Pulled-back teardrops that look daggers at the road, stare threateningly at other users.
The narrow, swept-back headlights come from the sibling four-door Rapide. The use of these lenses on this the Virage coupe-is the visual DNA that bonds the two latest Aston Martins.
This is the most recent “V” word to wear the Aston badge and though it is undoubtedly a stunning statement in metal, its inclusion in the marque’s range initially seems excessive.
The problem isn’t that there are three similar models in Aston’s tight range but that the Virage is the best.
VALUE: For the price of an apartment, the Virage is excessive.
Compared with other handbuilt exotica on wheels, it’s not bad. You be the judge.
It costs $371,300 – a $17,742 premium over the DB9 and yet a whopping $106,293 cheaper than the DBS grand tourer.
It has carbon-ceramic brake rotors the size of dinner plates, a superior Garmin satnav system that’s easier to use and clearer than Aston’s previous efforts, plus 20-inch wheels and a leather-alcantara cabin.
DESIGN: Beautiful. Nothing is better than this and even though Jaguar gets close, the Aston DB9 styling will wear the sash and crown at any beauty pageant. Pragmatists will argue that it’s a lot of car with a small cabin. Like I care.
Truthfully, there are four seats but unless you are a sadist, the Virage will carry only two people, though perhaps the two deeply dished and leather trimmed indents in the back would suit small children, maybe a dog.
Did I mention it is beautiful?
TECHNOLOGY: I used to favour Aston’s V8 Vantage over the DB9’s V12 because the V8-engined models felt more nimble and needed less correction through corners.
That was then. The 5.9-litre V12 has become silkier and more responsive. Losing the lethargy has changed the dynamics of the car and, in the Virage, accentuates more than ever how accurately this car can be punched into a corner and how balanced it sits on exit.
It packs ZF’s six-speed automatic, its response times heightened by touching the “sport” button and over-riding the gearchanges with the steering wheel-mounted paddles.
I prefer this box to the automated manual in the Vantage S because it is significantly smoother to drive and easier to live with while trawling the traffic lanes.
SAFETY: Only four airbags? For $371,300 (plus on-roads)? No crash safety rating? Are you being ripped off, thrust into an unsafe car that can lay black marks down a road at blinding speeds yet may have the impact protection of a Vespa? Makers of exotica tend not to hand over examples for crash testing so it’s hard to offer a safety benchmark without comparisons. Your call again.
DRIVING: The car has been around for about six years. Any other make and it would be over the hill by now. But the Virage – nee DB9 and DBS – is still freshly styled and competitive in performance and price.
However, I am just not excited by looking at the same dashboard every year.
Perhaps I long for a gearshift to plunge forward and back in tune with various engine screams, rather than politely press acrylic buttons on the upper dashboard. But I will never-never-tire of that eruption when the V12 fires up.
Get over the scary fact that there’s a long bonnet and that curious fellow motorists may want to come closer for a better look and you can quickly become used to the way the Virage cossets the driver.
The seats wrap and warm the body, the steering wheel falls firmly to hand and the magnesium shifters sprouting from behind the steering wheel click audibly at the touch of your fingers. It’s a sensory ride.
Sports car suspension, as in the DBS, is usually abrupt and harshly stabs the kidneys. The Virage is softer, with push-button adjustment from firmish to really firm, depending on your mood, the road, the weather and the condition of your kidneys. Everything about it is pin-sharp – it turns instinctively, reacts instantly to your lightest touch and is always pumping out that rich V12 yowl.
VERDICT: It’s a selfish two-seater made for deserted winding roads. Aston has a few on the boat and they’re all sold-mostly at the expense of the DBS, which may be too hard-core for city driving.
This is Aston’s big-coupe future. More than other stablemates, it follows the owner-friendly line of the Rapide.
specs
Aston Martin Virage
PRICE: $371,300
WARRANTY: 3 years/ 100,000km
RESALE: 64 per cent
SERVICE INTERVAL: 12 months or 15,000km
ECONOMY: 15.5L/100km; 367g/km CO2
SAFETY: 4 airbags, ESC, ABS, EBD, EBA, TC
ENGINE: 5.9-litre V12 petrol, 365kW/570Nm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic
BODY: 2-door, 2+2 seats
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