Est. 330 bhp, 5,340 cc dual overhead camshaft V-8 engine, four-speed automatic transmission, four-wheel independent suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes. Wheelbase: 102.8 in.

• One of the last Virage Volantes produced

• Desirable colour combination

• Only 15,761 kilometres from new

• Offered from the Zegwaard Collection

The replacement for Aston Martin’s long-running V-8 models, the Vantage V-8 in particular, was introduced in 1988 at the Birmingham Motor Show. Named Virage, its hand-formed aluminium body was angular, but it has aged well. As with any Aston Martin, the finest materials were used, from Connolly leather to Wilton wool carpeting and rich wood trim. The 330 horsepower 5.3-liter engine, now with four valves per cylinder and Weber-Marelli fuel injection, was engineered by Callaway in Connecticut, and as first offered, it was mated to a five-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission.

Aston Martin débuted the convertible Volante version of the Virage at the Birmingham Motor Show two years after the coupé had been introduced. Meanwhile, being a late Virage Volante, it benefitted from receiving Chrysler’s updated four-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission instead of the earlier three-speed unit.

The Virage Volante presented here is finished in dark metallic blue livery with a blue hood and a contrasting beige interior piped in dark blue, and it sits on two-piece OZ wheels, as fitted to the 6.3-litre versions. In excellent overall condition, it has been driven little in the 15 years since it left Newport Pagnell. As presented, it shows fewer than 16,000 original kilometres, which would make it one of the lowest mileage and finest Virage Volantes that we have seen. A recent test drive by one of the RM specialists confirms that the car is on the button and drives like a new car.