More is More – Aston Martin Virage 6.3 turns 30
March 30, 2022
The automotive landscape of the early 1990s was a wild one. We know now that there was, in fact, a monumental recession looming, but prior to that ignorance was bliss and the motoring world was perhaps the most blissful it had been in a while. The theme of the time was simple; more was more. If you thought something was excessive, it almost certainly wasn’t. Instead, people craved big numbers, big power and wild designs. All of which the motoring would was keen to indulge us with. And while that time produced many frankly bonkers cars, it was the UK’s own Aston Martin that took the crown with the Aston Martin Virage and the 6.3 conversion. Because the standard Virage‘s 5,340cc V8 was just too tame. Right?
The ‘standard’ Virage landed in 1989. A big bruiser of a coupe (and convertible in Virage Volante guise) it was met with a positive response. The first completely all-new Aston for two decades, there was a lot riding on its success. We’ve been lucky enough to drive an original V8 coupe of the era and it was, we can assure you, nothing short of an occasion. It might well have been a ‘standard’ model, but it was still plenty powerful and it left us with a pleasing sense of superiority over all the grey modern cars surrounding us. It reminded us with every turn, every gear-change and every stab of the throttle that we were driving an Aston. 10/10. Would drive again.
That ‘normal’ V8 is not what the people of Newport Pagnell are celebrating this month, though. No, what’s got the party poppers popping is the full fat, 6.3 litre, wide-bodied Aston Martin Works version, which debuted in March of 1993. It was still a vehicular tailored suit, but this time made to fit around a heavyweight. That reworked 6,347 cc engine now gave 500 bhp at a heady 6,000 rpm, while torque grew to 480 lb/ft at 5,800 rpm – with 400 lb/ft of that on offer at only 2,500 rpm, meaning a largely flat torque curve to boot. The numbers were breathtaking, too. This 1,969 kg machine – 4,737 mm from nose to tail and a few millimetres shy of two metres wide – could sprint from rest to 62 mph in 5.1 seconds. 0-100 mph took a mere 11.5 seconds while the top speed was an entirely adequate 174 mph. The engine itself featured specially manufactured Cosworth racing pistons, a new crankshaft, modified cylinder heads and new inlet camshafts. These were combined with modified Weber/Alpha sequential fuel injection, a comprehensively re-mapped engine management system and special exhaust catalysts. It was and still is an incredible powerhouse of a car.
The Virage 6.3 wasn’t just an exercise in engineering though. It was also a study in how to make an already brutish car even more brutal. To do this, the standard Virage’s wheel arches were substantially flared using hand-crafted aluminium panels. These were complemented by extended side sills, a deeper front air dam, an extended rear valance and a prominent boot spoiler. And under these arches, giddy new owners would find custom OZ split-rim wheels – staggered from front to back.
Behind the wheels and under the arches, the wishbone/coil spring front suspension and the de Dion rear tube, with radius arms and Watts linkage, featured newly-designed rose joints all round together with uprated springs, bespoke dampers, a larger front anti-roll bar, and the fitment of an anti-roll bar at the rear. Detail geometry changes and improved steering rack mountings further improved driver feedback.
While the precise number of Virage and Virage Volante 6.3 conversions carried out remains unconfirmed, it is thought that as many as 60 conversions were created over the course of a couple of years. The opaqueness around the number of cars built is due largely to a number of special, coach-built Virage models that carried some or all of the constituent parts of the conventional 6.3 conversion. Nevertheless, it is clear that the revisions did make a significant impact on the brand and its customers. One thing of note, if you’re looking, is that Aston Martin also offered a styling pack, that shared the wide bodywork and the split rim wheels of the 6.3, but while retaining the 5.4.
Aston Martin sold a grand total of 46 cars in 1992 – all Virage – and of those a good number would certainly have visited what is today Aston Martin Works for the 6.3 conversion work to be carried out over the course of 12 weeks or so, per car. It was a bold, and some might argue, silly offering. But one that people were rightfully keen to embrace. The standard Virage is a spectacular car, but the 6.3 is on another level, quite frankly.
Aston Martin Historian, Steve Waddingham, explained: “The Virage and Volante 6.3 conversion came at a testing time for Aston Martin. The business had experienced a boom in the late 1980s, but with the economic downturn of the early ’90s sales were harder to come by. This ingenious offering created by the brand’s Customer Service Division – now Aston Martin Works – not only created a huge amount of positive media interest in the marque but also provided many of our well-heeled customers with the opportunity to acquire an iconic road car with real motorsport heritage.”
Paul Spires, President of Aston Martin Works, was himself involved in the Virage 6.3 conversion project and remembers driving the development and demonstration vehicle, affectionately known today as ‘Minky’. He said: “The Virage 6.3 conversion was, and remains, a superb example of the capabilities of the department that is now Aston Martin Works.
“The car was comprehensively re-engineered, and restyled, right here in Newport Pagnell. It remains a true testament to the ingenuity and vision of the Aston Martin business and I’m thrilled – but also a little shocked from a personal point of view – that we are able to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2022.”
