Featured Auction - 1988 Aston Martin V8 Vantage X-Pack Sports Saloon

Featured Auction - 1988 Aston Martin V8 Vantage X-Pack Sports Saloon

A glorious example of the ultimate Aston Martin supercar of its day.

Estimate (£): 270,000 - 340,000.

*Original factory-built X-Pack
*One of only circa 130 built
*Rare automatic transmission model
*Factory fitted sunroof
*The ultimate V8 Vantage

With the introduction of the Vantage in 1977, Aston Martin's V8 was thrust back into the supercar league. The Vantage tune delivered around 375bhp; in Rolls-Royce fashion the factory chose not to disclose the actual figure, merely claiming that power was 'adequate'. ZF five-speed manual transmission was standard, though a handful of Vantages was built with the Chrysler Torqueflite automatic gearbox. With either transmission, performance was shattering: the Vantage's 0-100mph time of 12.7 seconds making it the world's fastest accelerating production car at that time. For those with a yen for even greater performance there was the optional 'X-Pack' of engine enhancements that raised peak power to a mighty 432bhp. Only some 130 or so cars were built to X-Pack specification, making them of particular interest to collectors.

Its accompanying Aston Martin Heritage Trust Certificate, manufacturer's Certificate of Origin, and copy Car Record Card all confirm that this car was originally built with the X-Pack engine (number 'V580/2595XA') and – unusually – the optional automatic gearbox and sunroof, a particularly rare combination. Manufactured in January 1988, the Vantage was retailed via Reg Vardy Ltd and sold to its first owner, Mr David Tye of Rugby Securities Ltd on 11th February '88. The original colour scheme was Cannock Black with dark red-piped black interior trim and matching carpets.

The history file contains details of subsequent owners, showing that the car remained in the UK until May 2006 when it went to Germany in the ownership of Mr Hendrik Luddemann of Bremen. The current owner lives in New South Wales, Australia. 'E70 LGR' was last taxed in 2017 and has been SORN'd since 1st August that year.

The service history details works carried out by Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd and independent marque specialists such as Aston Workshop, Ian Mason, and Nicholas Mee. Dated 10th January 2011, an Aston Workshop invoice details the removal of a manual gearbox and installation of a four-speed automatic unit, thus returning the car to - broadly - original specification (the original auto 'box would have been a three-speeder). Other works carried out at this time included fitting new aluminium radiator and re-carpeting the interior in red. Previously, in December 2008, Aston Workshop had replaced both sills and carried out a re-spray.

The service history only goes back as far as 1995 when a replacement service booklet was issued. The most recent servicing bill was issued by Nicholas Mee on 28th June 2012 at 465 miles (assumed to be 100,465 miles from new), while MoT certificates and other bills track the recorded mileage increasing from 62,869 miles in April 2001 to 1,731 (101,731) miles in January 2018

A wonderful opportunity to acquire a fine example of the ultimate Aston Martin supercar of its day.