Although the DB7 became available with a V12 engine and claimed a performance advantage, the Virage remained the exclusive, expensive and hand-built flagship of the Aston Martin range.

Indeed, the chassis was an evolution of the Lagonda's, with a de Dion tube rear suspension, located by triangulated radius rods and a Watts linkage, and a double wishbone unit at the front.

The sleek headlights and taillights were sourced from the Audi 200 and the Volkswagen Scirocco respectively, while General Motors, Jaguar, Citroën and Ford provided the steering column, climate control panel, wing mirrors and dash switches.

In fact, Ford had purchased Aston Martin and Jaguar shortly before the Virage debuted and it became the first model to be introduced under the new ownership.

They also praised the "eager and quicker revving" nature of the 330 hp (246 kW; 335 PS) engine with its Callaway-designed heads and Weber-Marelli fuel injection.

[6] English actor Rowan Atkinson owned Virage Coupé chassis 50010 which featured on the front cover of Car May 1990.

In the article he commented how the modern climate control system provided heating efficiency beyond the veteran Aston Martin driver's dreams and could not believe warm air would emanate from the footwell within 90 seconds of start up.

Other changes included 14-inch (356 mm) ventilated disc brakes, the largest used in a passenger car until the Bentley Continental GT, and 18 inch wheels.

Unlike prior Aston Martin Shooting Brake models, however, the Virage was produced in-house by the company's Works Service, with six believed to be constructed in total.

The Lagonda Saloon is a long-wheelbase four-door Virage model that was built in very limited numbers to customer orders, reviving Aston Martin's long-dormant second marque.

Lacking the superchargers and the more aggressive body style of its sibling, the engine in the V8 Coupe has a power output of 350 hp (261 kW; 355 PS)[12] and 369 lb·ft (500 N·m) of torque.

The last 11 examples already had the naturally aspirated 1995 version of the engine found in the later V8 and V8 LWB Volante models with the improved four-speed and overdrive Torqueflite automatic and a power output of 359 PS (264 kW; 354 hp), which may be part of why there is some disagreement to the production numbers.

1992 was also when Aston Martin introduced its 6.3-litre "Works Service" package, which included wider fenders to accommodate the larger OZ wheels and 14-inch disc brakes, additional vents, deeper sills, and other appearance modifications.

[16] Aston Martin soon introduced a strictly cosmetic version called the Wide Body featuring the regular 5.3-litre engine; this was mainly intended for the United States market as the 6.3 was not certified for sale there.

It received a handmade aluminium body, leather interior, and a 160-cc Honda engine; this children's car cost as much as a brand new Mercedes-Benz 190E.

The Vantage is wider, lower, used four round tail lights (later adopted for the base V8 Coupe), and featured new rear suspension and interior electronics.

[citation needed] The new European emission and safety regulations made Aston Martin decide to end production of the V8-Vantage line and the final model was called "V8 Vantage Le Mans".

Honoring Aston Martin's 1959 victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the prototype of a limited run of 40 was presented in Geneva in 1999 on the 40th anniversary of the win.

All Le Mans Vantages were sent back after delivery to have the engine modifications to deliver 612 PS (450 kW; 604 hp) and 820 N⋅m (605 lbf⋅ft) of torque, and were supported by a suspension reinforced with special Koni shock-absorbers and stiffer anti-roll bars.

The keyholder was in sterling silver and a map from Newport-Pagnell to the legendary Le Mans track was provided in the delivery documents.

Availability was ended after the 1993 model year, due to the lack of passenger airbags and inability to meet emissions regulations.

[29] The body structure comprises aluminium, magnesium and composite materials,[30] and its kerb weight ranges from 1,740 to 1,785 kg (3,836 to 3,935 lb).

[33][23] The car's dynamics were refined through a new adaptive damper system that can switch through ten stiffness settings in the "Normal" and "Sport" modes.

[24] The Virage features a six-speed paddle shift automatic transmission developed by the technology company ZF Friedrichshafen called the "Touchtronic II", which is mounted in a rear transaxle.