I owned an 86 V8 injection, then bought an 89 Vantage X pack. My girlfriend's mom named it Arnold (Shwarzenegger!). Glorious thing. Perfect tonic after a shitty day in London, blasting out to the Sir Charles Napier pub in Chinnor, Oxfordshire (the best "pub" in the word - draught champagne, heli-pad, best owner - Julie). But ... a regular service at Newport Pagnell cost me GBP 11,500. And that pissed me off a lot! So ... I sold it and decided to buy a car that cost GBP 11,500 - a Clio Williams, also a great car. Deeeeeeeeply regret not keeping them both.
I've owned pleb versions of this car...Alfa's. Afla Romeos in Australia aren't the insanely cheap price they are in the UK so don't roll your eyes just yet... I remember my 1st car was an Alfa 159 JTS TI - the TI had 19inch wheels, factory lower, factory tune and it just looked great. It was $12,500 AUD back in 2010 and it changed my life. Fuck I love that car. Well, after a few months I realised why it was $12,500 and the frequent and expensive servicing after it made me realise...the car SHOULD of been 35k but everyone (but me) knew the ownership cost and as such lower the price to offset the stupid repairs. I've now gone back to the same generation Afla and own a 939 spider....so sexy and its 19 years old with 45,000 km on the clock. Thanks for listening to my ted talk
@daenglishpatient I can’t feel sorry for you. With such a story of glamour and decadence I can’t feel in any way sad that you didn’t have the foresight to keep the vantageX or that you had shitty days in London.😅
One of the best looking cars ever built. Has a perfect balance of curves and areas that appear straight. Oh one downside if you own that car and you live in the US, everyone is going to say 'Wow! Dude that's a really cool Mustang!"
While I own an Aston now, this is the Aston of my childhood that got me hooked on the brand. I can't think of a brand that has designed and style continually stunning cars. Many others can lay claim to having a few models that were gorgeous however, Aston Martin surely must hold the record for putting into production model after model of stunning cars since the 1950's. Many are simply timeless.
I was born in 1976. As a kid, I used to LOVE sketching cars. THIS CAR is the one I based ALL my other cars on, especially that front end. Those Wheel Arches that turn into that front air dam... THAT GRILLE, THOSE FOG LAMPS ❤
The fact you filmed this at Compton Abbas just made my heart jump with joy. I used to spend many a moons sending my old fiesta up and down Zig zag hill and along those roads back when I was 17.
Lovely lovely car. I remember Victor Gauntlet had a X Pack in Dark Green Metallic with Cream Leather and Green Carpets. It looked sensational back then and they still do today...
The best Bond car? I think so. British Mustang is a hilarious way to discount it but that only just means it's certifiably stunning And the noise. It's odd to me you could buy one in the 80s but what a wonderful anachronism in 1990 Such a great way to get Harris to talk about a classic car for a few mins tooo
I've been in love with this car since I saw it on the front cover of issue 2 of Fast Lane magazine in May 1984. A light green example that just blew me away. It's a very, very special machine. Great to see it getting some attention.
9 หลายเดือนก่อน +13
Love these cars. Absolutely beautiful. It’s hard to believe they sold this dinosaur in 1990. I bet people thought it looked “dated” back then
Not half. It is from the 1960s, it was considered so dated by 1977 that Bond moved on to a Lotus. When they made the Dalton Bond film in ‘86 it was only due to the efforts of the company Chairman that it was back on screen - but it was by then a 20yr old car. By 1990 it was ancient. Something has happened about 20yrs ago to make this car uber cool again. I reckon it’s because with the bluff front it looks so different to sleek modern cars. It looks somehow much more manly.
Keep in mind that the V8 was continually refined throughout its life. An earlier car with a bonnet scoop and GKN wheels looks positively dated, whereas a late car with the fliptail, Ronals and Bentley-like interior can still hold its own. As Nicholas Mee said in one of his videos, if you park a late-80s V8 outside the Connaught, it wouldn't look out of place next to modern Ferraris etc. Up close, they have a razor-edge design that looks surprising modern but the chrome bumpers keeps them classic.
I love the way this Aston looks as if its paying homage to the mustang of the mid 60s early 70s. Totally straight forward specimen of automotive desgin
i must say at 66 this is one of the most beautiful cars alone with jag e type, 911, 300 sl, citroen ds , miura, BEAUTIFUL CARS EVER.......................
Brought back fond memories from when I used to live down the road from the Newport Pagnell factory. Aston Martin used a dual carriageway nearby to test drive these cars. I can still remember the wonderful sound they made as they were put through their paces down that piece of road. The police just used to turn a blind eye to all of this.
Had one of those for a weekend, same colour, same spec. Totally blown away by it, THE very very best car I have ever driven, such presence, power and oh my god, the design is definitely perfection. I'll have one when my numbers come up! 😎
Staggering, spectacular and sensational. We will never see their like again.To think the dear old and much loved 1967 DBS was the father of this wonderful vehicle.
Wonderful. The car I want more than any other now. Always loved them, from reading the test in 'Fast Lane' to hiring and driving one myself in a treasure hunt years ago. One of the greatest.
I love Chris Harris. If I was king I’d give him a knighthood. He absolutely loves his cars. I’ve followed him since his first days at Evo. A proper Ledge xx
YES! Loved it 2 seconds into the video. The fact that it's owned by the legend that is Jay Kay is just going to be the icing on the cake for some very fortunate new owner. Magnificent machine 👏🏼
My all time favorite car. I drove a Prince of Wales edition a few months ago and I fell in love. It’s gorgeous, the noise is incredibly, the smell of the leather is amazing. Unfortunately my wallet doesn’t allow me to buy one.
The AMV8 of any series were the last "old school" Aston Martins worth having. These refined brutes give an enormously satisfying feedback to the lucky driver.
One of the most best looking Aston Martins of all time imo! And maybe even one of the best looking cars ever made. 6:52 cheeky little 996 GT3 RS w/ blue stripes peeking from behind there!
I'd really love it if you could do a review and drive of a Porsche 928 s4 from 1990 as well, I've recently inherited one and think they deserve so much more love than they currently get.
Something the Ford Mustang always wanted to be! What a rare super sexy GT fast beast with proper carburetors and a look and engine sound to die for! The iconic Vantage X-Pack on steroids 💪🔥🖤
The Original and best V8 Vantage. The latest updated V8 Vantage is a great effort from Aston Martin and is close in the desirability stakes but you'd always have this original version in the collection......Legend !!
As a life long car SUPER NERD, this is one of the first real exotics I ever saw… on the end of Long Island at a little place called Montauk, NY. Very foggy morning, car just looked mean and very comfortable. I was on a fishing trip with my mom at 5 years old and I instantly fell in love. The body lines, the beautiful curves, headlights, bonnet (hood/power) bulge. This is one of the cars that started my journey/obsession next to the Viper. In the early 90s, these were my dream cars next to a Countach.
I have loved the Aston Martin V8 Vantage since the first time I saw James May drive one on Top Gear. I believe it was a 77 or 78. Just a beautiful car that made a beautiful sound. And the red 77 V8 Vantage that Rowan Atkinson drives in "Johnny English Strikes Again" was the real star of that movie in my opinion. But I wouldn't want to own one, I would spend way too much time cleaning it, because I couldn't stand to have any dirt or heaven forbid bug guts on it, and when driving worrying about other drivers hitting it because they can't leave their phones alone, than I would just enjoying the drive, the feel and that angelic rumble from that V8.
One of the great pleasures of these is to open the bonnet, get in, start it up, and see the engine shimmy from side to side as you blip the throttle. That's a "shaker" Aston...😀
These just look like the best blend between 60's American muscle cars and Aston sleek. I see more than a few design elements, taking cue from the '67 Camaro, which is brilliant.
My first introduction to the brand (v6 version a few years earlier) fast forward 50 years I now have the privilege of selling them for a living “making dreams come true”
@@BSM7702I’m hoping he was being sarcastic…nothing wrong with early Mustangs but the Aston Martin doesn’t need to be compared to anything, especially mass-production cars with basic mechanicals.
A golf gti 16v had 136bhp The 8v had 1112bhp . This is my favourite car of all time, I’d have this colour , a lighter interior and get a 7 litre conversion done . Boom job done .
My school friends dad had a convertible version in the mid 90’s in a light blue metallic, with a dark blue hood and dark blue and parchment leather, stunning beast. They also had a UR S6 avant, so pretty much perfect 2 car garage. Hopefully we’ll be seeing some more,of the 996 GT3RS that snuck into one of the shots towards the end
As an American boy growing up in the '70s I was surrounded by Ford Mustangs and never really understood the appeal. They looked interesting enough but I didn't really get it. The first time I saw a V8 Vantage I was smitten and (right or wrong) I decided the Mustang design was heavily inspired by it. While it always seemed to me that the Mustang was designed to be popular to the masses the Vantage (really any Aston) is designed to be. A singular unapologetic vision for that model. I still love to see them although I've never seen one in person here in the U.S. Maybe someday.....
You do not think a 1960s Mustang was beautiful. The difference with America luxury was that a working class man could buy them if he worked hard. British and European Luxury cars were the price of a house and only the most elite wealth got to drive them. It is probably the reason why Europe would not exist today if America was not backing it.
It had that amazing Tadek Marek designed 5340CC V8. It only got 432 BHP in the Zagato version so the X pack was very close to the super special and rare Zagato bodied cars. When this engine was retired at the end of the Virage run it was up to 550 or 600 BHP in the celebration Lemans edition before Aston stopped putting an engine they designed and made into their cars. This is of course why they command such large prices now.
Zagato engine was the same V580X The extra power from 410-420 ish to the full fat of 432bhp was from different manifolds, bored out carbs (from 48mm) to 50mm and a bigger airbox and intake trunking. It was then (and still is) an option from Aston Works and many Vantages had had it done both from new and since
Gotta be the coolest looking Aston Martin of all time.
This comment is an affront to the DB5 and you know it.
The one in the last Bond Movie .....
aston martin works virage 6.3
DB 7 Zagatto for me
not even in the top 10
I owned an 86 V8 injection, then bought an 89 Vantage X pack. My girlfriend's mom named it Arnold (Shwarzenegger!). Glorious thing. Perfect tonic after a shitty day in London, blasting out to the Sir Charles Napier pub in Chinnor, Oxfordshire (the best "pub" in the word - draught champagne, heli-pad, best owner - Julie). But ... a regular service at Newport Pagnell cost me GBP 11,500. And that pissed me off a lot! So ... I sold it and decided to buy a car that cost GBP 11,500 - a Clio Williams, also a great car. Deeeeeeeeply regret not keeping them both.
I've owned pleb versions of this car...Alfa's. Afla Romeos in Australia aren't the insanely cheap price they are in the UK so don't roll your eyes just yet...
I remember my 1st car was an Alfa 159 JTS TI - the TI had 19inch wheels, factory lower, factory tune and it just looked great. It was $12,500 AUD back in 2010 and it changed my life. Fuck I love that car. Well, after a few months I realised why it was $12,500 and the frequent and expensive servicing after it made me realise...the car SHOULD of been 35k but everyone (but me) knew the ownership cost and as such lower the price to offset the stupid repairs.
I've now gone back to the same generation Afla and own a 939 spider....so sexy and its 19 years old with 45,000 km on the clock.
Thanks for listening to my ted talk
@@KeenJTstill not in the same league
@daenglishpatient I can’t feel sorry for you. With such a story of glamour and decadence I can’t feel in any way sad that you didn’t have the foresight to keep the vantageX or that you had shitty days in London.😅
@@rossbethell4187 😂 ...thanks for the sympathy ...
Nice - Renault Clio 👍🏼
One of the best looking cars ever built. Has a perfect balance of curves and areas that appear straight.
Oh one downside if you own that car and you live in the US, everyone is going to say 'Wow! Dude that's a really cool Mustang!"
That's part of why I like it so much. It has just the right amount of Mustang with British interior.
I never understood Mustang comparisons. Apart from 4 wheels, to headlamps, and two doors, the two cars couldn't be more different.
While I own an Aston now, this is the Aston of my childhood that got me hooked on the brand. I can't think of a brand that has designed and style continually stunning cars. Many others can lay claim to having a few models that were gorgeous however, Aston Martin surely must hold the record for putting into production model after model of stunning cars since the 1950's. Many are simply timeless.
A proper "gentleman's express". The best looking and sounding Aston ever. What a thing! 😎
I mean I drive a Hyundai Kona EV, you could justifiably argue I've given up on cars. But this is just perfect. What a machine.
It's one thing to be a petrolhead in action, and one to be one in mind. It doesn't really matter what you choose though, life's not that serious. :)
I think the Kona EV is an amazing EV
You've taken up washing machines instead.
I was born in 1976. As a kid, I used to LOVE sketching cars. THIS CAR is the one I based ALL my other cars on, especially that front end. Those Wheel Arches that turn into that front air dam... THAT GRILLE, THOSE FOG LAMPS ❤
The fact you filmed this at Compton Abbas just made my heart jump with joy. I used to spend many a moons sending my old fiesta up and down Zig zag hill and along those roads back when I was 17.
Live close, and still do! :-)
Best car I ever took up that hill was a Boxster. I had a V8 Westfield and embarrassed myself. Lived in West Moors.
I used to drive over from Salisbury night or day to blast around on those roads. Spectacular area all round.
@@roycewIlkie I was raised in Gillingham :)
My dream car for a very long time.
Lovely lovely car. I remember Victor Gauntlet had a X Pack in Dark Green Metallic with Cream Leather and Green Carpets. It looked sensational back then and they still do today...
The best Bond car? I think so. British Mustang is a hilarious way to discount it but that only just means it's certifiably stunning
And the noise. It's odd to me you could buy one in the 80s but what a wonderful anachronism in 1990
Such a great way to get Harris to talk about a classic car for a few mins tooo
I absolutely love this era of Aston Martin. Been into these beauties since the late 60’s , but it was this incarnation that really stole my heart.
I've been in love with this car since I saw it on the front cover of issue 2 of Fast Lane magazine in May 1984. A light green example that just blew me away. It's a very, very special machine. Great to see it getting some attention.
Love these cars. Absolutely beautiful. It’s hard to believe they sold this dinosaur in 1990. I bet people thought it looked “dated” back then
Not half. It is from the 1960s, it was considered so dated by 1977 that Bond moved on to a Lotus. When they made the Dalton Bond film in ‘86 it was only due to the efforts of the company Chairman that it was back on screen - but it was by then a 20yr old car. By 1990 it was ancient. Something has happened about 20yrs ago to make this car uber cool again. I reckon it’s because with the bluff front it looks so different to sleek modern cars. It looks somehow much more manly.
Probably because Aston decided to style it after a 1960's Mustang
Keep in mind that the V8 was continually refined throughout its life. An earlier car with a bonnet scoop and GKN wheels looks positively dated, whereas a late car with the fliptail, Ronals and Bentley-like interior can still hold its own. As Nicholas Mee said in one of his videos, if you park a late-80s V8 outside the Connaught, it wouldn't look out of place next to modern Ferraris etc. Up close, they have a razor-edge design that looks surprising modern but the chrome bumpers keeps them classic.
I love the way this Aston looks as if its paying homage to the mustang of the mid 60s early 70s. Totally straight forward specimen of automotive desgin
Of course it was designed in the mid 60s and introduced in 1967.
Intoxicating… Great car inside and out!
The greatest car ever, I've always loved them since my dad took me to the 1978 Nec motor show and the X pack is the icing on the cake
One of the most fabulous cars of all time
My favourite Aston which I'd have in my dream car garage.
One of my all time favourite cars, and hands down favourite Aston!
i must say at 66 this is one of the most beautiful cars alone with jag e type, 911, 300 sl, citroen ds , miura, BEAUTIFUL CARS EVER.......................
My favourite car. Full stop.
Same
The best looking Aston Martin of all time
The Cygnet is better imo
100 percent
@@thginKxelA😂😂😂😂
That's the most beautiful Ford Mustang I have ever seen!
Exactly what I was thinking..... I still like it, but it looks like a Mustang,
So glad to hear you love it Chris....as SO DO I, from the moment it was released in 1977 !!
I can't think of a car I want more. Honestly. ❤
I've loved the look of these since the early 80's. The engine sound is glorious. Unfortunately I've never even seen one in person yet. Thank you.
Brought back fond memories from when I used to live down the road from the Newport Pagnell factory. Aston Martin used a dual carriageway nearby to test drive these cars. I can still remember the wonderful sound they made as they were put through their paces down that piece of road. The police just used to turn a blind eye to all of this.
Had one of those for a weekend, same colour, same spec. Totally blown away by it, THE very very best car I have ever driven, such presence, power and oh my god, the design is definitely perfection. I'll have one when my numbers come up! 😎
I remember as a kid going to the Birmingham Motor Show seeing this car, along with the Jaguar XJ220. Those were the two that stayed in my memory.
Same with me! I saw a brand new V8 Vantage at the Glasgow Motor Show when I was a kid and I fell in love it!
One of my all time favourite designs. Awesome video as well!
Staggering, spectacular and sensational. We will never see their like again.To think the dear old and much loved 1967 DBS was the father of this wonderful vehicle.
Jay Kay’s car. If those seats could talk. 🔥
They do lol
Wonderful. The car I want more than any other now. Always loved them, from reading the test in 'Fast Lane' to hiring and driving one myself in a treasure hunt years ago. One of the greatest.
Rare to see Mr Harris speech less, I have always loved the V8 they are just brutal
The only Aston I would own. Drooled over them for 40 odd years
I love Chris Harris. If I was king I’d give him a knighthood. He absolutely loves his cars. I’ve followed him since his first days at Evo. A proper Ledge xx
One of my favourites...gorgeous!
I could look at the engine its self all day long, its a work of art, and then there is the sound too.
I actually gasped when I saw the thumbnail for this vantage
YES! Loved it 2 seconds into the video. The fact that it's owned by the legend that is Jay Kay is just going to be the icing on the cake for some very fortunate new owner. Magnificent machine 👏🏼
This car is perfection! 'The brute in a suit' has such road presence. My favourite Aston/car ever! 😍
For me, the best looking Aston ever! ❤
Absolute gorgeous car! Was one of my poster cars back in the mid-eighties.
Probably one of the best cars of all time. Gorgeous.
One of our all time fa favorite vehicles. It crushes in every way! 🏁
My all time favorite car. I drove a Prince of Wales edition a few months ago and I fell in love. It’s gorgeous, the noise is incredibly, the smell of the leather is amazing. Unfortunately my wallet doesn’t allow me to buy one.
The AMV8 of any series were the last "old school" Aston Martins worth having. These refined brutes give an enormously satisfying feedback to the lucky driver.
Stunning. The DB5 and DB4 are the iconic Astons- but this holds its own.
It's one of those great hits of Aston that you put on Ur sunglasses, the tunes you like and go round the French Riviera and end up in San Trope...❤
Not an Aston fan but this thing is absolute beautiful. One of britains finest exports, along with Mr. Harris.
One of the most best looking Aston Martins of all time imo! And maybe even one of the best looking cars ever made.
6:52 cheeky little 996 GT3 RS w/ blue stripes peeking from behind there!
Who cares about VW's if you enjoy a beautiful real aristocratic car like the Vantage?
I'd really love it if you could do a review and drive of a Porsche 928 s4 from 1990 as well, I've recently inherited one and think they deserve so much more love than they currently get.
I drove that one, it was terrible, so much problems with it.
My absolute favourite car of all time. Beautiful, and am I allowed to say ‘manly’? I’ll never afford to own one but I can dream.
Still one of the best looking Astons ever created, hell, one of the best looking cars ever created period, would love to own one 🥹
Something the Ford Mustang always wanted to be! What a rare super sexy GT fast beast with proper carburetors and a look and engine sound to die for! The iconic Vantage X-Pack on steroids 💪🔥🖤
What a beautiful car ! 🤗
The Original and best V8 Vantage. The latest updated V8 Vantage is a great effort from Aston Martin and is close in the desirability stakes but you'd always have this original version in the collection......Legend !!
This car is such a vibe
Contender for my favourite car ever, simply love it
My favourite car of all time ❤❤❤❤
As a life long car SUPER NERD, this is one of the first real exotics I ever saw… on the end of Long Island at a little place called Montauk, NY. Very foggy morning, car just looked mean and very comfortable. I was on a fishing trip with my mom at 5 years old and I instantly fell in love. The body lines, the beautiful curves, headlights, bonnet (hood/power) bulge. This is one of the cars that started my journey/obsession next to the Viper. In the early 90s, these were my dream cars next to a Countach.
Yep, DB9 owner here. Love that car, absolutely drooling over this one…
Lucky
I can see some 80’s/90’s Vauxhall switchgear in there! Indicator stalks, ignition barrel etc…, just like my Dad’s Cavalier back in the day! 😂
Chris harris is now what John Davis of Motorweek was to us in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Absolute top notch.
Let's hope that later in life I'll be able to afford one of these. My favorite Aston Martin of them all
Wow this was owned by Jay Kay from Jamiroquai! My favorite band of all time! Epic!!!
I have loved the Aston Martin V8 Vantage since the first time I saw James May drive one on Top Gear. I believe it was a 77 or 78. Just a beautiful car that made a beautiful sound. And the red 77 V8 Vantage that Rowan Atkinson drives in "Johnny English Strikes Again" was the real star of that movie in my opinion. But I wouldn't want to own one, I would spend way too much time cleaning it, because I couldn't stand to have any dirt or heaven forbid bug guts on it, and when driving worrying about other drivers hitting it because they can't leave their phones alone, than I would just enjoying the drive, the feel and that angelic rumble from that V8.
What a road. Deserving of the car and presenter / channel.
I love this Vantage Model, she's like the 67 GT Mustang's British Cousin.👍👍👍
Sweet mustang.
right lol 20 year late mustang design, it is fab tho
One of the great pleasures of these is to open the bonnet, get in, start it up, and see the engine shimmy from side to side as you blip the throttle. That's a "shaker" Aston...😀
They filmed that at and near Compton Abbas airfield now owned by Guy Ritchie. Great part of the world with some great roads.
One of my favorite cars of all time ❤but come on Chris drive the damn thing..
Love it!! Looks so mean and purposeful!
Thank you Chris
@6:55 996 GT3 in blue casually lurking in the back
These just look like the best blend between 60's American muscle cars and Aston sleek. I see more than a few design elements, taking cue from the '67 Camaro, which is brilliant.
I believe that the X-Pack Vantage meant that it had the engine upgrades of the 1986 432bhp V8 Vantage Zagato.
All things considered this might be the coolest car ever.
Dad's got one in Chesterfield blue...it's stunning...xx.
Yup. Lotto purchase number one right there
That gorgeous car looks like the love child of a '67 Mustang fastback 390, (dad) & a '67 De Tomaso Pantera! (ma)
My first introduction to the brand (v6 version a few years earlier) fast forward 50 years I now have the privilege of selling them for a living “making dreams come true”
Great talk on a true classic.
Definitely one for my lottery winning bucket list.
Coolest Aston Martin of the last 40 years and it looks like a Ford Mustang.
excatly what i said!! XD
It’s still the best looking Aston, and the only one I’d make space for in my dream garage
@@BSM7702I’m hoping he was being sarcastic…nothing wrong with early Mustangs but the Aston Martin doesn’t need to be compared to anything, especially mass-production cars with basic mechanicals.
Absolutely gorgeous!
A golf gti 16v had 136bhp
The 8v had 1112bhp .
This is my favourite car of all time, I’d have this colour , a lighter interior and get a 7 litre conversion done .
Boom job done .
Loving the Chris Harris content!
My school friends dad had a convertible version in the mid 90’s in a light blue metallic, with a dark blue hood and dark blue and parchment leather, stunning beast. They also had a UR S6 avant, so pretty much perfect 2 car garage.
Hopefully we’ll be seeing some more,of the 996 GT3RS that snuck into one of the shots towards the end
A.M. ooze quality...and that smell...ow wow...and then the noise. This has so much character.
My all time favourite car is the 1980’s V8 Vantage Volante, but I’d settle for the coupe.
Always loved these!😍
You lucky man a truly amazing dream car
There's one of these that races in the Classic Thunder Saloons class, it's a beast.
I've got a few videos of it racing at Silverstone on my channel.
The Golf GTi you were referring to in 1990 with 136bhp would be the MK2 GTi 16v. Yes I had one, in Oak Green!
Correct.
However standard Gti was 1.8 8v with 110bhp so technically Mr Harris got it wrong
As an American boy growing up in the '70s I was surrounded by Ford Mustangs and never really understood the appeal. They looked interesting enough but I didn't really get it. The first time I saw a V8 Vantage I was smitten and (right or wrong) I decided the Mustang design was heavily inspired by it. While it always seemed to me that the Mustang was designed to be popular to the masses the Vantage (really any Aston) is designed to be. A singular unapologetic vision for that model. I still love to see them although I've never seen one in person here in the U.S. Maybe someday.....
You do not think a 1960s Mustang was beautiful. The difference with America luxury was that a working class man could buy them if he worked hard. British and European Luxury cars were the price of a house and only the most elite wealth got to drive them. It is probably the reason why Europe would not exist today if America was not backing it.
It had that amazing Tadek Marek designed 5340CC V8. It only got 432 BHP in the Zagato version so the X pack was very close to the super special and rare Zagato bodied cars. When this engine was retired at the end of the Virage run it was up to 550 or 600 BHP in the celebration Lemans edition before Aston stopped putting an engine they designed and made into their cars. This is of course why they command such large prices now.
Zagato engine was the same V580X
The extra power from 410-420 ish to the full fat of 432bhp was from different manifolds, bored out carbs (from 48mm) to 50mm and a bigger airbox and intake trunking.
It was then (and still is) an option from Aston Works and many Vantages had had it done both from new and since
I bow to your more thorough knowledge. Thanks for the update.@@chris1791
It's a gentleman's muscle car. I want one!