ASTON Martins are so achingly beautiful that, when you consider the supercar builder’s product oeuvre in its entirety, no other marque can match the Gaydon-based firm for aesthetic excellence. This includes a herd of Italian Bulls, a stable of Prancing Horses and, arguably, a clutter of Coventrian Leaping Cats.
As you can see from these striking images, the newcomer’s styling represents an evolution of the British marque’s design language. At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking this is a DB9.
In the words of Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s design chief, “The Virage moves the brand’s design-language evolution into a new, contemporary phase. We have sculpted a new face which sharpens and refines the Virage while still being instantly recognisable as a pure Aston Martin sportscar.”
If you are wondering where this car fits into Aston’s line-up, the Virage ostensibly slots in between the DB9 grand tourer and the hardcore Bond car, the DBS, but the production of the former has ended, which would make this model the marque’s eminent V12 coupé until the arrival of the new Vanquish in SA soon.
Stylistically, the Virage has a more pronounced front end that isn’t quite as delicate as the DB9’s. Single-piece headlamps are simple in design, as is the bumper treatment, both of which add to the sensuous simplicity of the design – there aren’t even front foglamps to clutter the facade. The trademark Aston Martin grille has been retained but takes inspiration from the One-77 hypercar by sporting five lateral metal elements. A pronounced splitter adds a hint of frontal aggression.
The distinctive profile is a veritable study in stylistic subtlety. Air vents adorned with integrated LED front indicators grace the front wings and metallic strakes lead into the doors. A lower swage line adds volume to the profile and helps to create a hunkered-down appearance. The arching roofline gently falls away to a pair of muscular haunches. At the rear is a pair of translucent light units divided by a body-coloured insert.
Flush-fitting handles – another Aston trait – are released by popping them out with your thumb. The doors open with an upward swing that initially feels odd but makes sense as they conveniently rise out of the way of low obstacles.
Dropping down onto the driver’s seat, your olfactory sense is greeted by a heady aroma of sumptuous leather. Almost every surface in the cabin, including the wide expanse of facia, is covered with the plush hide (it reportedly takes 70 man-hours to create this car’s interior).
If you have ever experienced any modern Aston Martin cabin, you will find few surprises here. In fact, we have to question why the newest model does not have a bolder facia treatment. The switches – some of which are reminiscent of those utilised by other manufacturers – appear too similar to those of more mainstream cars. The overall feel is still luxurious, but too samey-samey for our liking. The marque’s upgraded satellite-navigation system confounded members of the test team after several days of attempted usage, much like the horrid Volvo-derived system used in older Astons.
As we mentioned in previous reviews of Aston Martins, a leather-covered block still serves as a makeshift armrest for the driver, which is a disappointing drawback in a car that costs close to R3 million and is supposed to be crafted for sumptuous motoring.
Although the Virage is a sub-stantially sized coupé, its cabin feels snug and a little cramped; all our testers thought so, even those of smaller stature. The Virage may be billed as a 2+2 but the rear seats are suitable for storing only shopping bags, which is just as well, as the luggage area measures a meagre 112 dm3.
The start-up procedure requires you to insert the block-shaped key into the centre of the facia and hold it in place for a moment. Twelve cylinders erupting into life with melodic flair follow a brief mechanical whirr of the starter motor. The exhaust note, even at idle, is enough to make the hair on any petrolhead’s neck stand on end.
Gears are selected via polished glass switches on the facia. After you disengage the fly-off handbrake mounted to the right of the driver’s seat, setting off is a doddle thanks to the smooth uptake of the torque-converter transmission and long-travel throttle pedal. Engineers have eschewed any automated manual system in favour of a regular six-speed ZF-developed automatic.
The 6,0-litre V12 has a wide band of usable power that dishes up over 85 per cent of maximum torque at a lowly 1 500 r/min. A peak figure of 570 N.m is realised at 5 750 r/min, while maximum power of 365 kW is produced at 6 500 r/min. Aston engineers must direct a lot of the V12’s effort to sound reproduction as the noise it emits is nothing short of glorious.
The soundtrack starts off slightly subdued and throaty, but once the exhaust bypass valve opens at 3 000 r/min, the Virage emits a hard-edged racecar-like note all the way to 7 000 r/min. When driving this visceral road machine, it’s difficult to resist the urge to drop a few cogs just to hear the engine in full voice time and again.
The V12’s sheer power outputs could be expected to translate into compelling performance figures, but even though the Virage makes extensive use of aluminium in its construction, it tips the scales at 1,8 tonnes, which no doubt blunts the acceleration times.
From standstill to 100 km/h, the best time it achieved was a shade under 5,0 seconds. Over the measured kilometre, it managed 233 km/h at just over 23 seconds. These figures are hardly blistering by today’s standards. In fact, there are several cars costing fractions of the Virage that will show it a clean pair of exhaust pipes.
The most impressive aspect proved to be its performance in the arduous brake test routine. The worst stop we recorded was 2,96 seconds with an excellent average of 2,77 seconds over 10 measured stops. Those figures can be attributed to the Virage’s standard carbon-ceramic discs. They measure a whopping 398 mm up front and 360 mm at the rear, and provide fade-free stopping. What’s more, the brakes are easy to modulate and provide good feel through the pedal, which isn’t always the case with such setups.
Despite riding on 20-inch alloys, the Virage’s ride quality is remarkably pliant. It won’t come as much of surprise that adaptive dampers are employed at each corner of the Aston.
These electronically controlled units make constant adjustments to the damping based on the prevailing road conditions and driver demands. The system can be put into its stiffest setting via a button on the facia.
Those adjustable dampers and 20-inch Pirelli rubber are suspended by a fully independent, double-wishbone arrangement at both ends. The roadholding of the Virage is acceptable and finding the limits of adhesion is mildly entertaining, but the limit can be reached quite easily, seemingly earlier than in many other cars of this ilk.
During spirited driving, the transmission seems to take its time to actuate gear changes. In full auto mode, cog swaps are smooth but not rapid. Fortunately, there is the option of shifting via the steering wheel-mounted paddles. In manual mode, the driver has full control of shifts and the ECU will not shift up even if the rev-limiter is broached. Somehow we cannot see many Virage owners ever utilising this functionality beyond the point that its novelty has worn off.
TEST SUMMARY
We were bowled over when we first saw the Virage. The ravishing looks alone may justify the pricetag for some but, once you spend a few days with this Aston, you begin to realise that it does not possess a depth of dynamic ability. If offers an addictive soundtrack and sublime lines, but that’s about it.
Ultimately, the Virage relies too heavily on its exclusive badge. For the majority of our test team, and for those who expect the most capable car that their capital can procure, there are more meritorious sportscars in the market.