1999 Aston Martin V8 Coupe

Last of the hand built, Ford tenure Aston's

5.3-litre V8,349bhp,369lb/ft, 0-60 in 5.9secs and 170mph

Superbly presented in Buckingham Green with Magnolia hide piped in Green

First registered to Aston Martin and sold to its only owner after three months

Top Drawer service history with 14 stamps from Aston Martin Works. 28,500 miles

Works 'Safety Check at 18,452 miles. A full set of invoices detailing attention

Very rare car. Number 48 of only 101 Coupés built

Under Ford Motor Groups tenure in the early nineties, Aston Martin launched the V8 Coupé at the 1992 British International Motor Show and such was the transformation that it only bore a passing resemblance to the Virage. The new car's styling was comprehensively updated to create a far more aggressive appearance, every panel, with the exception of door skins and roof, being different to that of the Virage. Revised cylinder heads, camshafts and pistons were also added along with twin Eaton Superchargers giving the new car an impressive 550bhp. Significant improvements to chassis and braking systems, larger wheels and tyres, and a completely new interior with Connolly hides and Burr Walnut fascias rounded off the new car.

With the demise of the Virage in 1995, and for those customers who liked the look of the new Vantage but didn't want the brutal power of the twin supercharged V550, Aston Martin began to offer the 'V8 Coupe' which was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1996. This model shared the same chassis and body as the Vantage V550, with minor revisions to wheel arches and grille, and had basically the same interior. It also shared the same enhanced 5.3-litre V8 in fuel injected form, but without the twin superchargers, mated to a 4-speed Chrysler 'TorqueFlite' automatic gearbox resulting in a more relaxed uncomplicated car but still an Aston Martin with 350 bhp and a 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds!

Production of the V8 Coupe ran until 1999 by which time only 101 examples had been built, one of the last truly hand-built Astons before the factory geared up for Vanquish production.

This lovely example is finished in Buckingham Green with matching carpets and piping on the Magnolia leather seating. Number 48 of just 101, it was first registered in September 1999 to Aston Martin themselves before being sold a few months later to its one and only keeper who has diligently returned it for servicing on every single occasion to the factory where it was built. A one hundred per cent service record at the Newport Pagnell Works is the automotive equivalent of a Coutts chequebook and it doesn't get much better. There are 14 service stamps in the book from the first at 494 miles on 25/05/2000 to the most recent at 28,335 miles on 27/09/2016 and the car was subject to a Works Safety Check at 18,452 miles. The current indicated mileage is around 28,500 and the car's Ownership File contains detailed invoices relating to its attention at the factory. As you might expect, given its low mileage and history of care, this rare Aston is in superb condition both cosmetically and mechanically.

The V8 Coupe was the 'last of the breed' before the arrival of the new era DB7 Vantage V12 and the Vanquish, and as such will always remain desirable and collectable, looking particularly appealing at today's guide and half the price of a V550.