Aston Martin V8
Aston Martin V8 | ||
---|---|---|
Kerb weight 1,820 kg (4,010 lb)[2](approx) | | |
Chronology | ||
Predecessor | Aston Martin DBS V8 (1969–1972) | |
Successor | Aston Martin Virage |
The Aston Martin V8 is a grand tourer manufactured by Aston Martin in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1989. As with all traditional Aston Martins, it was entirely handbuilt – with each car requiring 1,200 man-hours to finish.[4]
Aston Martin were looking to replace the DB6 model and had designed a larger, more modern looking car. The engine was not ready, however, so in 1967 the company released the DBS with the straight-six Vantage engine from the DB6. Two years later, Tadek Marek's V8 was ready, and Aston released the DBS V8. With the demise of the straight-six Vantage in 1973, the DBS V8, now restyled and called simply the Aston Martin V8, became the company's mainstream car for nearly two decades. It was eventually retired in favour of the Virage in 1989.
DBS V8
From 1969 through 1972, Aston's flagship model was the DBS V8. Though the body and name was shared with the six-cylinder DBS, the V8 sold for much more. The body was a modern reinterpretation of the traditional Aston Martin look, with a squared-off grille and four headlights (William Towns admitted that the rear quarters were "borrowed" from the early
A road test report of the time noted that the car had gained 250 lb (113 kg) in weight with the fitting of the V8 in place of the previously used six-cylinder unit, despite the manufacturer's assurance that the engine weighed only 30 lb (14 kg) more than the older straight-six.[2] Other contributions to the weight gain included heavier ventilated brake discs, air conditioning, fatter tyres, a new and stronger ZF gearbox as well as some extra bodywork beneath the front bumper.[2]
Marek's V8 engine displaced 5,340 cc (5.3 L; 325.9 cu in) and used
DBS V8 by Ogle Design
The DBS V8 by Ogle Design was introduced in 1972 at the Montreal Motor Show. It is based on a DBS V8 and two cars were commissioned by the tobacco company W.O.Wills to promote their new premium brand of cigarettes: one show car with chassis number DBSV8/10380/R and one road going car with chassis number DBSV8/10381/RC. A third "replica" car was commissioned by a private party.[6]
V8
In April 1972, the DBS V8 became just the Aston Martin V8 as the six-cylinder DBS was dropped, leaving just this car and the six-cylinder Vantage in production.
AM V8
The V8 became known as the AM V8, a model retroactively referred to as the Series 2 V8 to separate it from later models. Visual differences included twin quartz-halogen headlights and a mesh grille, a front design which was to last until the end of production in 1989. AM V8 cars, produced from May 1972 through July 1973, used a similar engine to the DBS V8, albeit with Bosch fuel injection rather than the earlier carburetors. Just 288 Series 2 cars were built. Although David Brown had left the company, he had overseen development of this model. The first 34 cars still carried leftover "DBS V8" badging.[7]
Series 3
The car switched back to Weber
These cars either fitted 225/70VR15 Avon TurboSpeed or 235/70VR15 Turbospeed Rolls-Royce tyre on the Auto models or the 255/60R15 Pirelli Cinturato CN12 off the Vantage.
Production of Series 3 cars lasted from 1973 through October 1978, but was halted for all of 1975. 967 examples were produced in this time. While earlier V8 cars have louvers cut into the little panel mounted beneath the rear windshield, the Series 3 and later cars instead have a small lip at the bottom of this panel, just ahead of the leading edge of the boot lid.[8]
Series 4 ("Oscar India")
The "Oscar India" specification was introduced in October 1978 at the
The convertible "Volante" was introduced in June 1978, but featured the Series 4 bonnet from the start – a few months before the coupé received the Oscar India update. The Volante Series 1 weighs 70 kg (155 lb) more than the coupé, due to the necessity of reinforcing the frame.[10] At this time, manufacturing a V8 Volante took about four months from beginning to end.[11]
US market cars received much larger bumpers beginning with the 1980 model year, adding weight and somewhat marring the car's lines. Owners of US-specified cars often modify them to have the slimmer European bumpers.[10] By 1981, the success of the Volante meant that the coupé model was only built on individual demand.[12] The 1980s were also tuned to provide much better fuel economy, up by some thirty percent.[13]
Series 5
The
Lagonda
Between 1974 and 1976, seven four-door Lagonda saloons were produced based on the Aston Martin V8, with a Lagonda-style outline grille fitted within the space normally filled by the standard Aston Martin grille.
Engine | 5,340 cc |
Production figures
- DBS V8: 402[14]
- V8 coupé Series 2: 288
- V8 coupé Series 3: 967
- V8 coupé Series 4: 352
- V8 coupé Series 5: 405
- V8 Volante Series 1: 656
- V8 Volante Series 2: 245
- V8 Vantage Series 1: 38 + 13 US-spec models with regular engine
- V8 Vantage Series 2: 304 + 14 US-spec models with regular engine
- V8 Vantage Volante: 192 + 56 US-spec models with regular engine
- V8 Vantage Zagato/Vantage Volante Zagato: 89
James Bond
In 1986,
The V8 coupé has made a comeback in the James Bond film, No Time to Die. Aston Martin CEO Dr. Andy Palmer confirmed on 20 June 2019 that the V8 would make another appearance sporting the same registration it had in The Living Daylights 32 years prior.
References
- ISBN 1-84425-014-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Autotest: Aston Martin DBS V8". Autocar. Vol. 134, no. 3928. 8 July 1971. pp. 7–11.
- ^ "AMV8 1972 to 1989". Heritage. Aston Martin. Archived from the original on 18 December 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ISSN 1555-6867.
- ^ Auto Motor und sport 16/1971
- ^ "DBS V8 by Ogle Design – 'The Sotheby Special' « Aston Martins.com". astonmartins.com. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ISBN 978-0947981419
- ^ a b Cottingham, Tim. "V8 (Weber Carb)". Cars. AstonMartins.com. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
- ^ ISSN 0992-5007.
- ^ a b Cottingham, Tim. "V8 Volante (Weber carb)". Aston Martins.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ISSN 0005-1438.
- ^ Hogg, Tony (ed.). "1981 Buyer's Guide". Road & Track's Road Test Annual & Buyer's Guide 1981. No. January–February 1981. p. 81.
- ^ Grayson, p. 49
- ISBN 1-84425-014-8.
- ^ "Aston Martin V8". James Bond Multimedia. Retrieved 2 January 2014.