Key considerations
- Available from £43,000
- 5.9-litre V12 naturally aspirated petrol, rear-wheel drive
- Fast, comfortable, refined – a true GT
- Carbon ceramic brakes standard
- Old V12 and transmission issues don’t really apply
- Short-lived but timelessly good to look at
Virage, the French word for a bend in the road, is a name Aston Martin has been using since 1988 when they launched a 5.3 litre 2 + 2 flagship coupe to replace the old Aston V8. The second generation Virage that’s the subject of this buying guide made its debut at the Geneva show in March 2011. Designed to fill an imagined gap in the Aston range between the 470hp £130,000 DB9 and the 510hp £170,000 DBS, the £150,000 490hp V12-engined Virage was more grand tourer than sports car, smoother and more powerful than the slightly longer and narrower DB9 and not as much of a statement car as the lighter, carbon-rich DBS.
Although the Virage was clearly closely related to the DB9, almost all of its body panels were new. As per Aston tradition, it was available as a coupe or a Volante convertible at £160,000. The familiar and mighty 5.9-litre V12 put out 490hp at 6,500rpm and 420lb ft at 5,750rpm. High revs, both of them, but with that sort of displacement there was never going to be a shortage of pulling power at lower revs, and so it proved.
The only transmission made available for the Virage was a rear-mounted Touchtronic II six-speed ZF 6HP torque converter auto, which as an aside was the unit that BMW used for its 760 and, by extension, the one that Morgan used for its Aero Supersports. The powertrain sat in a revised version of the DBS/DB9’s bonded aluminium chassis with double wishbone suspension at both ends, adaptive dampers taken from the DBS and, for the convertible, an extra rear subframe to help stiffen things up.
Virage production began in Gaydon immediately after the Geneva show and finished barely a year later in mid-2012. During that short spell it’s thought that around 1,000 cars were built, coincidentally about the same output as the Newport Pagnell-built gen-one V8 Virage.
Actually there’s a lot of conflicting stuff on the internet about numbers, especially in regards to the UK market. Some sources maintain that a total of 114 right-hand drive cars were built, a number made up of 22 coupes and 92 Volantes, but an independent Aston Martin database says that the total number of Virages built (left- and right-hand drive) was actually 1,044, consisting of 656 coupes and 388 Volantes. That sounds a more likely split between coupes and convertibles.
One knowledgeable-sounding PHer reckoned there were at least 227 cars registered in the UK, two-thirds of them being coupes. Again that seems to make sense because, also according to the internet, there were 169 UK-registered V12 Virages in 2024, a somewhat higher number than the 114 RHD cars mentioned above. It could mean that cars are being imported into the UK but it could also mean that you can’t always believe the internet. Maybe it’s a bit of both, or something else which we’ll get to in a minute. Whatever, there’s the (assorted) data for what it’s worth.
Aston Martin stopped making the Virage when it became clear that the supposed gap in the range between the DB9 and the DBS didn’t really exist, and that the Virage might be chipping sales away from both of them. A year and a bit after it had been discontinued, Aston relaunched the ‘gen-four’ DB9 for the 2013 model year. This car is sometimes described as a Virage with a Vanquish AM11 engine.
So, the big question is, are gen-two Virages a good buy? Any judgement on that will depend on the usual factors of rarity, desirability, reputation, and, of course, price. They score on rarity, both on global numbers and especially on the UK ones, irrespective of whether we go for the 114 estimate or the 169 one. Desirability and reputation tend to go hand in hand with Astons, and not always in a good way. You can be the judge of that. Hopefully the rest of this guide will help you there.
On price, you can buy a privately owned Virage for not much more than £40,000, or potentially even less if you’re good at bargaining. Even if you’re not a haggler you might want to give it a go here because, despite their rarity, the Virages that do come up for sale don’t exactly fly off the shelves. A couple of cars we found in our research for this guide had been sitting in the classifieds for over six months. One of them had had its price reduced by 21 per cent in that time.
If we believe the source that says there are 169 UK-registered V12 Virages in 2024, an increase of 16 on the 153 cars that the same source said existed in 2023, the suggestion is that used Virages are either being imported into the UK or, more likely, being taken out of UK storage for road use in the expectation that they’re not going to appreciate massively. Is that a misconception though? As it stands the Virage looks like an appealingly affordable, modern, premium-marque V12. Is this where desirability/reputation comes in to bite us on the bum? Well, without giving away the plot, maybe not. For once there might not be a catch. Read on.
SPECIFICATION | ASTON MARTIN VIRAGE (2011-12)
Engine: 5,935cc V12 48v naturally aspirated petrol
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 490@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 420@5,750rpm
0-62mph (secs): 4.6
Top speed (mph): 186
Weight (kg): 1,785 (1,890)
MPG (official combined): 18.8
CO2 (g/km): 349
Wheels (in): 8.5 x 20 (f), 11 x 20 (r)
Tyres: 245/35 (f), 295/30 (r)
On sale: 2011 - 2012
Price new: £150,000 (coupe), £160,000 (Volante)
Price now: from £43,000
Note for reference: car weight and power data is hard to pin down with absolute certainty. For consistency, we use the same source for all our guides. We hope the data we use is right more often than it’s wrong. Our advice is to treat it as relative rather than definitive.
ENGINE & GEARBOX
As mentioned earlier, no car engine with a capacity approaching six litres is ever going to feel underpowered, even one without the turbochargers that would go on to become as common as cheeseburgers. So it was with the Virage’s AML 60-degree V12, first seen in the DB7 Vantage that was announced at the 1999 Geneva show. The Virage’s 20hp hike over the DB9 was mainly down to a reshaped inlet manifold, painted black on the new car to mark it out from the 9. Although the Virage’s 490hp peak power and 420lb ft peak torque didn’t arrive until either side of 6,000rpm, it still dished up 370lb ft from 2,000rpm, more than enough to produce well-rounded and significant progress even in normal mode.
In the sport setting, throttle and gearchanges sharpened up and the extra noise from the valved exhaust chimed in at a lower point in the rev range. Some owners thought the standard pipe was too quiet. One Virage-owning PHer who bemoaned the exhaust valves closing just when the engine was coming on song reckoned he’d fixed it by removing the fuse for the vacuum pump. AM independents Bamford Rose did an exhaust upgrade for the Virage, but with the factory pipe in place the new car’s heightened sense of refinement vis a vis the DB9 was noticeable thanks to NVH learnings from the Rapide and the addition of more sound insulation to both front and rear bulkheads.
Another advantage the Virage had over earlier V12-engined Astons was age, or perhaps more kindly let’s say experience. By the time it arrived in the showrooms the old V12 problems of ‘engine tick’ (a metallic ticking at idle caused by less than perfect fit of the pistons within the liners, sometimes leading to small-end bearing wear and noise) and oil starvation brought about by incorrectly marked dipsticks had both been resolved by AM. Just as well too because Bamford Rose’s rebuilding costs for a ticking engine are quoted at £15,000-£20,000. There were reports of earlier V12 engines eating their own catalytic converters if persistent EGR-generated misfires weren’t promptly addressed but we’re not aware of this being a problem on the Virage. Awareness and maintenance are, as usual, the keys.
The 6-speed Touchtronic II gearbox was given shorter gearing for the Virage. Its shift action wasn’t as quick or decisive as typical twin-clutchers but it suited the car’s character and there have been few complaints about it. The official fuel consumption figure was 18.8mpg. Road testers of the time were typically averaging somewhere in the mid-teens, bookended by touring and track extremes of 25mpg and 7mpg respectively. HR Owen offers fixed-price servicing for the Virage. The ‘basic’ services on odd-numbered years/mileages (10k/1 year, 30k/3 years etc) are £825 inc VAT. Intervening even-numbered services include a brake fluid change and cost £860. The year 5/50k services include a coolant change and is £945.
CHASSIS
The Virage’s adaptive damping system, originally a joint venture with Bilstein, was sourced from the DBS and reset for the new car to a higher-stanced, slightly softer and more touring-y setting. There were two basic modes, Normal and Sport, the car automatically choosing from five sub-settings within each of those two main modes to suit the road and the driver.
The system worked very well, especially in Normal mode where it provided good bump absorption on all but the worst surfaces and a generally better performance than that of the contemporary DB9. The carboned-up DBS was lighter than the Virage and more agile than you might expect, but it was arguably more nervous as a result. The Virage’s extra weight matched the chassis nicely, making it a strong all-rounder on British roads. The Volante was more flexy than the coupe though, despite its extra bracing.
DBS-style cross-drilled carbon ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers at the front were standard Virage fare. They were excellent stoppers that, at the right temperature, would stand up to anything a hard driver could throw at them, but for buyers who were less interested in trackdays the DB9 was sometimes seen as a more sensible bet, its steel brakes performing perfectly well and being cheaper to replace. Carbon ceramic compounds used on earlier Astons had gained a reputation for being quite squealy, but by the time the Virage arrived, Aston Martin had sorted that out. Using wheel cleaner was not a good idea on CC-braked Astons as it attacked the discs. It is possible to get them resurfaced in the aftermarket for a quarter of the price of new items.
There was a recall in late 2017 for 3,800 Astons, including the Virage, that could roll away without your permission as a result of a comms error between the main engine control module and the transmission control module. A free software patch was issued for that.
BODYWORK
By general consent, the Virage was one of the more beautiful modern Astons. The headlights sat well against the new five-slat grille, there was a carbon front splitter, and the strakes in the new front wings housed six LEDs for the indicator repeaters
Most Virages seem to come in black or silver, so the ones that aren’t will attract more attention on the used market as well as on the road. They did a popout orange, or Marron, which was a dark bronze. If the car hasn’t already had paint protection, which is unlikely, it’s a wise move to do it as the bodywork is vulnerable to stone chipping. Checking the hood operation is always a no-brainer on any convertible. Any abrasions to the Virage’s hood material should encourage you to ask about alignment issues.
INTERIOR
Like many Astons of the time the Virage’s interior was a slightly jarring mix of nice and nasty. It was mainly nice though. The hand-stitched Bridge of Weir leather seats had a pinstripe motif that ran through the car, the headlining was Alcantara and glass was used to good effect for some of the buttons and the ignition key. On the negative side the stalks, switchgear and steering wheel controls were a reminder of Aston’s past relationship with Ford and the main clocks ahead of the driver were more concerned with style than legibility. As an overall package though it looked the part. The cabin felt special, and (many thought) superior to the DBS’s, even if finding a perfect driving position wasn’t as easy as it should have been.
The Virage was the debut platform for a new, larger 6.5-inch info screen featuring a joystick-operated Garmin satnav, a much better system than the old Volvo unit and one that would go on to be rolled out to all other Astons. Not for the first time in these buying guides we need to warn prospective buyers to check that the screen and sat nav are functioning as they didn’t always do that. Of course it would be sensible when considering purchases of cars like this to invest some cash in a professional checkover. The 700watt stereo was effective but you could upgrade it to a B&O sound system.
When the Volante’s roof was up the only person who might have had a chance of sitting in the rear compartment was Quasimodo, so it was odd that this model only came as a two plus two, whereas the coupe could be bought (outside the US anyway) in 2+0 format with no rear seats and the option of lightweight non-folding carbon/Kevlar seats up front. Boot capacity in the Volante was minuscule even if you left the wind deflector at home, so ‘2+2’ in this context realistically meant two passengers plus two items of luggage on the rear seats. The coupe had a more useable 184-litre boot, which was the same size as the Porsche Cayman’s rear cargo space. There was a free brolly in there too.
6,500 Astons including the Virage were recalled in late 2017 to rectify a problem wherein the right-side seat crushed the battery cable on full rearwards extension. A routing block was installed to correct that. There had been an earlier recall for the same problem on a smaller number of cars in April 2016. In December 2014 8,300 Astons were brought in to fix a module for the front seat heaters that could make it impossible to switch the heat off.
PH VERDICT
The Virage’s main problems didn’t lie in the way it drove but in its pricing and its shoehorning into a barely perceptible space between the DB9 and DBS in the Aston Martin range. The Virage was clearly too expensive when it was new, at £150k for the coupe and £160k for the convertible. In its defence those prices did include carbon ceramic brakes that would have been a £10k extra on the DB9, but there was a deal of muttering at the time about AM taking the Michael somewhat in that 2010-on period.
Whatever, the Virage stirred up enough range/price confusion among potential Aston buyers to seal its fate after just a year in production, despite the reality of it being a really good alternative to both the DB9 and the DBS. These exclusively new-car issues are utterly irrelevant to used buyers who now have the opportunity to enjoy this handsome, fast and relaxed GT car at giveaway prices starting from £40k (autumn 2024).
How is £40k a giveaway, you ask? Look at it this way. Can anyone seriously imagine a near-six litre naturally aspirated V12 Aston with an aluminium/magnesium alloy and composite body and a hand-crafted interior dipping below £40k? That would be daft even for an Aston Martin with a bushel of issues on its back. Lord knows there have enough of those cars in the past but the gen-two Virage is not one of them.
Still not convinced? Stop for a minute and compare those new and used Virage prices to those of the 2009-14 Ferrari California. The Cali was cheaper than the Virage when it was new but it’s now more expensive in the used market, where it starts from around £50k. You might think £50k is cheap for a modern Ferrari, and few would argue with you there, but any naturally aspirated V12 Ferrari will cost you a hell of a lot more than that. £43k or less for an apparently reliable V12 Aston seems crazy cheap.
So, what Virages do we have hiding around the virage in PH’s Classifieds? The most affordable example at the time of writing was this 2012 car with 25,000 miles at £49,950. For another £3,000 you could halve that mileage to under 13,000 in this 2011 car.
If you like the idea of a 180mph breeze whistling through your strongly-glued toupée here’s a perhaps optimistically priced 2012 Volante at just under £72.5k. Might be worth putting a bookmark on that one to see where it goes.
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