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.

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 Ford Mustang).

[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.

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.

The car produced 310 hp (231 kW; 314 PS) and could reach 60 mph (97 km/h) in 6.1 seconds with an automatic transmission or 5.7 with a manual.

Most Oscar India cars were equipped with a Chrysler "Torqueflite" three-speed automatic transmission, with wood trim fitted for the first time since the DB2/4 of the 1950s.

The power of the now de-smogged engines kept dropping on American market cars, down to a low of 245 hp (183 kW) in the early eighties.

[9] 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 compact Weber/Marelli system no longer needed the space of the previous carburettors, so the bonnet bulge was virtually eliminated.

The actual car used in these scenes was a V8 Volante owned by Aston Martin Lagonda chairman, Victor Gauntlett.

However, later scenes actually feature a pair of V8 coupés with the same number plate as the Volante seen in the beginning of the movie, retrofitted with other "optional extras" such as spiked tyres, skis, lasers, and missiles.

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.