Aston Martin’s Twin-Supercharged Supercar, Finished in Rolls Royce Royal Blue Over Gray and Dark Blue Connolly Leather, Showing 20,600 km.
Seller Asking: $225,000
In the early 1990s, Aston Martin was in the doldrums, the company’s first new coupe in nearly 20 years –the Virage– debuted in 1989 to mixed reviews and rather uninspired sales. With Ford’s acquisition of the company in 1992, they received a significant boost in capital and engineering ability, but an all-new car was still at least a few years off. In an effort to spice up the model line until the upcoming DB7 was ready, Aston Martin engineers set off on an ambitious project to turn the Virage into a supercar-beating grand touring coupe. Using the Vantage name which has always signified the performance variant in Aston Martin speak, in 1992 the 330 horsepower Virage became the 550 horsepower twin-supercharged Vantage V550. Claimed by Aston Martin to be capable of 186 mph, period road tests pinned the top end closer to 200 mph, putting it right near the top of the list of fastest cars in the world at the time.
This 1995 Vantage V550 was delivered new on November 16th, 1995 through Hamburg-based Aston Martin supplier Car & Driver Automobiles and is the 111th example out of 233 produced. Each Vantage V550 was built to order for the original owner and this is the only one finished in “Rolls Royce Royal Blue” paired to gray and dark blue interior finishings. Factory order documents show that this car was initially destined for Paris and featured an entirely different specification- but a last-minute cancellation led Car & Driver Automobiles to land with an extra allocation. The car only stayed in Germany for 3 months prior to being exported to Japan in February of 1996 where it remained until coming to the United States in the fall of 2017.
Although the body of the Vantage V550 was similar to that found on the Virage, in reality, the two shared nothing more than the roof and doors. The exaggerated, bulging fenders of the Vantage are the first thing that strikes you when you look at it but the changes in design go deeper than that. In front, the new hood design features a large “power bump” in the middle to fit the superchargers, and extractor vents near the windshield keep under-hood temperatures down. In contrast to the rather dated-looking slab tail lights of the Virage, Vantages were all fitted with quad-round taillights that harken back to classic Aston designs and fit the rear of the car much better.
In typical Aston Martin fashion, the interior of the Vantage V550 is a splendid place to be, covered in glossy wood and fine high-quality leather. The one thing that these cars are derided for more than anything else is the Ford steering wheel which would be familiar to any Taurus or F150 owner in the era and was used to fit the Aston Martin with an airbag. But the fact of the matter is, when you’re behind the wheel and driving the car, that criticism quickly fades and you are taken by everything else the car brings to the table. In this Vantage, the Recaro seats are finished in beautiful medium-gray Connolly leather with dark blue piping, and the signature Recaro seat adjustment panels are covered in burl wood to match the rest of the interior. The grey leather also covers the center console, lower dash, rear seats, and door cards- but dark blue leather on the shift boot and dash-upper was specially ordered and provides great contrast.
What makes a Vantage V550 so exceptionally unique is what lies under the hood. Aston Martin took the DOHC 5.3-liter V8 from the Virage and lowered the compression in order to fit two Eaton M90 roots-style superchargers. This modification made for 550 horsepower and 555 lb-ft of torque at a mere 4,000 rpm. Although technically only offered with a manual transmission, some select customers were able to option an automatic like what is found in this car. Given the massive amount of power and torque, the manual gearboxes were notoriously troublesome and often caused issues, making the automatic a more reliable choice and also allowing the driver to keep both hands on the wheel when they put their foot down. The brakes on the Vantage V550 come from AP Racing and were the largest units ever put on a production car at the time which was needed to slow down this nearly 4,400 lb vehicle. Records show that the car was treated to a thorough servicing by an east coast Aston Martin specialist in 2021 and is in very good mechanical condition throughout.
Although the Vantage V550 didn’t win the top-speed wars of the early 1990s, it was far closer than an upright, heavy grand touring car had any right to be. Now, nearly 30 years after its introduction, the Vantage V550 represents a special part in Aston Martin's history as one of the final, truly out-there projects, completed prior to a full takeover by Ford just a few years later. These cars were never imported to the United States when new and it isn’t known how many have made their way over but if the number is in the double digits, it would be surprising. If you are looking for a collector car that is tremendously fast and even the most jaded enthusiast will be shocked to see, there really isn’t anything that will do the job better than this Aston Martin.
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