1996 Aston Martin Virage Volante Wide Body

Aston Martin constructed chassis number ‘60160’ to ‘cosmetic wide body’ specification and used it as the company’s works demonstrator with the car carrying the company’s famous registration mark ‘1 AML’, as it made the rounds at the various national and international motor shows. 

This stunning and historically important low mileage Virage Volante comes with full service and ownership histories, and in the last 17 years has been used, and enjoyed, by the vendor to visit Aston Martin events in the UK. 

Its first private owner, a Mr Barker, purchased the car via Graypaul on the 28th of March 1997 and had it serviced at specialists Paramount in Derby and JD Classics. Its second private owner received the keys on 2nd June 2004, with Alan Smith Motors of New Romney, Kent, taking over the maintenance duties. Finally, the current vendor purchased the car via a Bonhams auction on the 12th of May 2007. It has always been maintained to the best possible standard, with the Stratton Motor Company carrying out maintenance and works in that time.

To ensure that it remains in absolutely tip-top fettle the Virage Volante has had circa £20k spent on it in recent years (more on the specifics of that later), and comes with an exemplary service history that includes the following stamps:

• 1,148 miles, 20/05/1996 – Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd
• 4,553 miles, 03/09/1996 – Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd
• 4,536 miles (after speedo change), 24/07/1998 – Paramount, Derby
• 5,500 miles, 10/05/1999 – JD Classics
• 6,946 miles, 12/11/2004 – Alan Smith Motors
• 7,912 miles, 08/09/2005 – Alan Smith Motors
• 10,000 miles, 02/04/2008 – Stratton Motor Company
• 10,861 miles, 17/04/2009 – Stratton Motor Company
• 11,419 miles, 25/03/2010 – Stratton Motor Company
• 12,303 miles, 04/04/2012 – Stratton Motor Company
• 13,177 miles, 27/01/2014 – Stratton Motor Company
• 13,596 miles, 12/09/2022 – Stratton Motor Company

It should be noted that the car’s speedometer has been changed twice at Works Service, once at 1,148 and then at 5,671 miles, while the current odometer reading is 13,695 miles, making a total of 20,514 miles.

“It’s such an enjoyable car to drive. The engine sounds glorious and pulls like a train. Given that, the suspension provides a wonderfully smooth ride”.

“We have enjoyed owning the Virage but find that we are now not using it, therefore we don’t want it to deteriorate by just sitting. It is time for a new owner to have the pleasure of driving it”. 

There is a brutal beauty to the Virage that is further enhanced by the ‘wide body’ adaptations. The designers took the V8’s already brutal aesthetics and modernised them considerably for the fast-approaching new decade. 

This example presents beautifully. Its Cumberland Grey bodywork has had some minor rectification work, mainly on the nearside, in recent years and even though that hue isn’t the easiest to colour match the Stratton Motor Company carried out a first-class job. One of the only tiny flaws we could find was a small amount of paint bubble next to the number plate.

Elsewhere, the five-spoke OZ alloy wheels remain immaculate and are each shod in Pirelli TY 285/45/18 tyres, fitted on 31/01/2023 at a cost just north of £3k. With the car having covered a negligible mileage since, you can be assured they have plenty of life remaining. 

The hood material remains in very nice condition and when lowered an interior-matching Parchment hood cover can be fitted. 

Stunning. 

As befits the car’s very low-mileage status, the interior is exquisite. There’s barely a mark; instead, just lashings and lashings of wonderful Parchment Connolly leather, eye-catching burr walnut veneers and a high-quality hood headlining (again, in matching Parchment).

An upgraded multi-CD Sony stereo radio system is fitted, as is an alarm/immobiliser. All electrics function as they should, including that all-important power hood mechanism. 

In the boot you will find a Supertex car cover, a CTEK battery charger, a fire extinguisher and the space saver spare wheel. 

Is there a better Virage Volante interior out there? Quite possibly not. 

The Virage’s V8 isn’t quite as viciously loud as earlier iterations, as its emphasis leans more towards sophisticated progress. Said progress is still most certainly of the rapid variety though, and there is more than enough aural goodness to be had.

This car’s engine fires smoothly into life and settles into a contented tick over. On the move, it delivers its wares with aplomb. The vendor is right too about the suspension, which gives a cosseting ride. As a low-mileage example, it will come as no surprise when we say that this car still feels lovely and taut on the road.

In the engine bay you will find a toothbrush-clean V8, while a full original tool kit is also included. 

Barring a touch of surface rust on a support bracket or two (they should be relatively easy to tidy up), as the pictures in our Photo Gallery below show, the underside is in quite superb condition. 

You will find the Virage’s V5c document in the history file, which confirms four owners from new, as well as the original service and owner handbooks both still encased inside their original green leather wallet. 

The current MOT test certificate, which runs until 02/01/2025, is present, as are all expired MOT test certificates and tax discs. All invoices relating to work carried out on the vehicle are also included. Of the most interest are those relating to the most recent work completed by the Stratton Motor Company. These include:

• 18/01/2024, £2591.72 – work to the fuel system, including replacement of the fuel pressure regulator and engine tuning, battery and radio 
• 09/05/2023, £3894 – Bodywork rectification including removal, rectification and refitting of NSF wing, NS door and NSR wing
• 09/05/2023, £811.20 – differential oil change and NS door glass adjustment
• 31/01/2023, £6798 – air con work, and replacement of door seals, mirror switch, boot strut. Fitment of four fresh Pirelli PY 285/45/18 tyres
• 22/12/2022, £6005.34 – work to braking system including new pads and discs, brake hoses and caliper seal kits.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos to support our claim that this ‘wide body’ Virage Volante has been maintained to the highest of standards and comes with an excellent service and general history from new.

If you are going to buy a Virage then it is crucial to ensure that it has been well maintained for the duration of its life, and this one certainly has. That’s backed up by both this car’s excellent service history and the large stack of invoices, both recent and past, to be found in this example’s first-class history file. 

That it’s a cosmetic ‘wide body’ example is a bonus, as you get that aggressive aesthetic. However, it’s not just any ‘wide body’, it is the original factory show car and as such, an integral part of Aston Martin’s much celebrated history. 

Given all that, we believe that this car – one of, if not the best Virage Volante we’ve ever seen – will realise somewhere between £60,000 and £80,000. For that, the next owner will receive a wonderful driving example of the breed, and one that presents in lovely condition. 

Top-down V8 ‘wide body’ driving shenanigans await. 

Enjoy.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at the Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.