Down the pub in 2020

[richkaz]

"Ere Fred, remember that Mr.Bean bloke, whatsisname ?"
"Oh yeh Ron Atkinson wonnit ?"
"Was only 10 year ago you pick up ezze old Virago fingy for less than barely an arf decent porker 912 !
Blimey look at it now !! "
"Gawd you don't half tell em Kev!"





http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.s ... ectionNo=2

[Nige]

Whoever wrote this was smacked off their tits.

'When the obituary of the Motor Car is written, probably in about seven years' time, I'm sure this design from the pens of British designers Heffernan and Greenley will be remembered as one of the most beautiful front-engined cars ever made.'

[Tosh]

Sorry

I don't get Astons. Quite like the DB4, and the DB9 but for the money I could think of many things I'd rather have, and keep the change

And why, why do Aston owners spend so much back in Newport Pagnell getting their car made "right"? - as in made to work like it should have done when it left the factory - it's 20 years old and had £45k spent on it. And it was pretty damned expensive in the first place


There, I've said it. So shoot away

[Gary71]

So shoot away

Shotgun, or sniper?

...but there are bits of that car that I designed, and made, so I have to defend it a bit!

The engine is a jewel, the trimming of the interior (not the style!) second to none. However...

The Virage wasn't Aston's finest hour, the rear suspension concept was flawed, the chassis build was so slow the base metal had started to rust before it made it to the underseal booth, and the style only found it's feet when turned into the Vantage.

I think the sudden rise in Virage prices is some way off, but it must have bottomed out and this looks like a good one!

[richkaz]

It failed to sell at Duncan Hamilton's at £ 23,000.
For sure not an immediate head turner but it's understated style appeals to me as a business express that seems unlikely to plummet in value.
Not as desirable, but Just one tenth the price of a DB4 . I would have thought the engine alone must be worth the estimate ?


http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/cars-motorbik ... chine.html

[Mike Usiskin]

it's a dog, Aston's are, and like much of the UK their finest hour was in the 60's...

and yes, i'm not in a good mood

M

[kitesurfer2]

No offence, but I would prefer a decent 912 to that ugly barge anyday!

[pmjt]

...but there are bits of that car that I designed, and made, so I have to defend it a bit!

Well I owned two - not Virage but later V8 coupe then a Vantage - and I'm sorry, I agree with Gary, they are a jewel

[Gary71]

As far as I can remember the V8 coupe adopted the Vantage rear suspension and was an altogether much nicer drive.

The Virage originally had a cast alloy A frame De Dion, the Vantage BIW was redone to accomodate a traditional steel tube De Dion with four trailing links and a transverse Watts linkage (kind of!). All models then switched over.

The original setup had a big rubber bush at the point of the A which simply couldn't cope with the torque reaction and thumped up and down whenever you braked/accelerated and so it lasted about a week...

The Vantage is still one of my favourite cars, I still have memories of the development driver I was with donuting the original black prototype at the end of my parents road when we popped round one day 'because we needed somewhere to put miles on it'

...ahhh memories...

These are the first two Virage show cars during build:



...and if you buy an 80's or 90's Aston make sure Mike Peach built the engine!

[Tosh]

Gary

Which bit of the engine was built using milk bottles?

[richkaz]

Honest opinions please.
Having owned a standard XJS V12 HE that used to proudly announce via the dashboard that I was achieving 11 mpg would this be a better investment ( in fun and cash ) to keep for 3 years than the Virage ?
Asking price is £ 7995

http://www.magnumtrading.co.uk/content/ ... s-1990.php#

[Gary71]

Gary

Which bit of the engine was built using milk bottles?

We used the tops as bearing shells

Truth is that the engine shop was so cold you didn't need a fridge!