Virage Volante (United Kingdom, 2011)

With the modern Virage, Aston Martin brings back to life one of its prestigious models that will be sitting between the DBS and DB9 on its lineup. The modern Virage is powered by a front-mounted V12 engine delivering 490bhp.

Handly built the 6.0-litre engine produces 570Nm of torque and is fitted with a six-speed Touchtronic II automatic gearbox as standard. In terms of dynamics the Virage has been tuned to deliver an engaging but refined driving experience.

The modern Virage received a newly developed Adaptive Damping System (ADS) that intelligently ‘reads’ the road to provide optimum road holding, adapting to different conditions. This system is able to select between five different stiffness settings within normal mode, and a further five stiffer settings within sport mode. A sport button has been added to aid driver control. By pushing it the driver will receive a sharper throttle response and faster gear changes while also holding the gears without automatically shifting up at the revolution limiter.

Carbon Ceramic Matrix (CCM) brakes is fitted as standard on the new Virage. With them the re-born model gets progressive and tremendous stopping power.

Combining the technology from the DBS with the comfort and refinement found in the DB9 and Rapide, the Virage uses Aston Martin’s own bonded aluminium ‘VH’ architecture that forms the backbone of the marque’s sports cars. The Virage will be produced in both the coupe and Volante variants.

In terms of design the modern Virage gets a new aluminium metal front grille, inspired by the One-77. It features five horizontal vanes. With a new front bumper the Virage also gets unique front wings with a side strip housing six LEDs to form the side repeater that is completed by the signature swan wing doors.

Seventy man hours of expert craftsmanship are required to give the Virage an interior with the sophistication that Aston Martin customers have become accustomed to. The handcrafting on the whole Virage goes up to 200 hours at Aston Martin’s global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. The new Virage has become the tenth major production car to be built there in the space of less than eight years.