Saturday, November 22, 2014

The World's Fastest Cars (2): Aston Martin Virage


Going alphabetically, the second car to be featured in my favorite book is this Virage. Call me uncultured, but I did not know that virage is "corner" in French. The model had to have a name that started with the letter V. Other possible names included Vulcan, Valiant, and Vanguard.

The author described Aston's three traits as brawny character, technological simplicity, and road-burning performance. These traits were definitely true in the 1980s, and although they are still probably true today, Astons just don't seem as unique anymore. The commoditization of exotic cars has really cheapened brands like Aston, Maserati, and Bentley, don't you think?

Back to this Virage, The first prototype, built in 1987, was disguised under a short-wheelbased Lagonda sedan. Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of this prototype online anywhere.

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