Thirty life-changing minutes
THE COVER FEATURE
in
Octane 186 about the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and its Zagato derivative really reminded of me my youth, and in particular the road test of the Vantage in the 25 April 1981 issue of Motor. At the time I was 14 years old and had posters of sports cars on my bedroom wall – Ferrari 512BB, Lamborghini Countach, Porsche 911 Turbo, they were all there – but the biggest picture, with pride of place in the centre, was of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
W hen I was 26, I had the means to buy a standard V8, but the car I viewed was not a good example and the four-figure insurance quote made my eyes water. Ultimately I did not buy it because it was not the Vantage and I felt it would be like walking into my favourite bar and ordering a half-pint of their finest ale, when I wanted the full pint.
A few years later a contact from my work was involved in moving a number of cars to an auction and invited me to have a look at his stock. Exciting though it was to sit in a Ferrari F40, a Countach and a 427 Cobra, you can guess what caught my eye – a mint 1981 example of an Aston Martin Vantage. I needed to drive it. Eventually I was given the number of the owner and a deal was done that involved free transport for his car in return for me having 30 minutes of time with it before it went.
I will remember my time with the car until the day I die. Yes, it was intimidating – the size, the noise, the weight of the clutch and gearshift, the amount of effort actually required to make it go fast – but it was everything I expected. I managed to find some relatively quiet backroads and pushed it as hard as I dared; the roar from the engine, the squeal of the tyres and the brutal acceleration were amazing.
Handing back the car intact was a combination of sadness that my experience was over and relief that I had caused no damage. People to whom I have told the story since have almost all said I chose the wrong car: most say I should have driven the F40. Personally, though, I am happy with my choice and would make the same again.
Given the £400k price tag of the Vantage in your article and my wife’s refusal to sell our house to buy a 37-year-old car, I suspect that will always remain my one-and-only opportunity to drive the car. For anyone with that much money to spend on a classic car, I would highly recommend the big Aston.