This year marks 70 years of Aston Martin Vantages, models which have played no small part in building the British marque's reputation for both powerful Gran Tourers and agile sportscars alike. In fact, with 36,000 Vantage-badged cars having been sold in the past seven decades, they represent more than a third of the manufacturer's entire output.
What better time, then, to take a look back through some of the highlights of the Vantage's seven-decade run, and pick the best of the bunch available in the PH classifieds? Away we go...
We'll start at the very beginning: the DB2 with Vantage specification. Making its debut in 1950, the Vantage-spec DB2 received an uprated iteration of its 2.6-litre Lagonda engine with larger SU HV6 carburettors and a higher 8.16:1 compression ratio. This resulted in a wholesome 125hp at 5,000rpm, a 20hp improvement over the standard car.
Nearly 250 DB2 Vantages were built in both hardtop and drophead guises, and we're lucky enough to have one for sale on PH today. This 1955 'Notchback' car will soon be up for grabs at auction, its rarity, provenance and recent engine rebuild all making it a good bet for buyers looking to own a significant piece of Aston history.
The Aston Martin DB4 is perhaps best known as the car which spawned the spine-tinglingly pretty DB4 GT and its Zagato stablemate. It also benefited from the Vantage treatment, with a total of 141 cars being built in all. Fitted with a 'Special Series' engine packing not two but three SU HD8 carburettors, revised cylinder heads with bigger valves, and a higher compression ratio, it produced around 268hp versus the standard 3.7-litre aluminium straight-six's 240hp.
Convertible variants of the car are incredibly rare, which makes this 1962 car all the more desirable - and its $1,325,000 price tag all the more understandable.
While the DB5 and 6 may be two of the most famous and sought-after Aston Martins ever produced, their designs were largely evolutions of the DB4 - to the extent that Series V DB4s even appeared as stand-ins for James Bond's DB5 in some of its famous Goldfinger scenes.
The DBS Vantage, however, represented an entirely new chapter for the moniker when it arrived in 1967. A muscular, angular shape which modernised the manufacturer's design language, it didn't quite boast the go to match its show. Due to delays in the development of its planned V8 engine, the DBS Vantage was forced to stick with the marque's 4.0-litre straight-six, modified with revised camshafts to boost performance and counter its hefty weight.
A lack of power was not a criticism that could be levelled at its successor, however. Hailed upon its launch in 1977 as "Britain's first supercar", it could out sprint a Ferrari Daytona and hit a top speed of 170mph thanks to its 385hp V8, which boasted high-performance camshafts, an increased compression ratio, larger inlet valves and bigger 48 IDF Weber carburettors fitted to revised inlet manifolds.
The V8 Vantage survived right up until 1990, with the run-out 'X-Pack' cars producing over 430hp by the time production ended. Here we have one such car, a stunning 1987 model which must to this day remain one of the best looking Astons ever built.
From the two-tonne, twin-turbo Vantages of the 90s via the Ian Callum-designed DB7s of the new Millennium, Aston Martin arrived at this. The single best-selling model in the brand's history, over 3,000 examples of its new V8 Vantage were produced at its Gaydon factory every year from the model's introduction in 2005. It seemed like little could be done to improve upon the formula, until four years later, the V12 came along.
Weighing just 1,620kg - only 50kg more than the V8 car - it was powered by a 6.0-litre twelve-cylinder engine producing 520hp at 6,500rpm and 420lb ft at 5,750rpm. 0-60 took just 4.2 seconds if you could work the six-speed manual gearbox slickly enough, and top speed didn't arrive until the needle was indicating a staggering 190mph.
The V12 Vantage S saw those figures improved further still, to 570hp, 457lb ft, 3.5 seconds and 205 mph. It was, in short, the fastest production car Aston Martin had ever sold. The fact that such a beautiful, powerful, engaging and enjoyable machine is available with a seven-speed manual transmission for just £117,000 should have anyone who can afford to picking up the phone at once.
Which brings us to the present day. The all-new Vantage was launched in 2017 with an AMG-derived 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 producing 510hp and 505lb ft of torque. Should its 3.5-second and 195mph performance not be what you're looking for, however, the Vantage AMR is here to help.
Limited to just 200 examples, it features carbon ceramic brakes, a seven-speed dog-leg manual gearbox and 100kg in weight savings. It may not be as quick off the line as the standard car, but its ethos is about far more than facts and figures, instead choosing to focus on driver engagement, satisfaction and fun. Y'know, the way it's meant to be.
So there you have it, 70 years of Aston Martin Vantages for you to browse, budget out and, perhaps, buy. Not every Vantage has made this list though, of course, so let us know which one you'd have in the comments below.
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