In today’s world of ever more stringent emissions legislation, the (correct) focus on the environment, and the need to make the most of the earth’s resources, a two-tonne, twin-supercharged, 550 brake horsepower Aston Martin is about as fashionable as a Jim Davidson stand-up routine.
Yet in the 1990s, the V8 Vantage was very much peak Aston. It was an anachronism even then, its origins in the 80s Virage clear to see despite undergoing a comprehensive design rework courtesy of John Heffernan and Ken Greenley. Indeed, only the roof and doors survived the transformation from Virage to Vantage.
But if the design grabbed you by the lapels, then what resided underneath that sinister-looking bonnet was likely to reduce even grown men to jelly. A 5.3-litre V8 bolstered by not one but two Eaton superchargers and producing 550bhp and 550lb ft of torque, it was the most powerful road car engine in production at the time. Despite the Vantage’s considerable heft, this was enough for a 0-60mph time of 4.7 seconds and a top whack of 176mph
I really fell for the car when it appeared on the long-deceased Performance Car Magazine’s Car of the Year test, which in 1995 was accompanied by a video. Listening to the roar of that V8 as the brutish Aston grabbed hold of the horizon and yanked it backwards, admiring the sumptuous interior leatherwork and watching in amazement as such a big, heavy car could more than hold its own against stunners like the Porsche 993 Turbo and Mercedes-Benz SL60 AMG, I knew this was one deeply special vehicle. But then, Astons always are, aren’t they?
It is completely true that the DB7 - introduced in 1994 - was the ‘volume’ seller in Aston’s nineties line-up, attracting new customers and helping to save the entire company from bankruptcy. Its sleek silhouette and beautiful detailing contrasted with the Vantage’s more aggressive visual demeanour, but for many the hand-built, old-school V550 was the very embodiment of Aston Martin.
Will we ever see the Aston Martin V550’s like again? Unquestionably not. The storied British marque has committed itself to an all-electric future, and the long-serving V12 engine has been put out to pasture in the limited-run V12 Vantage, its twin-turbo 5.2-litre motor’s 690bhp (almost) making its ancestor look a teeny bit under-endowed.
The V8 Vantage was always a dinosaur, a relic from a bygone era, and as the years have passed and times have changed, this has only been amplified. And yet it is precisely this that makes the Aston so special, and its place in my lottery-win garage is guaranteed.
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