What a mess:
- 1988 - Virage introduced to kick off the 90s. Is cobbled together from parts of other cars, looks it too. Not pretty in an 80s way or a 90s way.
A small amount of sedans and wagons built. - 1992 - Virage Volante (convertible) introduced, some with inexplicably longer wheelbase though all cars are 2+2. Somehow uglier than the Virage, makes no attempt to hide its soft top when stowed
- 1993 - Vantage introduced as a higher performance model with updated styling, still frumpy if a bit more harmonious than before. Features trendy round taillights that are a bit much. Does not replace the Virage which lives on
- 1994 - DB7 introduced, only available with a supercharged I6. Beautiful and thoroughly modern styling instantly dates the rest of the “line-up” (ie. one car with many names) by ten years. Faster and more powerful than the Virage despite being a cheaper entry-level model.
- 1996 - Virage renamed “V8 Coupe”, despite the fact that it was already a V8 coupe and the Vantage is also a V8 coupe. Styling is borrowed from the Vantage to further muddy the waters. Also, DB7 Volante introduced, is pretty
- 1999 - DB7 V12 introduced, called the Vantage proving that names are pointless and words have no meaning. Not quite as fast as the other Vantage (which is still in production) despite more cylinders
- 1999 - Vantage Le Mans introduced as a fast Vantage. Still sort of ugly, but looks fast and is, so gets a pass. Never races at Le Mans
- 2000 - The Virage-based car that has existed under many names for 13 years yet sold just a few hundred cars is finally taken out the back and shot
The Vira-ntage was built in the old “coach-built” style, allowing more variation compared to mass production, a greater number of defects and a slower rate of production. Even so I call these cars heavy, ugly, old-school in a bad way and unpopular.
Nothing highlights this better than the DB7, a car which also borrowed lights and switch-gear from Fords and Mazdas, but did so without being hideous. The DB7 would set the shape for the incoming Vanquish flagship and the Vantage and DB9 to come after, its styling clearly evident in the Aston range through to 2018 and helping to sustain an absurdly long model life of the cars to succeed it. The DB7 was the car of the present and the future, the Virage clearly of the past - despite only 6 years separating them.
It was a time of contradiction and confusion for Aston. The naming scheme was absurd and ever shifting. The “entry-level” DB7 was faster than the V8 car that sat above it in the range. The later V12 DB7 was slower than the V8 Vantage and was never the flagship. I’m glad Aston survives to the current day and is building amazing cars, but to look at them at any time in the 90s, you’d never expect it.
Aston would bring back the Virage name in 2012, along with the idea of a confusing name for an unsuccessful car with an indecipherable place in the line-up. It would last under 2 years before before being retired once more.