Rare 2012 Aston Martin Virage Coupe
A rare 2012 Aston Martin Virage coupe arriving at and leaving the Bugatti Newport Beach (Newport Beach Automotive Group) Hyper Car Show. Introduced in March 2011, the Virage was based on the DB9 and DBS and was intended to fill the gap between the two models. Named after a previous Aston Martin flagship model introduced in 1988, it is powered by the DB9's 5.9-liter AM11 V12 engine modified to produce 489 horsepower. Around 1,000 units were built, including both coupes and Volantes (convertibles), before the Virage was discontinued in 2013 and replaced by the facelifted DB9 which received styling largely identical to the Virage.
The owner of this Aston was surprised that I had my camera pointed at his car in the presence of numerous Lamborghinis and McLarens. I honestly told him that while I've already seen many examples of those other cars, it's definitely not every day I cross paths with a Virage - a model some car enthusiasts don't even know exists. Most of us are more familiar with the original Virage introduced in 1988 - a flagship model that preceded the Vanquish and DBS Superleggera. This newer 2011-2012 Virage is a bit more perplexing because, well, it looks just like a DB9, and it pretty much is one. After a very brief production run, Aston realized that it didn't really make sense to have three entirely different names (DB9, Virage, and DBS) for three levels of what's essentially the same car, so it simply dropped the Virage name and gave the DB9 a facelift making it nearly identical to the Virage. Aside from badging, the only way I know how to tell the Virage apart from a facelifted DB9 is by the absence of a subtle trunk lid spoiler. Needless to say, it takes a real nerd to recognize this car. That's probably why the owner was so surprised that my camera wasn't pointed where all the others were. Those other cars may be newer, louder, and flashier, but this Virage is something far more unique and hard to find - something I may not get to see again for a long time.
Do you think Aston Martin made a mistake by introducing the short-lived Virage to slot between the DB9 and the DBS? Leave a comment on YouTube and let me know!