ASTON MARTIN VIRAGE | 4K | Test drive in top gear | SCC TV

Please support us by liking or sharing our videos. It is much appreciated. Thank you so much! The Aston Martin Virage is an automobile produced by British manufacturer Aston Martin as a replacement for its V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 1993, and the name of the standard car was changed to V8 Coupe in 1996. This V8-powered car was intended as the company’s top model, with the 6-cylinder 1994 DB7 positioned below it. Although the DB7 was switched to a V12 engine and claimed a performance advantage, this V8 model remained the exclusive, expensive, and hand-built flagship of the Aston Martin range. It was replaced in 2000 with the Vanquish. By the end of the 2000 model year, 1,050 of all Virage related models had been produced. The V8 Vantage name reappeared on a new entry-level model in 2005. A new generation Virage was introduced at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, to fit into the middle of Aston Martin’s current lineup. When compared to the preceding V8, the design was fresh and more modern. It looked more like a Lagonda than the V8 it replaced. Indeed, the chassis was an evolution of the Lagonda’s, with a de Dion tube rear suspension, located by triangulated radius rods and a Watts linkage, and a double wishbone unit at the front. To cut costs, many of the less-important pieces came from other companies, as had been the case for many an Aston past. The sleek headlights and taillights were Audi 200 and Volkswagen Scirocco units, respectively, while General Motors, Jaguar, and Ford provided the steering column, climate control panel, and dash switches. In fact, Ford had purchased Aston Martin and Jaguar shortly before the Virage debuted. The Virage was a large, heavy car in spite of its all-aluminium body, but the 32-valve 5.3 L (5,340 cc) V8 engine’s 494 N⋅m (364 lb⋅ft) torque elevated its performance to near super car levels. “Acceleration just never seems to run out“, claimed Sports Car International on a first test. They also praised the “eager and quicker revving“ nature of the 335 PS (246 kW; 330 hp) engine with its Callaway-designed heads and Weber-Marelli fuel injection. “Nothing sounds quite like an Aston V8,“ they concluded. The 1,790 kg (3,946 lb) car could reach 158 mph (254 km/h). The automatic could reach 60 mph (97 km/h) from standing in about 6.5 seconds. An upgrade to 354 PS (260 kW; 349 hp) was announced at the 1996 Geneva Show. The five-speed ZF manual was fitted to about forty percent of Virages. The more popular automatic option was Chrysler’s three-speed Torqueflite transmission. For 1993 the three-speed was replaced by a four-speed automatic unit. The six-speed manual from the Vantage also became optional late in the Virage’s production run. A less extreme V8 Coupe was also built from 1996, replacing the defunct Virage. Lacking the superchargers and the more aggressive body style of its big brother Vantage, the V8 Coupe produced 349 hp (260 kW) and 369 lb·ft (500 N·m). In total, 101 examples of the V8 version were built from 1996 through 2000.