1994 Aston Martin Vantage V600 – Auction Car of the Week
July 23, 2023
We’ve already mentioned this Aston Martin Vantage V600 in our recent Platinum Collection feature and quite frankly, we can’t stop thinking about it, hence why we’ve chosen it as Auction Car of the Week today. Just look at it! If cars could lift then the the Vantage V600 would be the equivalent Arnold Schwarzenegger poster boy of automotive culture. Already a hugely muscular car in terms of outright performance (not to mention those burly looks), the V600 was even stronger than the car upon which it was based, hitting all of its personal bests in between gulps of petrol-laced protein shake.
That boost came courtesy of none other than Aston Martin’s very own Works department in Newport Pagnell as a factory-supplied upgrade that was made available to all Vantage models in 1998 (itself a performance variant of the standard Virage). To put some figures to all of this, peak power from the car’s 5.3-litre, twin supercharged V8 was increased from an already mammoth 550bhp to a staggering 600, pushing its top speed to 200mph and cementing the Vantage’s legendary status overnight.
Upgrading this particular Vantage was professionally carried out in 2002 to the tune of £46,334 by the aforementioned AWS. You can have a read of the full specs in the detailed listing but suffice to say numerous performance enhancements were made, including modification to the two superchargers, an upgraded exhaust system and more powerful brakes, to name but three. The Marek Reichman-designed Vantage body was also fettled somewhat with a new grille and badges. As touched upon easier, all of these tweaks pushed the Vantage V600 into proper supercar territory, making it a very welcome addition to the 200mph club. But that’s not to say the car lost any of its dynamics, far from it.
The Vantage, in any form, is an analogue experience and the V600 is no different. Mechanically simpler than most cars in this performance bracket the Vantage utilises a simple suspension setup along with many parts pilfered from other manufacturers, but none of that seems to matter when you get behind the wheel and actually experience the thing. There are no driver aids to speak of here, no launch control or sophisticated automatic gearbox. Just you, your right foot and your wits, and isn’t that really how it should be? Here was a muscle car for the new millennium built for people with a passion for driving.
The original Virage wasn’t produced in huge quantities and there were even less Vantages leaving the factory, only a handful of which were converted to V600 specification, making this an incredibly rare beast. Not only that but this particular example has been fastidiously maintained, using only the best AM specialists alongside Aston Martin Works with a service book full of its stamps all the way up to 72,695 of its 78K miles. On top of the V600 upgrades the engine was also fully rebuilt at 53,000 miles with a receipt of £24K in parts and labour, further proof that this car has wanted for nothing over the course of its life.
Despite some accident damage in 2007 that was completely and professionally repaired the exterior of the car is in stunning condition. Resplendent in perfectly appropriate British Racing Green metallic the paintwork beautifully compliments the cream, green and wood hand-tooled leather and Alcantara Interior. It’s a match made in petrolhead heaven and it suits the car to a tee.
This is a very rare opportunity to own one of Aston Martin’s finest, in our humble opinion. Brash, burly, British and brutally fast. What’s not to like?
