Aston Martin V8 Vantage 6.3 Liter v. Virage 6.3 Liter

Now while everybody agrees today how cool those V8s have been, people don’t have such an unanimously high opinion of the Virage. As a matter of fact, the Virage is a bit of a black sheep in the Aston Martin history. The design broke with certain typical design clues and it seems many customers as well as enthusiasts were and still are upset about it. But I am not in that camp, not at all! While the sharp-edged angular shapes were a serious departure from the V8, with its definitely by now 22-year old, aging looks, they were in keeping with the overall Aston Martin design direction at the time, defined by the Lagonda Wedge, V8 Vantage Zagato and even the (recently fully restored) Bulldog prototype. It was the time of hard edges in the automotive industry. Besides the Lagonda Wedge, there was the Ferrari 400i and the Dino 308, the DeLorean, the Maserati Biturbo, the Lotus Esprit, the Lancia Delta Integrale and Beta Mont Carlo, just to name a few…

Nevertheless, the Virage was still a muscle car at heart, despite being now even more understated. Apparently too much understated for many – but again; not for me. I really do appreciate the look, always have. And underneath it is still an old-school GT – and I appreciate that as well.

Here on the East Coast, Tom is THE connection to have, if you long for any of those Astons of the 80s and/or early 90s. We met a dozen years ago in England, through our mutual passion for Vantages, and half a dozen years ago Tom sold me a very nice Virage here in the States that was extremely handsome and never failed me.

So, when I saw these two 6.3 liter cars together under his roof, I understandably became very excited and immediately decide that this rare coincidence had to be immortalize for posterity in the form of a film, while, at the same time, it would give me the chance to finally drive the divine “6.3”.

And for me as a filmmaker, the icing on the cake was that both cars not only featured black engines (the trademark of the 6.3 liter V8s) but also black paint on the outside and black leather on the inside (just like the car in that fateful night in Essen). The ideal badass pair of Astons – for me, anyway. ”His and His!”

Story and Film by Alexander Davidis