuff was all overblown and that you would be better off with a Merc or a BMW. We went from there to pick up my colleague's new Vantage and I was blown away by the fit and finish - it was just perfect or at least seemed so to me,
Anyway, back to my car. It was immediately apparent that it was not running 100% correctly - a bit fluffy and consuming a little coolant. They do run quite hot - there is quite a lot going on under the bonnet with twin superchargers in a confined space. A head gasket and new plugs and HT leads sorted that out. I can confirm the monster time charge to replace the plug and leads discussed earlier in this thread. For some reason 16 hours sticks in my mind.
The body was perfect save for some minor corrosion creep where the fibreglass bumpers has rubbed against the aluminium wings which of course i had to have fixed. The factory installed a Sony sat nav music system and I had the gearbox internals super-polished to fix an annoying whine in 6th.
All that completed, it was reliable and ran well. It felt well planted in the dry with great steering feel and a notchy gearbox: a world apart from the synthetic nannying experience of today's cars with electric steering and electronic overrides for this and that. A real man's car (if you are still allowed to say that). There have been some critical comments in this post about the interior. All I can say is that I loved it. I also had reservations about the Lincoln steering wheel but Aston re-trimmed it and it was good to hold so I soon scratched the Nardi replacement from my 'to-do' list. Man's car or not, it did seem to be sensible to keep the airbag. I did find it a handful in the wet and had a couple of wet weather spins in it when on my best behaviour. As a late model car mine had the anti-skid control but suffice it to say I was never entirely sure which switch position was on and which was off.
The most unfortunate incident was not the car's fault. The car was one of three vehicles being delivered down to France by a well-known transport company. The Vantage was in the back of the transporter with the other two cars in front, one on top of each other, The Vantage in the back was raised half way so its windscreen was in line with the platform the upper level car ahead was sitting on. Of course, the Vantage was not properly secured and it transpired did not have its handbrake on (fly-off handbrake in case you are interested). When the inevitable happened and the driver hit the transporter brakes the Vantage ricocheted between the upper-deck platform ahead and the rear door behind which made a real mess - crumpled front and rear, bent A-pillars, smashed windscreen etc. Not good but to the transport company's credit they had it fixed by Aston Martin Works Service which took the car back to bare metal for a not inconsiderable £45K or so.
All in all , I am very pleased I owned this car. The sweetener was that I sold it for rather more than I paid for it including the GBP25k or so I had spent on it to make it perfect so I guess that is a result. I think I covered about 10k miles in the car which I reckon is reasonable given I am based overseas and the car was in the UK. Marvellous car, just be careful in the wet.
florian said:
And let's not forget the hand crafted aluminum bodies ... an incredible amount of work went into these cars. Check out this rare Video from 1994 showing the Newport Pagnell workshop. It's fascinating and shocking at the same time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RxihhTuTms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RxihhTuTms
I get my car MOT'd and the OH's car serviced at a little place about 50 feet down the road from where the video starts.
Different times. I went to the factory open day, must have been early 90s. A few acquaintances worked there.
Chap who worked for my Dad was a development driver there in the 70s.
It’s odd how so many people think that the original Virage competes with the Cygnet for the title of Worst Aston Martin Ever. But when AM flares the wheel arches and bolts on a couple of superchargers, it’s transformed into the ultimate He-Man pin-up, with a £500k price tag. Bloody lovely though.
LotusOmega375D said:
It’s odd how so many people think that the original Virage competes with the Cygnet for the title of Worst Aston Martin Ever. But when AM flares the wheel arches and bolts on a couple of superchargers, it’s transformed into the ultimate He-Man pin-up, with a £500k price tag. Bloody lovely though.
Shhhssshhh!It's my only shot of getting one!
I remember seeing a Dark Blue V600 parked in North Street in Guildford opposite Index where i worked at the time and when it started up the windows of the shop rattled. I stood outside and watched it drive off but the noise was biblical. I could hear it drive out of town and then boot it down the A3 a good half mile from where i was. Some years later when i was working for QuickSilver Exhausts I found out it was looked after by HWM and the owner had had the car straight piped. One of the engineers at HWM said he went out with the owner in it once and the guy drove it like he stole it.
Absolutely Insane Car.
Absolutely Insane Car.
Actually had a passenger ride in one of these in 2000. Used to work at Ford and had Need to visit Newport Parnell. Fairly sure the one I had a ride in (a customer car in for service) was dark blue. Random fact - the review
Mirror has a small digital display that serves as a compass.
What I remember was much as the car was the customer waiting room. Think of M’s office in Roger Moore era Bond films. Like that but much bigger.
Mirror has a small digital display that serves as a compass.
What I remember was much as the car was the customer waiting room. Think of M’s office in Roger Moore era Bond films. Like that but much bigger.
F6C said:
thegreenhell said:
It may be a shock to learn that Clarkson sometimes uses mild hyperbole in his reviews, especially for British cars.
No shock there. The query was regarding the 100% agreement. Say what you want about this car, but the idea it makes a Diablo lump sound tame is a bit fanciful.In the Unleashed on Cars video (linked above a few times), there was a race between Esprit, 911, Cerbera, Caterham, Viper and the Vantage. Shortly before the race they pan across the rear of the cars whilst Clarkson mutters on about who he thought would win etc. Then as the camera draws to the rear of the Vantage, says that in terms of noise the Aston had already won.
That's where the noise comparison comes from.
The Diablo comparison is where, again in that same video, he is then explaining why certain cars aren't in the race, and he mentions that the Diablo isn't in the race because he'd already raced one against the Vantage pause for effect and it lost.
That's it. Nobody is saying the Diablo sounds tame or the Vantage sounded better than a Diablo.
florian said:
ivantate said:
Top trumps for us of a certain age.
Not sure how people can complain about panel gaps. It’s the beast to end all beasts.
You're spot on. I remember seeing the original Vantage Le Mans at the Geneva Auto Salon in 1999. It was an incredible car for its time: 612 hp was unheard of at the time, even the Zonda C12 only had 394 hp! Twin superchargers, carbon fibre diffusor, titanium (!) interior trim, magnesium cast wheels.Not sure how people can complain about panel gaps. It’s the beast to end all beasts.
And let's not forget the hand crafted aluminum bodies ... an incredible amount of work went into these cars. Check out this rare Video from 1994 showing the Newport Pagnell workshop. It's fascinating and shocking at the same time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RxihhTuTms
However, I would really be interested from an owner how these beasts actually drive. I have heard the De-Dion rear suspension can be quite a handful ...
On of these parked in a hospitality area between and F50 and an Enzo, and I remember thinking that even betwen these 2 supercars, the Aston looks amazing and not outdone!
I also remember when these were around the £100k mark, they might have even dropped lower.
Stick Legs said:
LotusOmega375D said:
It’s odd how so many people think that the original Virage competes with the Cygnet for the title of Worst Aston Martin Ever. But when AM flares the wheel arches and bolts on a couple of superchargers, it’s transformed into the ultimate He-Man pin-up, with a £500k price tag. Bloody lovely though.
Shhhssshhh!It's my only shot of getting one!
Virage is a great car and fantastic value if looked after. There is very little shared between the Virage and the Vantage though.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff