1991 Aston Martin Virage

Unveiled at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, the Aston Martin Virage was the first all-new Aston Martin for nearly 20 years. Notably, it was also the first car to be produced under Ford's ownership. The new car was hand built with an aluminium body, and retained many of the legendary Aston Martin styling cues, including its distinctive grill and front wing vents. In spite of its aluminium body, the Virage was a large and heavy car, so a 32-valve, 5.3 litre V8 engine was required to power the big Aston to 60mph in a reported 6.5 seconds. Just 1,050 Virage related models were produced in total, quite a low production number when compared to some of its predecessors.

Offered here, from a private collection, is a 1991 Virage supplied new by Reg Vardy to its first owner, a Mr Steve Gibson of Bulkhaul Plc., Middlesbrough. Finished in Winchester Blue with a blue piped, cream leather interior, the car was maintained by the supplying dealer until 1993 when it had reached an indicated 15,573 miles. From there onwards the service book is stamped predominantly by Aston Martin specialists. For a period, the car was owned by a ship's Captain, who spent much of his time at sea, so the car covered very few miles under his ownership. However, it was fastidiously maintained, and bills from Aston Martin specialist, Pugsley & Lewis Ltd. in the history file for that period, total some £15,000.

Upon purchase of this car in 2012, our vendor placed "H189 OGR' with Trinity Engineering, well respected within the Aston world, and they were asked to go through the car, produce an inspection report and rectify any problems, which they duly did as evidenced by their invoice in the history file. The car has since covered around 800 miles since its visit to Trinity. The electrics are in good order, including the air-conditioning which is functioning properly. In the hands of our vendor alone, there are invoices for parts & labour for around £5,000.

Currently showing just over 41,000 miles on the odometer and bearing its original registration, this Virage comes with a well-documented full service history, including MoTs, invoices and a stamped service book, and will have a fresh MoT before the sale. Attractively guided today, this lovely Aston offers affordable ownership of a classic 90's British muscle car.