1997 Aston Martin Vantage

1997 Aston Martin Vantage

1997 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Special Series I

When the Sultan of Brunei and his brother Prince Jeffri were buying any and everything they wanted, their automotive collection was grouping together the best cars from every performance brand. This included several custom built Aston Martins like this V8 Vantage Special Series I built by the Special Projects Group in Newport Pagnell.

Taking almost all it's cues from the classic DB4 Zagato, these modern interpretations were sketched out specifically for the Sultan. They mimic the 1961 racecar which was sent to Turin and bodied by specialist coachbuilder Zagato. They fitted a lightweight aluminum body and created the ultimate DB4. Only 19 of these cars were made and each share the title of the most expensive Aston Martin.

Aston Martin works, who were debating a continuation series of DB4 Zagatos, decided to fit a similar design onto their V8 Vantage V600 platform. In doing so they had Zagato design the four seat supercar into a smaller and lighter two seat affair. Along with it came the 600 bhp V600 engine, a new suspension package and the ZF 5-Speed transmission.

A grey test mule was built up at the Aston Works and used to windtest the car at the MIRA wind tunnel. It laid out the basic formula for three more cars which were also built at Newport Pagnell: #70505 – Black, #70506 – Titanium Grey and #70507 – Red which was eventually painted black.

The Special Series I was followed up by a second design which was far less retrograde and more forward thinking. These were built around the same time in 1997/8 and again three copies were made.

In Detail

submitted by	Richard Owen
engine	Aluminum Alloy V8
position	Front Longitudinal
aspiration	Twin Superchargers
valvetrain	DOHC, 4 Valves per Cyl
fuel feed	Bosch Mulit-Point Injection
displacement	5340 cc / 325.9 in³
bore	100 mm / 3.94 in
stroke	85 mm / 3.35 in
compression	8.2:1
power	447.4 kw / 600.0 bhp @ 6200 rpm
specific output	112.36 bhp per litre
bhp/weight	314.96 bhp per tonne
torque	813.49 nm / 600.0 ft lbs @ 4400 rpm
body / frame	Aluminum Body over Steel Structure
driven wheels	RWD w/LSD
wheel type	Dymag Magnesium Alloy
front tires	285/45 ZR 18 Goodyear Eagle GS-D
rear tires	285/45 ZR 18 Goodyear Eagle GS-D
front brakes	Discs w/6-Piston AP Racing Calipers
rear brakes	Discs w/6-Piston AP Racing Calipers
front wheels	F 45.7 x 25.4 cm / 18 x 10 in
rear wheels	R 45.7 x 25.4 cm / 18 x 10 in
f suspension	Double Wishbones w/Upgraded Coil Springs, Anti-Roll Bar
r suspension	DeDio-Type Axle w/Watts Linkage, Upgraded Coil Springs, Anti-Roll Bar
curb weight	1905 kg / 4200 lbs
length	4745 mm / 186.8 in
width	1944 mm / 76.5 in
height	1320 mm / 52.0 in
transmission	ZF 5-Speed Manual
top speed	~300 kph / -1.0 mph
0 – 60 mph	~4.4 seconds

1997 Aston Martin Vantage

Source: https://www.supercars.net/blog/1997-aston-martin-v8-vantage-special-series-i/