Aston Martin Virage
| Aston Martin | |
|---|---|
 Aston Martin Virage Saloon (1989-1996)
|
|
| Virage | |
| Production period: | 1989-1996 |
| Class : | Sports car |
| Body versions : | Coupé , convertible |
| Engines: |
Gasoline engines : 5.3–6.3 liters (246–441 kW) |
| Length: | 4735 mm |
| Width: | 1855 mm |
| Height: | 1320 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2610 mm |
| Empty weight : | from 1790 kg |
| Previous model | Aston Martin V8 |
| successor | Aston Martin V8 |
The Aston Martin Virage is a luxury vehicle from the British car manufacturer Aston Martin . In 1990 it replaced the Aston Martin V8, which had been in production for almost 20 years . Like this, the Virage was available as a hatchback coupe and a convertible; In addition, there was a high-performance version known as Vantage , as well as individual special versions produced on customer request, some with different bodies. By 1996, 877 vehicles with the name Virage had been built. From 1996 the term Virage was dropped; Production of a visually and technically revised version under the name Aston Martin V8 or Vantage continued until 2000.
background
The Aston Martin Virage came into being at a difficult time for the company. Most of the vehicles (345 of a total of 365 copies) were produced in 1990 and 1992, after which production collapsed. In the following years fewer than 10 cars were built. The models turned out to be too big, too expensive and too unwieldy. In 1992, the company realized that customers “didn't want the Virage”. At that time there was public discussion about the closure of the traditional company. Ford, the owner at the time, decided at this stage to develop a more affordable model that should attract new customers to the brand. The result of these considerations was the Aston Martin DB7 , which was closely related to the Jaguar XK . This made the Virage obsolete early on. Until the DB7 was ready for series production, the company was largely financed by special versions of the Virage, which the Service Department completed on behalf of customers at very high prices.
Development history
Development of the Virage began in the spring of 1986. Five designers were commissioned to design the body independently of one another; among them was again William Towns , who had already designed the Aston Martin V8 . In October 1986, however, the design by John Heffernan and Ken Greenley from the Royal College of Arts was awarded the contract. The design was fresh and modern when presented. The lines were more reminiscent of the Lagonda than of the predecessor V8 that it replaced. Nonetheless, Heffernan and Greenley cited numerous classic details, including the shape of the radiator grille raised in the middle of the vehicle and the steeply sloping roofline of the DB5 , which ends in a notchback . The interior was entirely independent; the dashboard no longer had any resemblance to its predecessor.
As with earlier models, many parts came from other manufacturers to save costs. The rear lights are part of the second series of the VW Scirocco . The headlights come from the Audi 200 C3, which was built until 1991 . The exterior mirrors came from the Citroën CX , and General Motors , Jaguar and Ford contributed the steering column, air conditioning and switches on the dashboard.
The technical developments were largely carried out at Aston Martin itself. The chassis of the Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2 was used as the technical basis , which was shortened and fitted with a modified suspension. The chassis was similar to that of the Lagonda with a De Dion rear axle and double wishbone suspension at the front.
However, the development of the motorization took place at Callaway Cars in Connecticut . A new four-valve head for the classic eight-cylinder was developed there. The engine has also been adapted to the latest emissions regulations.
The name of the new car was found in a competition that Aston Martin held among the workforce and among members of the Aston Martin Owners Club. The ultimately successful proposal Virage - French for curve - went back to the company's boss Victor Gauntlett.
Series models
The base model, the Virage Coupe, was unveiled to the public at the Birmingham Motor Show in October 1988. The first vehicle, however, was not delivered until January 1990. Over the years, Aston Martin developed a number of variations on this model.
Virage Saloon
Basic version
The Virage Saloon was a big and heavy car, but the four-valve V8 with a displacement of 5.3 liters and a torque of 475 Nm enabled sporty driving performance. Acceleration and handling were praised, as was the responsiveness of the 246 kW (330 hp) engine. The 1790 kg vehicle reached a top speed of 254 km / h. 31 vehicles were retrofitted with a 6.3 liter eight-cylinder engine at the factory (see Virage 6.3 ); in addition, independent workshops such as RS Williams or Lynx offered more extensive engine overhauls.
By 1995 Aston Martin had built a total of 365 Virage. Most of the vehicles were built in 1990 (178 copies) and 1991 (168). Production collapsed in 1992: that year only six coupés were built; In 1993 there was no coupé at all. In 1994 Aston Martin produced nine limited editions. In 1995 the last copy of the Virage was made.
After that, Aston Martin stopped production of the model. The successor was named V8 Saloon. It was technically largely identical to the Virage, but had the body of the Virage Vantage.
limited edition
In 1994 there were no orders for a Virage Saloon. At that time, there were nine chassis in the factory, which had already been manufactured in 1992. In order not to leave this chassis unused, the factory decided on a “Limited Edition” comprising ten copies. The body of these models corresponded in their basic features to that of the previously marketed Virage Saloons; however, there were some differences in detail. This included a V-shaped radiator grille and a modified front spoiler. In the interior, the “Limited Edition” models carried the dashboards of the Virage Volante, and instead of the walnut wood previously used, Aston Martin now used elm wood. The engine has also been revised. Minor changes to the cylinder head resulted in an increase in output of 20 hp. With the exception of one vehicle that was painted in Porsche's midnight blue, all examples of this series appeared in British Racing Green ; the interior was covered with brown leather. The "Limited Edition" was presented at the Birmingham Motor Show in October 1994. The selling price was £ 137,500 . Instead of the announced ten vehicles, Aston Martin produced only nine; all copies were sold within a month. Individual vehicles were retrofitted to the 6.3 version, another copy received an engine enlarged to 7.0 liters at RS Williams, which was later also equipped with a turbocharger by Lynx and made a total of 720 hp.
Virage 6.3
History of origin
From January 1992, a more powerful version of the coupé with the designation Virage 6.3 was available. These models had an eight-cylinder engine that was enlarged to 6.3 liters and developed 465 DIN hp. They were set up by Aston Martins Service Department at the customer's request .
The conceptual basis for the 6.3-liter engine was a 6.0-liter racing engine that the Aston Martin dealer RS Williams had developed on the basis of the old V8 for the Aston Martin AMR1 . The vehicle was designed, among other things, for use in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1989 , but was ultimately not reported for financial reasons. RS Williams developed a street version with 6.3 liters displacement based on this engine, which he sold to V8 customers from 1989. After RS Williams was taken over by Ford, Aston Martin held the rights to the powerful engine. At the beginning of 1991 the decision was made to make this engine available to Virage customers at the customer's request via the Service Department .
The 6.3 liter engine had an enlarged bore, a modified crankshaft, special connecting rods and a compression ratio that was increased to 9.5: 1. The cylinder head has been redesigned; Among other things, he received larger valves. A manual five-speed gearbox from Aston Martin or a six-speed gearbox that was adopted from the Chevrolet Corvette served as power transmission . The enlarged brakes came from AP. The brake discs adopted from racing with a diameter of 362 mm were for a long time the largest in a passenger car. The tires had the format 285/45 ZR 18. In order to be able to use the wide tires, the front and rear fenders had to be widened. There was also a spoiler attached to the tailgate. Due to these changes, the exterior of the Virage 6.3 was easy to distinguish from the standard saloon.
From 1993 Aston Martin offered a revised version of the Virage 6.3. The engine output was now 500 hp.
The top speed of the 465 hp car was 280 km / h, the 500 hp version was 10 km / h faster.
Cosmetic 6.3
The 6.3 could be recognized by its widened fenders and a wide rear spoiler. At the customer's request, the Virage models could also be fitted with the widened body of the 6.3 without actually using the 6.3 liter engine. This version was named Cosmetic 6.3 in the factory . A reverse design option - d. H. 6.3-liter engine with the standard saloon body not widened - did not exist.
production
The basis for each of the Virage 6.3 was a standard Virage Saloon, which customers had to order from the factory beforehand. The initial cost of the renovation alone was £ 60,000. With the introduction of the revised 6.3 version in 1993, the conversion price rose to £ 100,000.
A total of 19 copies of the 6.3 with 465 hp and 12 vehicles with the 500 hp engine were built. The production of the 6.3 ended after the introduction of the even more powerful Virage Vantage.
Virage Vantage
One year after the introduction of the Virage 6.3, an even stronger version of the two-door model appeared with the Virage Vantage. The Vantage differed from the conventional Virage Saloon both externally and in terms of drive technology. It was the first time an Aston Martin with street legal approval reached a top speed of over 300 km / h.
The engine of the Vantage developed 550 hp and had a torque of 746 Nm. The Vantage was thus the most powerful road sports car of 1993 after the McLaren F1. Unlike the Virage 6.3, the high engine output was not achieved by increasing the displacement but by supercharging the 5.3 liter eight-cylinder. The plant installed two compressors of Eaton that are driven via a toothed belt. A power of around 40 hp was required for their propulsion. To make up for these losses, Aston Martin used an intercooler . At the same time, the strength of the engine block has been increased and cooling has been improved. The power was transmitted via a manual six-speed gearbox that the racing car manufacturer Reynard produced on behalf of Aston Martin. The use of ZF or Corvette transmissions was now ruled out; In the meantime, GM had banned Aston Martin from using such parts. The chassis has also been revised. Aston Martin reverted to the suspension design for the Vantage that had been used on the predecessor of the Virage. Together with modified springs and dampers, the chassis was about 25% stiffer than that of the Virage Saloon. Like the 6.3, the Vantage got internally ventilated brake discs with a diameter of 362 mm.
From a stylistic point of view, the Virage design for the Vantage was given a makeover by John Heffernan, one of the creators of the original design. What was most clearly noticeable was the change in the lighting units: on the front, there were now six square headlights - three on each side - that were located behind glazing. At the rear of the Vantage had four round taillights that were borrowed from the Chevrolet Corvette during the conception phase. After production began, GM banned the use of these parts as well, so Aston Martin was forced to manufacture comparable units itself. Finally, side vents were integrated into the front fenders - a design feature that has been established since the DB4 , which was initially omitted in the Virage in the interests of better aerodynamics.
The Aston Martin Virage Vantage reached a top speed of 305 km / h; the acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h took 4.6 seconds.
Virage Volante
The convertible for the series was traditionally listed with the addition of Volante . It was first presented as a two-seater at the Birmingham Motor Show in September 1990, but this version received criticism in the press. In the spring of 1991, the company therefore made changes to the trunk and the tank so that two emergency seats could be installed behind the front seats. Five vehicles were produced in the original two-seater version; all other copies were 2 + 2-seater.
The Volante used the chassis and drive train of the saloon. The structure experienced numerous stiffeners to compensate for the lack of the roof. They made the car 50 kg heavier than the coupe.
Production of the Volante began in the spring of 1992. At the start of production, the retail price of the Volante was £ 145,000, the equivalent of 24 Rover Minis. At the Geneva Motor Show in March 1993, a slightly revised version of the Volante was presented, which had modified instruments, a four-speed automatic transmission and a shortened rear axle ratio.
Until the replacement of the Virage Volante by the optically modernized V8 Volante in 1998, 233 vehicles had been built. The engine of the successor model V8 Saloon was already installed in the last eleven vehicles. This increased the output to 260 kW (354 hp).
Other body versions from Aston Martin Service Department
Aston Martins special unit Service Department produced a total of 24 Virage versions with independent bodies from 1992 to 1996. These were three and five-door station wagons (shooting brakes) and four-door notchback sedans. The sedans and the five-door station wagon were given the name Lagonda . Formally, the Service Department versions were not new cars, but rather retrospective conversions: They were each based on standard Virage coupés that the customer had to order from the factory beforehand. In this way, Aston Martin circumvented the otherwise required typing procedure, which was associated with crash tests and extensive expert reports, among other things. Service Department was a substantial source of support in the early 1990s, which were economically difficult for Aston Martin: The unit “did everything the customers asked for” and sold the vehicles at a great profit. From 1992 to 1996, Service Department made a net profit of nearly a million pounds on the 24 conversions, which went a long way towards keeping the company economically viable.
Virage Shooting Brake
Following a long tradition, the Virage was also temporarily offered a shooting brake version, i.e. H. a two-door station wagon with a tailgate. In contrast to earlier models in the DB5 , DB6 and DBS series , the conversions were not carried out in external body shops such as Harold Radford or FLM Panelcraft , but in Aston Martin's Service Department . In this case, the shooting brakes were based on fully completed coupés, which were subsequently converted after delivery to the buyer. In this way, they were not considered new vehicles, so that an expensive type approval was not required.
The Shooting Brake took over the chassis and drive train of the Virage Saloon. Most of the sheet metal parts, however, were redesigned. The doors also did not correspond to the series Virage: In the case of the Shooting Brake, they had different curves. The tailgate was from the Ford Escort tournament ; Aston Martin had simply replaced the cover plate with a unit they had designed themselves. The taillights were taken from the Renault 21 Nevada . The back seat was 50/50 foldable. The trunk was covered in Wilton carpets and leather. The Shooting Brake was 1 cm longer and 60 kg heavier than the Virage Saloon.
The Virage Shooting Brake was presented at the 1992 Geneva Motor Show in the presence of three-time Formula 1 world champion Jackie Stewart . The selling price was £ 165,000, i.e. H. £ 30,000 more than the Virage Saloon. A set of bespoke cases was also available for £ 10,000.
The Service Department made a total of five Virage-based copies. Depending on the source, two or three more shooting brakes were created based on the Virage successor V8, which were technically and externally largely identical, but had round taillights like the V8.
Four-door notchback sedan: Lagonda
In 1993, the plant derived from the Virage a four-door notchback sedan that rested on an elongated Virage chassis and was named Aston Martin Lagonda .
At 5050 mm, the four-door vehicle was a total of 280 longer than the standard saloon and the weight increased by 250 kg. Optionally, a 450 mm longer version was also available; it was made in two copies. Either the standard 5.3-liter engine or the 6.3-liter sports version could be selected as the drive.
In the course of 1993 five vehicles were built, four of them in the 6.3-liter version. The model was only presented to the public after these cars, which were manufactured on special customer requests, were delivered. After that, four more copies were made by 1996. The Virage Lagondas were sold at £ 250,000 each; the company made £ 45,000 on each of them.
Lagonda Shooting Brake
Also in 1993, a five-door version of the Virage Shooting Brake called "Les Vacances" (French for holidays) was presented. It had three rows of seats and a total of seven seats.
The car was initially a one-off that was made at the request of a European collector. After the public presentation of this unique item, “a collector from East Asia” ordered half a dozen comparable vehicles, each equipped with a 500 bhp 6.3-liter version of the Aston Martin eight-cylinder. Each vehicle cost £ 256,000.
Conversions from independent manufacturers
In addition to the Service Department, several independent workshops produced standalone conversions of the Virage.
The Swiss company Roos Engineering produced a shooting brake version based on the late 6.3 liter version of the V8 Coupé . Unlike the factory version, which had very thin vehicle pillars, Roos used a wide, curved C-pillar with a semicircular third side window. The taillights corresponded to the V8 Coupé. The Roos-Shooting Brake was completed and delivered in 1999.
The British Aston Martin dealer Oselli from Oxford also produced a Shooting Brake version of the Virage. This should have been a unique piece.
literature
- Tim Cottingham, Peter Tomalin: Them's the Brakes. Aston Martin Shooting Brakes . In: Vantage. The Independent Aston Martin Magazine. Issue 5 (Spring 2014), p. 120 ff.
- 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
- Virage on astonmartin.com (English)
- Aston Martin sales brochure from 1995 with pictures and technical data of the V8 Coupé and Volante
- Aston Martin sales brochure from 1996
Individual evidence
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , p. 152
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , pp. 161 f.
- ↑ astonmartinowner.com - Nick James: Aston Martin Virage - End of The End or an Entirely New Beginning? (English), accessed February 15, 2010
- ↑ Note on the website www.astonmartins.com (for the V8, which is identical in this respect).
- ↑ Overview of the production figures on the website www.astonmartins.com (English), accessed on March 1, 2013
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , p. 153.
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , pp. 156-159
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , p. 163 ff.
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , pp. 159, 162
- ↑ a b c William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , p. 159
- ↑ a b c d 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 , pp. 161 f.
- ↑ Schlegelmich, Lehbrink, v. Osterroth: Aston Martin, p. 216
- ↑ Illustration of the Lagonda Vacances
- ↑ Andrew Noakes: Fascination Aston Martin . Parragon, Bath 2006, ISBN 978-1-40547-900-4 , p. 151.
- ↑ William Presland: Aston Martin V8 . Crowood Press 2009. ISBN 978-1-84797 066-4 , p. 162.
- ↑ History of the development of the Roos Shooting Brake ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Oselli Classics and Sports Cars
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