Aston Martin V8 (1996)
| Aston Martin | |
|---|---|
 Aston Martin V8 Coupe
|
|
| V8 | |
| Production period: | 1996-2000 |
| Class : | Sports car |
| Body versions : | Coupé , cabriolet , station wagon |
| Engines: |
Otto engine : 5.3–6.3 liters (257–447 kW) |
| Length: | 4745-4925 mm |
| Width: | 1924 mm |
| Height: | 1330 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2611-2791 mm |
| Empty weight : | from 1950 kg |
| Previous model | Aston Martin Virage |
| successor | Aston Martin V12 Vanquish |
The Aston Martin V8 presented in 1996 was a luxury vehicle from the British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin . It was the successor to the Aston Martin Virage and was stylistically closely related to the previous Virage Vantage . The base model was a two-door coupe; a convertible with the designation V8 Volante was derived from this.
background
In the 1970s and 1980s, Aston Martin's volume model was called the V8 . In 1989, after twenty years of production, it was replaced by the newly developed Virage, which had many technical features in common with its predecessor, but was completely independent in terms of style. The large, heavy Virage Saloon was not a success. 365 vehicles were built from 1990 to 1995. Most copies were made in 1990 and 1991 (178 and 168 pieces respectively), in the remaining years only single-digit production figures were achieved. From 1994, the plant focused on the smaller and cheaper DB7 , which met with greater demand. The eight-cylinder model continued to be produced in parallel, but the focus here was on the high-performance Vantage variant, which had an engine equipped with two compressors and was stylistically independent, especially at the front and rear. Aston Martin derived the V8 from this model, which replaced the conventional Virage from 1996.
V8 coupe
The Aston Martin V8 was a "Virage Vantage without a Vantage engine". He took over all the body modifications that made the Vantage, introduced in 1993, different from the basic Virage. These included the six front headlights located behind a glass cover, which replaced the broadband headlights of the original Virage taken over from the Audi 200 , as well as four round rear lights that took the place of the vertical lights from the VW Scirocco . The chassis with trailing arms and Watt linkage also corresponded to the Vantage. The brakes were also the same as in the Virage. They had a diameter of 362 mm.
The engine of the V8 was "that of the Virage, only without a compressor". It had a displacement of 5340 cm³ and developed 257 kW (350 hp). A four-speed automatic transmission from Chrysler served as standard for power transmission ; manual five- and six-speed transmissions were optionally available. The top speed was 249 km / h, with the automatic transmission it was 240 km / h. This put it on the level of the previous Virage Saloon, which had less power but was slightly lighter.
As in the case of the Virage, Aston Martins Service Department vehicles could be equipped with an eight-cylinder engine enlarged to 6.3 liters. The output was then 372 kW (506 hp).
Vantage models
Even after the Virage was discontinued, Aston Martin produced particularly powerful versions of the V8, which bore the traditional name Vantage. There were again different power levels, which were associated with additional designations V600 , Le Mans and Le Mans Special Edition .
V8 Vantage
The basic version of Vantage used the 5.3 liter eight-cylinder engine, here with two compressors of Eaton was coupled. In this version, the engine made 410 KW (557 HP). It had a maximum torque of 746 Nm.
Vantage V600
In 1998 the Service Department created a special version of the Vantage with an output of 600 bhp (447 kW, 608 PS). The increase in performance was achieved through larger blades in the compressor, a modified boost pressure and a specially designed exhaust. The vehicle, known as the Vantage V600, cost £ 233,286.
Vantage Le Mans
The last 40 Vantages built were sold with the addition of Le Mans , which was a reminiscence of the 40th anniversary of Aston Martin's victory in the 1959 Le Mans 24-hour race with a DBR1 . The car represented the "flagship of the V8 series". The aim of the development was to enable the car to reach a top speed of 200 miles per hour (322 km / h). The car received a larger front spoiler and a differently designed bonnet that had larger air intakes. Like the Vantage versions of the Aston Martin V8 produced until 1989, they had a largely enclosed grille. Only two small openings, known as “nostrils” (nostrils) next to the headlights, enabled the air supply. The Le Mans models were available in two versions:
- as Vantage Le Mans with the 410 kW (557 hp) engine of the conventional Vantage or
- as Vantage Le Mans Special Edition with the 447 kW (608 PS) version of the V600. This version was originally priced at £ 233,130 when it was launched.
V8 Volante
A year after the closed V8, Aston Martin introduced a cabriolet version, which, following company tradition, was called the V8 Volante . Technically, it corresponded to the V8 coupé, but had a wheelbase that was 18 cm longer, which significantly increased the amount of space on the rear seats. The press described the car as a "real four-seater". The vehicle was priced at £ 169,500 when it was launched.
The Volante Vantage was a special version. These were nine vehicles that were manufactured by the Service Department at the customer's request . They were very individual vehicles that differed greatly in the details. They each had the supercharged engine of the Vantage, with both versions - 410 kW (557 hp) and 447 kW (608 hp) - available. One vehicle had the extended wheelbase of the V8 Volante, while eight were short versions, each of which had the same wheelbase as the V8 Coupé. Some vehicles were stylistically the same as the V8 Volante, others had body panels from the Vantage Le Mans. The base price for a Volante Vantage was £ 229,950, due to other optional extras, prices of £ 275,000 were achieved in individual cases.
Shooting Brake
As in the case of the predecessor, the service department responsible for special designs also offered a shooting brake version of the V8. The structure of the passenger cell was largely similar to the Virage Shooting Brake , but the technology corresponded to the V8 Coupé. Two or three copies of this version were made, depending on the source, priced at £ 169,500 each.
production
The V8 Coupe was picked up at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1996. 101 copies of the coupé had been produced by summer 2000. The V8 Volante was created 63 times (plus nine copies of the Volante Vantage). The cars did not have FMVSS approval ( homologation ) for the USA and were therefore only sold in Europe and Japan.
Production numbers:
|
Aston Martin V8 production numbers |
|||||
| V8 coupe |
V8 Vantage |
V8 Volante |
V8 Volante Vantage SWB |
V8 Volante Vantage LWB |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 26th | 35 | - | - | - |
| 1997 | 58 | 29 | 5 | - | - |
| 1998 | 10 | 35 | 38 | - | - |
| 1999 | 7th | 27 | 15th | - | - |
| 2000 | - | 18th | 5 | 8th | 1 |
| total | 101 | 144 | 63 | 8th | 1 |
| All in all | 323 | ||||
literature
- Andrew Noakes: Aston Martin fascination . Parragon, Bath 2006, ISBN 978-1-40547-900-4 .
- William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009, ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 (on Virage: p. 141 ff.)
- Rainer Schlegelmilch, Hartmut Lehbrinck, Jochen von Osterroth: Aston Martin . Verlag Könemann 2005, ISBN 3-8331-1058-9 .
- The Last Bulldog . Development history of the Aston Martin Virage in: Classic & Sports Car, April 2001 issue, p. 132 ff.
Web links
- The Aston Martin V8 on www.astonmartins.com
- Aston Martin sales brochure from 1996 with a detailed description of the V8
Individual evidence
- ↑ Presland: Aston Martin V8, S. 182nd
- ↑ Presland: Aston Martin V8, p. 184.
- ↑ Presland: Aston Martin V8, p.
- ^ Tim Cottingham, Peter Tomalin: Them's the Brakes. Aston Martin Shooting Brakes . In: Vantage. The Independent Aston Martin Magazine. Issue 5 (Spring 2014), p. 124.
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , p. 160.
- ↑ The information on the production figures was taken from the website www.astonmartins.com ; With regard to the production of the Volante, the overview follows the charges in Presland, p. 169 f.
- ↑ Including V600, Le Mans and Le Mans Special Edition.
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