In 1991 you would land a fairly well-equipped Mustang GT with a V8, air-conditioning, power windows and locks for about $15,000. Or, you could pay an additional $210,000 and buy an Aston Martin Virage. That’s right; for the 1991 price of a Mustang and a decent four-bedroom house, you could have purchased an elegant and sporty Virage. This specimen in Saint Louis, Missouri has covered a mere 21,428 miles since its epic original purchase, and it can be yours here on eBay with one click on Buy It Now. “Value Priced” at $75,000 and boasting a stated value of $85,000, that’s instant equity!
You may be wondering, “What is a Virage?” It seems like a made-up and copyright-able name, a blend of “V8” or “Virility” and “Mirage,” when in fact it’s an actual French word meaning “bend” or “curve.” Whatever you call it, this one is rare and purposeful and nearly perfect!
German luxury cars of this era are often criticized for presenting their complete feature set in a boring matrix of square buttons. In contrast the Virage offers several banks of controls: round and square buttons, rotary switches, broad expanses of burled walnut, and buttery Connolly leather. The interior shows the complete lack of wear we might expect from a garage-kept vehicle with fewer than 22,000 miles on the clock.
This serious-looking 32-valve V8 is guaranteed to impress your Tesla-driving buddies at the club. At a time when the mighty Corvette made 250 HP, this British beast made 330. Thanks to wikipedia.org for some details. Aston-Martin chose light-weight aluminum not only for the engine, but for the body as well.
Today, some years after Ford unceremoniously ripped off Aston Martin’s grille for its plebeian Fusion sedan and other cars, this facade seems less impressive, but in the early ’90s it looked like a mafia spaceship in your rear-view mirror. One might question why the tow eyelet is installed on a perfectly-running British super-car, but at least you know it comes with one. What super-car would you kick out of your dream garage to make room for this one?
Definitely not much of a performer, but neat find! (Thanks to Hemmings for the stats)
PERFORMANCE*
0-60 MPH: 7.4 seconds
1/4 mile ET: 15.8 seconds @ 93 MPH
Top speed: 145 MPH
* Car and Driver, May 1991
PRICE
Base price (new) $241,500, including luxury tax and gas-guzzler tax
Market value (today):
Low: $20,400
Average: $38,100
High: $60,600
I remember that article, they also complained that the car was falling apart during their road test, but what do you expect for a lousy $200,000?
Ralph did post “I remember that article, they also complained that the car was falling apart during their road test, but what do you expect for a lousy $200,000?”
The article points out that one could buy a 4-bedroom house for what the A M Virage cost. I wonder if that house would be in “falling apart” condition too? :-) :-)
Hmmm…Ford didn’t quite “rip off” the Aston Martin grill, copied might be a better term.
Ford owned Aston Martin and subsequently sold it in March 2007, but retained a $77 million stake in the company. Difficult to rip off something you own/owned and that grill on the Fusion is still sharp.
Yup, When this car was built. Ford owned them.
Yeah that grille was around FAR before FORD was buying up whatever. They bought it up for good reasons but bought it up none the less.
An very unattractive follow up to the pretty DBS cars(that do sort of look like 1969 Mustangs….but whatever) awkward proportions, VW Scirocco tailights and headlights that look like they came from my grandmas 1990 LeSabre……..
And that interior…..looks like you need a set of hands coming out of your knees to operate some of the controls. With the grand British tradition of installing a forklift steering wheel in a luxury car……
Worst Aston ever?
Possibly.
It was good enough for HRH the Prince of Wales…
Headlights from an Audi 200 C3
Headlights from the Audi 200 C3
It’s a sharp car. Ugly steering wheel which is a pet peeve of mine. When I saw the title picture I thought “oh looks like a 90’s turbo Buick” which would be a great way to spend 8k. I can’t imagine spending $75k for this now and $240 k new?!? Hindsight is foresight, but still.
It’s British – that’s why it has a tow hook. Supercars fail in expensive, catastrophic ways.
Looks like a Buick with a Mercedes rear end
For this money or less I could probably find a newer and better looking six cylinder Vantage.
Then again I probably couldn’t afford brake pads for either one.
Having owned beautiful British cars and motorcycles, The greatest reward to me has been appreciating their beauty while just sitting there..
Because they seemingly have all just sat there more than they’ve rolled under their own power.
No hidden wipers or frameless door glass – for that price? Hardly exotic.
Not even an air bag for the driver on this, in 1991? – many other ’91’s had a driver’s air bag, like the 3000gt.
Imagine the politically incorrect outcry today, if only the DRIVER got air bags on new cars.
Even this car has that stupid plastic piece behind each side mirror, where there should be door glass.
What a ridiculously small trunk, considering the long rear overhang, Or is that a different car trunk? hmmh