We review the Aston Martin Virage Volante from price to economy and all its features
A GROUP of old Spanish men standing outside a bar applauded as I drove past in Aston Martin’s new Virage Volante.
Half an hour later, school children waved as I drove past their school.
Two age groups at opposite ends of the scale but with one thing in common — an appreciation of the Aston factor.
And the new Virage is the latest confirmation that they are producing the best cars in their chequered history.
More importantly, they are selling more of them than ever before — 40,000 in the past decade compared with just 7,000 in the previous 25 years.
Aston also have the most famous customer in the world — one James Bond is back behind the wheel. And for good measure Aston have been voted the Coolest Brand in the country.
They also have the biggest and most diverse line-up they’ve ever had, from the dinky Cygnet city car to the four-seat Rapide and the One-77, the ultimate supercar at £1.2million.
And on the way is an electric version of the Cygnet and the return next year of the Lagonda name, with the firm’s first 4x4. Aston are unrecognisable from the glamorous but flawed sports car firm that bankrupted several owners.
Today, they are owned by Middle East investors but the heart remains firmly at the state-of-the-art Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, far removed from the ageing and rundown old home in Newport Pagnell, Bucks.
The catalyst for the change has been their brilliant German boss Ulrich Bez, a former senior Porsche and BMW engineer with the motoring Midas touch.
Bez has masterminded the Aston revival from a firm living on past glories to a thoroughly modern brand able to take on Ferrari.
He is a perfectionist who demands the highest standards and his vision is to push Aston into the super-luxury elite of the motoring world.
Bez also wants the company to be profitable, something they frequently failed to be in the past but a target that has been achieved for the past six years, helped by the average price of an Aston rising 50 per cent in the past three years to more than £100,000.
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In the past Aston’s customer base was very much the UK, today they are an international brand with 80 per cent of buyers now from outside our shores.
ASTON MARTIN’S design boss Marek Reichman says his job is to create cars everyone remembers.
His latest memorable creation is the Virage – a car that marries beauty and power in one potent package.
It reminds me of a thoroughbred stallion with a perfectly proportioned body and taut muscular lines that glisten in the sunshine.
Critics say it is too much like other Astons but look closely and you see lots of subtle differences, starting with the LED headlights and the deeper aluminium grille.
What is not in question is that the Virage is achingly beautiful in a way few other cars can match, with an incredible attention to detail.
Sitting between the DB9 and the more hardcore DBS, it is a GT two-door coupe with a Jekyll and Hyde personality.
The Virage has the ability to go from long-distance cruiser devouring miles in luxurious comfort at speeds well in excess of 150mph, to an out-and-out supercar.
It manages this thanks to a glorious 6litre V12 engine capable of 186mph and 0-62mph in a blur of 4.6 seconds when you engage sport mode. And the Virage hugs the road like a second skin, courtesy of an adaptive damping system, a limited slip differential and technology I don’t understand.
You also get ceramic brakes that can stop the Virage on an old sixpence, reassuring when you consider the speeds the car is capable of. Having seduced you with its design, the car then pampers you with luxury and handcrafted quality.
Sumptuous The instruments have the intricate detail of a Swiss watch, the sumptuous leather sports seats and doors are lovingly trimmed with handstitching and everything you touch has a feel of pure quality.
The 700 watt Dolby Prologic music system delivers concert hall levels of sound but the best sound comes from the deep velvety roar of the V12 engine, which is why you constantly change gear using the F1 paddles.
It’s also why customers will happily pay £160,000 for the Volante or £150,000 for the coupe – and why I was gutted when I had to hand back the keys.