Classic Aston Martin V8 Vantage with 7.0litre conversion review. Britain's best supercar of the 80s
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ย. 2023
- The classic Aston Martin V8 Vantage first appeared in 1977 and was powered by a 395bhp 5.3litre V8. Later, specialists then started increasing the engine size, first to 6.3litres and then 7.0litres, which was the ultimate version and the one reviewed here.
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one of the best looking cars ever produced
And best sounding!
Ford Mustang knock-off... Aston just happened to use a virtually identical front end to the best selling sports car in the world, in 1965, what a coincidence, I'm sure...
@@gambanteinodal1246Best sounding? That's not the engine it came with! That's the only V8 Vantage that sounds that way! It's a (shameless) British Mustang clone, with an aftermarket engine... Even the engine is a Ford Coyote clone!
Behave!
While you express yourself in a rather course fashion, I have to admit you’re not wrong. @@godchi1dvonsteuben770
The similarities between the looks of this car and an old Mustang only make me love both of them even more.
The 70's boss mustang?
Especially the 67 Mustang Shelby
Absolutely 💯💯💯
@@guywilloughby3383 TBH I'm mostly seeing a Mustang II in it.
To this day, this remains the best looking Aston. Gorgeous. My favourite car of all time.
an absolute work of art that car is 😍
TH-cam has some appretiation for good content. Good to know.
Fancy seeing you here
Silence, brand
Don’t think I’ve ever seen TH-cam reply in a comment section😂
Looks like an early mustang to me, from the front and the back.
The car sure does look and sound absolutely glorious.
Brutal, yet elegant.
I’d have said the polar opposite. Remarkably refined for such a powerful car. Not brutal at all.
For me it's the best looking Aston, simply gorgeous
I think I'd even say it's THE best looking car, ever
DB4 Zagato best looking Aston IMO
I guess I just agree with everybody here.
DB4 series 4 for me please@@iamjesper
@@simonjohnson1 DB 4 GT (not Zagato), please.
The steering anomaly you mention at 14:48 is simply caused by those big 255 tyres sticking to the road while you're stationary and the sidewalls flexing as you turn the wheel. The rack is solidly mounted to the chassis. The steering wheel on those earlier cars is driver adjustable for reach by slackening by hand the large nut behind the wheel, moving it and tightening again. The later X-Pack cars move up and down. 32 years at RSW ☺
Is the car better suited to the X spoke wheels you would find on a 1983 or 84 Vantage? Both wheels look amazing on them.
@@davidspropaganda this car is on X-Pack 16" wheels. The pre-X-Pack cars had 15" wheels and also 255 tyres and identical suspension and steering so it's mostly a cosmetic thing.
Jags had the same thing on the column as well if I remember correctly, surprised he didn't catch that, Harry's the best,I'm from the states
@@lcurtsinger4313Yup. I can remember, I think, having that on my father's 1966 3.4 Mk 2. I can't remember it on my mother's 1961 or 1962 Mk 2. Memory plays tricks on you after 60 years 😁 Being let loose on a new 3.4 Mk 2, manual with overdrive, at age 18 was pretty cool. I can remember driving at an indicated 210kmh. Good memories. I'm from Australia.
Interesting about the steering. Is it partly due to the massive engine up front, too? I haven't heard of this issue before. Usually, big tyred, heavy cars are criticised for overly light, over assisted power steering that's devoid of feedback, early XJ6, eg ? Do you know about the blanking off of the grille and bonnet scoop. I've always wondered about this and how it wasn't detrimental to cooling etc, very strange ?
Brute in a Suit is a Perfect description for this Vintage of Aston . One of the HANDSOMEST Cars ever made .
A proper Aston Martin.
Here, here to that!!!
This was my dream car as a kid… the testarossas and 911 didn’t stir as much emotions as this one did.
I wanna see Vinnie Jones drivin this with a sawn-off on the passenger seat in case of an attempted speeding ticket !! 😈
@@peterfitzpatrick7032 Whilst Madonna’s “Lucky Star” playing in the background. “Oh, I love this track!” 🤣☺️
Which one was fake?
That sound! I had a straight V8 Volante for almost 20 years. Never could quite afford that 7.0 upgrade! Always kept you on the edge of your seat and was as thirsty as Ollie Read! Uprated handling is an absolute must. Interior feels like it’s stolen from Buckingham Palace. I loved mine.
A regular V8 Vantage from that era would do me fine. I drove a 7 litre HSV Commodore once - around a race track - and it didn’t really seem much different from the standard 6.2. I think the regular 5.3 Vantage would be well good enough for me. Beautiful cabin and obviously nice manners. That gearbox looks like a seriously slick unit.
straight V8?
@@fr500 He means the standard one.
Yes, the factory spec quad webber 5.3. If you tune it really really well (Oselli are amazing) and make sure the carbs are super clean, put straight through pipes on the back. You’re getting an awful lot of the Vantage experience with a spare 200k in the bank!
@@fr500 He put a Buick Fireball straight eight in it from a '53 Roadmaster.
One of the most emotional reactions I have ever had to a car video. What a car!
Ridiculously classy.
That torque 'curve'. You could have afternoon tea on it.
In America we call that TQ plateau, very common from LS engines, it probably means that the engine is maxing out the flow capabilities of the cylinder heads, it could use some porting/more cam or both. Being DOHC I would be very interested to see what being able to vary to ICL and LSA could do with an adjustable timing set. EFI would probably benefit that engine a lot too for power and fuel economy.
"The Brute In The Suit" is indeed the proper description. This car is in a league of its own. It is not a timeless design. But it is the best of the late sixties esthetics and therefore will always stay relevant
At last Harry, a proper car!
What? You mean he’s never featured a proper car before?
Almost, but soon he may get a Mustang.
Drove the 5.3 version at a friend's wedding in 2005. It was blue 1980, the owner was a complete car nut and told me he used it for the kids school run, all the school kids went wild for it. It was and still is the heaviest car I ever drove, steering ,brakes and throttle so heavy compared to a modern car, I can't quite put words on it. But that V8 burble on the Irish country roads is something I'll never forget.
Love to hear Harry talk about these cars! He was fussing about the steering, but then when he started driving, shifting gears, and feeling the car, he smiled and said, "Forget everything I just said, that’s the important bit!" LOL!
It is hearthbreaking that such cars will never be made again.
Probably closest thing now would be something like a Gardner Douglas Cobra...
@@Jacob-wv3nj the problem is that age + scarcity means the old cars are now ludicrously unaffordable. Meanwhile, all new cars are irredeemably shit.
Yeah, like children starving to death it’s just heartbreaking
@@rbslammed6163 Have a day off you roaster
@@rbslammed6163
Ever tried eating an Aston?... plays havoc with one's dentures... silly
My father was friends with the director of engineering at Aston Martin and worked with them to develop this car . Mike Losby took us out in the Vantage development car and I remember clearly to this day the utter thrill of him giving it full throttle. Happy days
How old were you?
‘’Thunder happens” Love it! Thank you, Harry.
As Q says, "Keep up 007".
Thanks for the wonderful audio of the engine. Lovely to have your positive feedback about an RSW car. I'm lucky to have done 17 years with RSW. V8's are always special proper British class.
My mind went back to Friday evenings in the 70s.
Roger Moore: Aston
Tony Curtis: Ferrari
The Persuaders
The Vantage was another level though. This one sounds amazing
Finally! Thank you for highlighting my favorite car growing up. Great to see these cars finally getting some attention.
Totally agree. Best GT car ever. Closest I've ever owned was my manual Rover SD1 3.5 VDP.
Great video, what a hero !
@@jjhkm agreed what a car and what true enthusiasm from Harry. Only £400k or so....
The prices they command have told me that they get plenty of attention ;)
@@marcob1729exactly
What a bada$$ car. I chased one down a dark, twisty 1 lane country road just after 1:00 AM in my 1984 VW GTi with my buddy, back when we were 19. Probably lucky that we didn't catch him, but the memories of this Aston back in the time will always stick with me. Glad you did this video Harry. Cheers!
Imagine censoring the word badass
Impressive how this channel has grown. 650k subs and pulling in 160k views in 1st 19 hours of this video. Well deserved Harry - these videos take a lot of effort to produce.
Knocks that rubbish channel Top Gear out of the park every time
@@doublewhopper67 He edits his videos which takes alot of skill, a child could stack a shelf
A proper bruiser! Hand built, classy yet tough, great stance, great noise from engine & exhaust, manual gearbox (of course), no driver aids whatsoever, superb ambiance inside. Nothing comes even remotely close!
Would love to see you reviewing its spiritual successor, the V550, as well.
Probably my greatest fantasy car of all time. Brutish, beautiful and timeless. The noise sends shivers down my spine and the aesthetics make me drool. Thanks Harry, I feel like a 12 year old boy all over again. Magnificent!
You gotta be kidding/drinking.
I am right with you Nigel. My "Top Trumps" set from early 70s had a V8 in harvest gold, it always looked so good. Sadly someone nicked the cards or I lost them during a house move in '76. That set had Countach LP400 in yellow, 512BB etc. Hope someone still has a pack and enjoys them as much as I miss them.
Definitely my favourite Aston by a mile. This was an interesting period for Aston Martin when they combined the raw brutishness of American muscle cars with the refinement and elegance of British grand touring - a winning combo. The sound of that 7-litre V8 coming out of those twin tailpipes is a real statement of intent - get out of my way, big boy coming through.
My uncle had one and Jason Interceptor with side pipes, Mark 2 type.
As a kid, it was amazing being driven around in such cars.
i have been watching harry for quite a number of years now.
but in all of his driving videos
he has never smiled so much
I have a special memory of this car. In the 80's, when I was a kid, we were driving on the Autobahn in Bavaria when an Aston Martin Vantage passed us. It had to slow down briefly, and when the lane cleared, it accelerated full out. This car was already something very special at that time and extremely rare here in Germany. We were totally blown away by the sound. It was actually light fog, so at some point you couldn't see the car anymore, but you could hear it several times when it had to slow down again and then accelerated again.
Far and away THE best looking Aston EVER! It was my dream back in the 80's. Class and guts in abundance. Great review Harry.
I vaguely remember these (maybe not the 7L!) being around 65,000 sterling in AutoTrader and whatnot in the early-mid 90s, no? I'm sure you were checking prices too all these years, what can you tell me?
The Living Daylights brought me here. Strikes me as THE British "muscle car" due to its Mustang-esque styling and V8 engine. That Royal Cherry paint color is stunning. I thought it was black until Harry pointed it out. Love the detail offered in this video, per usual. Spectacular channel!
Striking how similar it looks to a late 60's fastback Mustang. Beautiful and love the sound.
I've always thought that, so much like a 69 Mach1.
That's the problem. You'd have to have a Mustang as a daily driver and leave this one in the display center next to the Conti T.😎
I was about to comment the same!!
Yes definitely got styling queues from the muzzy
1969-70 Boss Mustang 429. About 1/20th the cost then.
So much more interesting to me than anything Aston currently make. The induction noise during the in-car segments is wonderful.
Harry said "A Brute In A Suit" Harry is soooo Right. The Merlin V12 & V8 ice are the best Engines ever produced, the sound they make is pure Music. If you watched this video without headphones, then you're simply missing out the sound of this beautiful V8 Beast.
Turning into the right hander, dropping down into third I presume, was simply amazing. I had to watch it 5 times.
*My dream car.* Saw my first one in person when I was 17 (1976) and have never forgotten it. Glorious!
I remember driving one of the original V8 Vantages when I was a professional car photographer in the 70s and 80s. It was a wonderful car in ALL respects and the beautiful proportions made it a joy to shoot from all angles. As an MGB GT V8 driver at the time, I was amused to see that the two cars shared the same front side light/indicator units.
The glory that is Aston Martin… ‘fabulous’ does not even scratch the surface of this beauty.
No point driving anything else because this is The Car. Thanks Harry. My all time favourite beast and nothing can touch it.
That was amazing Harry, what a beautiful car. You can keep your electrics.
Tbf it has gone wrong years before we had EVs.
The sound of the V8 Burble as Harry went up his drive, I could listen to all day!
One of my childhood dream cars. In the last 10 yrs, now I'm in my 50s the dream car! With that engine, that sound, that front end and plenty of walnut! Heaven! ❤😊
G’day Harry, I reckon I could listen to you talk about cars all day. Partly that’s due to reading evo since early days and missing your input there - but it’s also that you’re just such a knowledgeable bloke with such a wide range of cars.
I suspect I’m not alone in this - but you’ve been blessed with the capacity to own so many cars we’d all have given the chance - that you share them with us is such a privilege.
Thank you mate - God’s riches blessings on you and yours.
This is so much better than the usual new Porsche, Ferrari and BMW cars you seem to concentrate on. More older cars please Harry, how about a Blower Bentley!
One of the best looking cars ever built. Oh and that V8!
This is my dream car. Always be, always will.
My all time dream car, bar none. It's the car I promised myself when I was 16 and I was hoping either yourself or Mr Tyrell would feature it at some point. If I could have only 1 car for the rest of my life, this would be it.
My dream car! In the best possible configuration... Thank you so much Harry for this great review!
This for me is one of the greatest cars ever made!! It's totally brilliant!
OMG, what a truly outstanding car! I watched this four times, please let my premium bonds come good.
When I was 19 I visited an official open day at Newport Pagnell and Bloxham sites(in my trusty 1.1 MK1 Ford Fiesta (now in my late 40's). At Bloxham (where the DB7 was being built) I was lucky enough to be allowed to sit in the drivers of a magnificent Suffolk Red Vantage by a very kind generous owner. I never got to experience it being driven on the road. Your video Harry takes me back to that once in a lifetime moment to that great day.
HARRY, Thank You for really getting into these retro cars that really set the pulse racing...there will always be a huge popularity for these type of analogue machines, rather than these aneomic, limp wristed electric 'white good' type cars...please keep them coming, this type of review is very welcome. WOW! 😵 A real hairy-chested man's car! Great stuff! 😍 "Well done, 007!" 👍🏻
What an absolute beast / beauty, and that exhaust note is to die for. Epic British quality at its finest..
Young, this was my dream car. Now that little red Lancia in the back is attracting my attention.
Whatever faults this car might have, it's one of the coolest cars I've seen in Harry's Garage
Never seen Harry smile so much driving a car….not surprising, as I was too just listening to that engine….
I have watched loads of videos where the reviewer raged on about the engine sound, but this one really came across on video.
I think this is my favourite Harry’s Garage review. Would love to see this car on a long road trip video…
I fear such a trip video would largely consist of visits to petrol stations and conversations about range anxiety. I once had a Bristol 411 with the 6.3l V8 and that was a large part of the ownership experience. It's the only car I've had where I ran out of fuel when I thought I had sufficient but it just gulped what was left in the tank in about 5 miles. The petrol station I was driving to was 8 miles away. Every trip had to be planned around petrol station locations.
OMG. Gorgeous inside and out, one of my all time favorites. And the sound from that 7.0!! What a car
A dream car as a young man, a dream car today, fabulous look, engine and interior. This V8 is amazing. with time I warmed up to the weird V8 Vantage Zagato . Imho the very best of the 80s
I had an 86 V8 Vantage (in BRG) almost 20 yrs ago and loved every minute of the 4 yrs I owned it apart from when I had to fill it up - the only time I measured it I found 9.3 mpg. Gentle around town, an absolute beast when you floored it outside. You mentioned the indicator stalks - when I had to replace the steering lock etc it turned out it was off a Vauxhall Cavalier. I still have the beautiful leather toolkit and King Dick tools. Thanks for the memories!
Road & Track published a special edition, I still have it buried somewhere, and the Vantage was in there. I was 13 and had never heard of the car. I fell in love with that car by reading the article. Just a proper British muscle car. Wonderful, beautiful, fast!
Those were the days…! 👌🏼👌🏼 No tech distractions, just pure joy of driving and listening to the purity of that V8
Harry. Of ALL the cars you’ve reviewed this is the one I’d love to own
It’s brutal and beautiful . I could spend many happy hours just looking at it 😍
My 5 year old son just said (2024): ‘that’s a nice car dad, are going to buy one?’ I just smiled and thought: This thing is timeless….😌
That "point of resistance" early on the steering feel whilst stationary is probably the elasticity within the tyre tread - ie once you heve got the tread turning on the asphalt, it can go. But the carcass and tread will try to pull it back - until the wheels are turning.
I think you may be right.
@@Paul58069- Especially with those fat tyres and their tall sidewalls! Much more elasticity in them compared to modern low profile ones!
Amazing! That torque curve is not a curve, it’s a plateau. One of the flattest I’ve ever seen. And it sounds great, revs so freely and you can hear it breathing. Quad 48 downdraught Webers glorious! Then there’s the looks and the luxury inside. £400,000 indeed!. £25,000 VAT on the restomod… he’s paid for Big Ben 😀
Quad?
Yes quad or 4 if you prefer
@@Rugbyman269 OK, so it's 4 2-barrel carbs not 8 singles?
Probably my favourite HG video
OMG, that’s my old car, I built those history files with all the old tax discs etc. I bought it from Nick Mee when he still had his London showroom. One of only 4 painted in Royal Cherry, I won my first AMOC concours at Chatsworth House with that car. I quick myself regularly for selling it, I wish I had kept it forever. Nice to see it again even if a later owner has spoiled it with that RSW 7.0 engine. ❤ I’ve also driven it down the runway at RAF Cottesmore at over 140 mph, brilliant, brilliant car !
For me that’s one of the most exciting cars you have reviewed 👍 brilliant work
Wonderful review. Still my most favourite Aston Martin. Back then car design was so much more tasteful and timeless. What a very special V8 Vantage you showed us here.
Might be the best sounding and musical V8 I've ever heard, just brilliant. Very well recored too, gave me goosebumps.
Thats an absolute gem of a car. Beautiful colour combination, but the best thing about it has to be the noise. That V8 sound id so pure and intoxicating.
This is so different from todays cars. The EV shit with all the same output and character. The difference from the Porsche- Aston- Ferrari is so wide and fascinating. love that. Also the love of cars coming from you (Harry) is what our hearts love
One for my lottery win garage without doubt. Sublime. Best sounding V8 of all time? Cultured yet menacing.
Such a handsome car!
That car screams “controlled aggression” with its phenomenal muscled looks and the bellow of the engine. Lovely car. Lovely sound. What a handsome beast. A very good expression - “Brute in a Suit.”
The beast. I remember as a lad seeing one of these and thought it's luxury like a Rolls and power like a Ferrari/Lamborghini. I was hooked as it's a real muscle car. Love it. Love it Love it.
I had a car magazine that featured one of these 7ltr conversions as well as the recently launched Vantage V550 twin supercharged. If you compared the figures of the much older 7ltr to the twin supercharged brand new car they were nigh on identical across the speed range. Mad!
from what i remember all the way to 150mph the two traded fastest times. Even in gear times were so close, one being slightly quicker to 20 the other 30 on and on trading back and forth all the way from 10mph to 150mph!
An all-time favourite car. It’s reassuring to hear you found the steering disconcerting, working in Bauer Millet Manchester back in the late 90’s I was asked to drive a customers POW Vantage Volante a short distance. It’s the only car I’ve really struggled to drive with its steering and the bite point of the clutch.
This with the 7.0 and the way it’s been forever maintained is spectacular! Sounds so so good.
Owned by a musician from Wigan by any chance?
@@none3763 Not that i remember. It belonged to a friend of the owner who was son of a Lord or something, lived in Cumbria from what I remember. I don’t pay any attention to him, just that I was being given the keys to a POW!
@@andrewsanjayprasad :)
My favorite car on the channel ever.
I did a treasure hunt in one 20 years ago and have loved them ever since. Owned modern Astons, since then, but the original V8 is the ultimate for me. Just perfection.
I want that one, a lot
Thank you Harry
I want one too- nearly bought one 20 years ago- so wish I had
@@MrBerry67 me too
Aston Martin street art - In years to come associating sound with performance will be a thing of the past, I don't think you will ever hear anyone say "wow your electric motors have a wonderful whine".
My favourite car when I was a kid and still is. A Ferrari performance with Rolls Royce comfort Aston are still the best!
Perfection!
When design, proportions, performance and sound comes together in the perfect way.
It has been said on other motoring stages; This is poetry in motion.
Thanks to Harry for taking us with him on a quite rare experience.
Harry your a legend. This Aston is proper 80’s. I’m an F40, P959 , Testorossa, Dino, 328, 928, 911 (all) 308Gts now own AM V12s 7 speed man which was 35 years too late but would have ruled. McLaren 720s next if it doesn’t break…
i’ve never seen harry this enthusiastic while reviewing a car..
awesome video,, awesome car..
Harrys collection of vintage car magazines and his ability to utilise them as he does is impressive 👏
I’m surprised Harry didn’t spring for this car himself. His 80s exotics are looking dated, but this Aston is absolutely timeless.
In what I'm sure is a complete coincidence, Ben Collins Drives just had on the DB5 development car for the V8 engine, with the logbook full of trips and notes by Tadek Marek during his testing of it. Normally scrapped, this prototype somehow survived and has been fully restored. Well worth a look!
I forgot to add that it's also had its engine bored out to 7.0 too.
That is just spectacular. A true British muscle car. Sounds amazing!
Thanks Harry for those memories back in 1985 reading Road & Track magazine world fastest cars beating the likes of Jaguar Xjs ,Porsche 911 turbo,928 S,Ruf 911 turbo,Ferrari 512 BBI,Lamborghini Countach and BMW M635 that I still have that issue of the magazine
Beautiful Aston Martin ❤❤❤ I watch your channel from Ukraine🇺🇦🇬🇧
Whereabouts in Ukraine? Good luck, stay safe!
Keep strong !! 💪👊👍
@@richardharrold9736I'm from the city of Dnipro. Thank you!
@@bloke755thank you very much🤝
@@DIMonDef that's where Zelensky is from, isn't it? Pretty close to the front lines!
This is my favourite car of all time .
Magnificent machine!
The 1st time i saw one of those, it blasted past me on the way to Le Mans, just came off the ferry and had no idea what was coming. Bentleys and Astons flying pass...best days of my life...going to Le mans.
I loved it when James May reviewed this during early Top Gear. "The Aston is the quite bloke in the corner, with a paper and his pint. And one day, he stood up, took them all outside and gave them a bloody good hiding".
Love it. I've come across the 7.0 conversion before at a filling station. Caused quite a stir especially with bonnets up alongside my V12 XJ-S. Very special engine in a great looking Aston. Really enjoyed that video 👍
I imagine the filling station is a popular spot. 😂
Now that's a proper car!!!!!❤❤❤❤
One of the cars that would sit right by the entrance to my dream cars garage putting big smile on my face every time I'd open the door.
We had one standing in the corner of the garage, a customer left it and my dad thought he might never come back to pick it up. He did 8 years later 😬 It was the car I played in pretending I was racing driver when I went with my dad to work
From an era when cars ...and their owners still had style.
My wife commented on the fact that there was no info screen in the car and how much better it makes the dash look without them.
@@HONDAVFRV4
Definitely.
That engine is absolutely incredible. Great shots and sound!
Love how Harry has dressed up to drive an Aston Martin! A proper car!
My residing memory of a Vantage was whilst cycling over Vauxhall bridge in the mid to late eighties as one passed me. The good gentleman then proceeded to floor the beast and the sound of that bright red, V8 monster, thundering over the crest of the bridge brings a broad smile to my chops to this day. Bloody marvellous!