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The Aston Martin Virage is an
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
as a replacement for its V8 models. Introduced at the
Birmingham Motor Show The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events. Initially held in London at Th ...
in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 1993, and then the name of the base model was changed to V8 Coupe in 1996. The V8-powered model was intended as the company's flagship model, with the 6-cylinder DB7, introduced in 1994, positioned below it as an entry-level model. Although the DB7 became available with a
V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...
and claimed a performance advantage, the Virage remained the exclusive, expensive and hand-built flagship of the Aston Martin range. It was replaced in 2000 with the Vanquish. By the end of the 2000 model year, 1,050 cars in total had been produced. The V8 Vantage name reappeared on a new entry-level model in 2005. A new Virage model was introduced at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, to fit into the middle of Aston Martin's then current lineup but was discontinued in 2012 due to many similarities between the brand's other models. __TOC__


Virage/V8 Coupe and Works Service models

When compared to the preceding V8, the design was fresh and more modern. The Virage was more similar in design language to the
Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
than the V8 it replaced. Indeed, the chassis was an evolution of the Lagonda's, with a de Dion tube rear suspension, located by triangulated radius rods and a Watts linkage, and a
double wishbone A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...
unit at the front. To cut costs, many of the less-important pieces came from other companies, as had been the case for Aston Martin automobiles of the past. The sleek headlights and taillights were sourced from the
Audi 200 __NOTOC__ Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab ur ...
and the
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respectively, while
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,
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
, and
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
provided the steering column, climate control panel, wing mirrors and dash switches. In fact, Ford had purchased Aston Martin and Jaguar shortly before the Virage debuted and it became the first model to be introduced under the new ownership. The Virage was a large, heavy car in spite of its all-aluminium body, but the 32-valve 5.3 L (5,340 cc) V8 engine's
torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
elevated its performance to near sports car levels. "Acceleration just never seems to run out", claimed ''
Sports Car International ''Sports Car International'' (SCI) was an automobile magazine published in the United States from 1986 to 2008 by Ross Periodicals Inc, first in Newport Beach, but then later in Novato, California. History The magazine was unabashedly enthusiast ...
'' during a first test. They also praised the "eager and quicker revving" nature of the engine with its Callaway-designed heads and Weber- Marelli
fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...
. "Nothing sounds quite like an Aston V8," they concluded. The 1,790 kg (3,946 lb) car could attain a top-speed of . The automatic variant could accelerate to from a standing start in about 6.5 seconds (7.4 seconds for the manual version). An engine power upgrade to was announced at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show. English actor
Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...
owned a Virage Coupé which featured on the front cover of
Car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...
May 1990. In the article he commented how the modern climate control system provided heating efficiency beyond the veteran Aston Martin driver's dreams and could not believe warm air would emanate from the footwell within 90 seconds of start up. The five-speed
ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'', and commonly abbreviated to ZF (ZF = "Zahnradfabrik" = "Cogwheel Factory"), is a German car parts maker headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south- ...
manual was fitted to about forty percent of the cars produced. The more popular automatic option was the Chrysler three-speed
Torqueflite TorqueFlite (also seen as Torqueflite) is the trademarked name of Chrysler Corporation's automatic transmissions, starting with the three-speed unit introduced late in the 1956 model year as a successor to Chrysler's two-speed PowerFlite. In the ...
transmission. For the 1993 model year, the three-speed unit was replaced by a four-speed automatic unit. The six-speed manual from the Vantage also became optional at the end of the Virage's production run.''Automobil Revue 1997'', p. 153 File:V8 Virage..jpg, Aston Martin Virage engine bay File:Aston Martin Virage dash.jpg, Interior File:Aston-Martin Virage in Morges 2012 - Rear 2.jpg, Rear 3/4 view


Works Service

In January 1992, Aston Martin introduced a conversion service, upgrading the car into a Virage 6.3. As the name implies, the centerpiece of the conversion was a bored and stroked V8 derived from the AMR1 racing car. This engine has a power output of between at 6,000 rpm and 480 lb·ft (651 N·m) of torque at 5,800 rpm, allowing the car to attain a top speed of . Other changes included 362 mm (14 in) ventilated
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s, the largest used in a passenger car until the
Bentley Continental GT The Bentley Continental GT is a grand tourer manufactured and marketed by British automaker Bentley Motors since 2003. It was the first car released by Bentley under Volkswagen AG management, after the company's acquisition in 1998, and the fir ...
, and 18 in (457 mm) wheels. Visually, the 6.3 had wide flared bumpers, low sills and air dams, and side air vents. ;Virage Shooting Brake A
shooting brake Shooting brake (sometimes mis-identified as "shooting break") is a car body style which originated in the 1890s as a horse-drawn wagon used to transport shooting parties with their equipment and game. The first automotive shooting brakes were ...
(estate) version of the Virage was offered in limited numbers. It debuted at the March 1992
Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
. Unlike prior Aston Martin Shooting Brake models, however, the Virage was produced in-house by the company's Works Service, with six believed to be constructed in total. The cars were priced at . The cars are believed to have retained Virage chassis numbers, except two that received chassis numbers of the type "DP/2099". ;Lagonda Virage Saloon File:1991 Aston Martin Virage 6.3 Widebody in Cannock Black, front right.jpg, Aston Martin Virage 6.3 Widebody (Works Service) File:Virage-Lagonda-1.jpg, A sketch showing the side profile of the Lagonda Virage saloon The ''
Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
Saloon'' is a long-wheelbase four-door Virage model that was built in very limited numbers to customer orders, reviving Aston Martin's long-dormant second marque. Introduced in 1994, it was manufactured by Aston Martin Works Service with a chassis extension, although two were ordered with an extension. The name refers to the four-door
Aston Martin Lagonda The Aston Martin Lagonda is a full-size luxury four-door saloon manufactured by British manufacturer Aston Martin between 1974 and 1990. A total of 645 were produced. The name was derived from the Lagonda marque that Aston Martin had purchas ...
. The Lagonda Virage cost about and only eight or nine are believed to have been produced, with some being conversions of regular Virages. Six of these cars were ordered by a royal family. ;Lagonda Virage Shooting Brake The five-door Lagonda Virage Shooting Brake debuted at the same time as the Lagonda Virage. It was made by Aston Martin Works Service in only one or two examples, and has been spotted bearing "''Vacances''" badging at the rear. A further six cars were made for a royal family from the ground up, adding a extension to the chassis of a standard Virage.


V8 Coupe

A less extreme V8 Coupe replaced the standard Virage from 1996 onwards having the updated styling inherited from the more powerful Vantage. Lacking the superchargers and the more aggressive body style of its sibling, the engine in the V8 Coupe has a power output of and 369 lb·ft (500 N·m) of torque. In total, 101 examples of the V8 Coupe were built from 1996 through 2000. ;V8 Sportsman Estate The V8 was also subject to coachbuilt conversion by Aston Martin's Works Service department. Dubbed the Sportsman estate, only three were made using existing V8 Coupes as a base. No mechanical modifications were made and the Estate retained the V8 Coupe's engine and mechanicals. File:Aston Martin V8 1997.jpg, Aston Martin V8 Coupe File:Aston Martin V8 Coupé.jpg, rear 3/4 view


Virage Volante/V8 Volante

The convertible version of the Virage, called the Virage Volante debuted at the 1990
Birmingham Motor Show The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events. Initially held in London at Th ...
as a strict two-seater, but a 2+2 version was shown at the 1991 Geneva Motor Show. Production examples, first appearing in 1992, were all to feature 2+2 seating. Sources state that either 224 or 233 examples had been produced when production ended in 1996. The last 11 examples already had the naturally aspirated 1995 version of the engine found in the later V8 and V8 LWB Volante models with the improved four-speed and overdrive Torqueflite automatic and a power output of , which may be part of why there is some disagreement to the production numbers. 1992 was also when Aston Martin introduced its 6.3-litre " Works Service" package, which included wider fenders to accommodate the larger OZ wheels and 14-inch disc brakes, additional vents, deeper sills, and other appearance modifications. This was immediately available on the Coupé as well as the Volante. Aston Martin soon introduced a strictly cosmetic version called the Wide Body featuring the regular 5.3-litre engine; this was mainly intended for the United States market as the 6.3 was not certified for sale there. 13 of these were built for the United States, whereas only seven regular Virage Volantes were delivered there. In contrast to the Wide Body Volante, the
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chose to equip his 1994 Volante with the standard bodywork coupled with the 6.3-litre engine and a manual transmission. A new V8 Volante Long Wheelbase, with updated styling of the V8 Coupe was produced from 1997 to 2000 on a chassis lengthened by . Only 63 units were built by the time production came to a halt.


Vantage

As with many other Aston Martin models, a high-performance Vantage model of the Virage would later be introduced. First shown at
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in September 1992, the Vantage was produced from 1993 through 2000 and, like many other Aston Vantage models would soon become the only variant available. The Virage name lasted just a few years, with its final descendants inheriting the simple and familiar V8 name. The Vantage had new styling with only the roof, doors and wing mirrors shared with the Virage. The wing mirrors were later replaced in favour of newly styled wing mirrors exclusive to this model. The Vantage is wider, lower, used four round tail lights (later adopted for the base V8 Coupé), and featured new rear suspension and interior electronics. Like the 6.3, the Vantage used record-sized 362 mm (14 in) brake discs and 18 inch wheels. The biggest change to the Vantage was inside the engine compartment. The
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
now used twin
supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
s. Power output was now , and the torque was equally high at 555 lb·ft (745 N·m) at 4,000 rpm. Top speed was , with acceleration to 97 km/h (60 mph) taking 4.6 seconds. Customers cars could be returned to Works Service starting in 1998 to be converted to V600 specifications, where the engine was upgraded to at 6,200 rpm and of torque at 4,400 rpm. In 2000, Aston Martin's Works Service unit also built nine bespoke Vantage Volante models (convertibles), one of which was built to long wheelbase specifications.


V8 Vantage Le Mans

The new European emission and safety regulations made Aston Martin decide to end production of the V8-Vantage line and the final model was called "V8 Vantage Le Mans". Honoring Aston Martin's 1959 victory at the
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
, the prototype of a limited run of 40 was presented in Geneva in 1999 on the 40th anniversary of the win. All Le Mans Vantages were sent back after delivery to have the engine modifications to deliver and of torque, and were supported by a suspension reinforced with special Koni shock-absorbers and stiffer anti-roll bars. The bodywork featured a blanked-out front grille and modified side vents – replicating the side vents of the Le Mans winning DBR-1 – as well as a bigger front spoiler and rear skirt. The interior was reworked with a large rev-counter, a special Titanium finish on some parts, and features such as heated windshield, parking radars, traction control, heated electric seats, and full Connolly leather upholstery with matching Wilton wool carpets. Wheels were the same Dymag magnesium units as seen on most V600s. Performance included a claimed top speed of and 0 to 100 km/h acceleration being achieved in 3.9 seconds. The keyholder was in sterling silver and a map from Newport-Pagnell to the legendary Le Mans track was provided in the delivery documents. Each car was made upon special commission and fitted with a number plate indicating also the name of the first owner.


U.S. availability

The Virage would not become available in the United States until the summer of 1990 and the Virage Volante convertible became available later in 1992. Coupé versions and the Virage Vantage were not officially offered for sale in the U.S. The car's availability ended after the 1993 model year, due to the lack of passenger airbags and inability to meet emissions regulations.


Virage (2011–2012)

A new generation of the Virage was introduced at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show by Aston Martin. The Virage capitalised on the technology from the DBS and united it with the comfort and refinement found in the DB9 and Rapide. The Virage was intended to sit in the narrow slot between the basic DB9 and the flagship DBS. Aston Martin announced that the second generation of the Virage would be discontinued after 18 months of production, as the distinctions between it, the DB9, and the DBS were simply too slim. With only 1001 Aston Martin Virage produced, UK deliveries were 114 (right-hand drive) of which 22 were Coupés and 92 Volantes. The car has a 2-seat or 2+2 seating configuration. The Virage's 5.9-litre ''AM11'' V12 engine has a power output of and of torque. It is capable of accelerating from 0 to in 4.6 seconds, and has a top speed of , while the Virage Volante is limited to . The Virage was available in two bodystyles: Coupé or Volante (convertible).


2014 Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake Zagato Centennial

In September 2014,
Zagato Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 of ...
revealed a one-off shooting brake at the
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Arts & Elegance Concours d’Elegance. The car is based on the Aston Martin Virage. It was commissioned by a European client. It follows the same design cues as the Aston Martin DBS Coupe Zagato Centennial and Aston Martin DB9 Spyder Zagato Centennial. File:2014 Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake Zagato Centennial-2.jpg, Virage Shooting Brake Zagato File:2014 Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake Zagato Centennial.jpg, Front detail


References

:1. :2. Covello, Mike, updated by, ''Standard Catalog of Imported Cars: 1946–2002'', Krause Publications, Iola, WI, U.S.A., 2002.


External links

* {{Aston Martin Virage Cars introduced in 1989 1990s cars Coupés Grand tourers Cars introduced in 2011