Aston Martin Volante - By Royal Appointment (Part 2)

Smith also owns a DB4, a V600 and a new Virage Volante, but the ‘PoW’ is his favorite: “It’s a brilliant thing. I love the balance between power, understatement and presence. I take it to the south of France a couple of times a year and it’s perfect on those roads. I could never see myself getting rid of it – my brother-in-law did and he still regrets it!”

See a PoW at rest, even in a car park as well-heeled as this private members’ golf club, and you can see the appeal. It isn’t pretty – the anachronistic hood stowage and cartoon-like bonnet hump put paid to that – but it is handsome in a muscle-bound way. In 1987 it must have been a welcome dash of subtlety in a sea of ’80s excess – not that any Volante is exactly a shrinking violet. Certainly not when you start it up, that’s for sure. Once the 5340cc V8 is warm it needs a good few churns on the starter before it erupts with a thunderous cackle, vibrating menacingly at idle.

Raised center console allows for sunglasses store

It’s a car that takes time to get under your skin, however. As we pull out of RS Williams’ workshops into commuter Ville Cobham’s rush hour, the 65lb ft. of effort the clutch pedal requires soon gets wearing, the dogleg ZF ’box seems labored and the firmly sprung Vantage pogo around on the rutted streets – heightening the nervousness brought on by this car’s sheer bulk. Pick up speed, though, and it starts to make a lot more sense. It never quite sheds that sense of scale, but it does feel remarkably wieldy, with fine balance and enough suppleness to avoid it being upset by mid-corner bumps and lumps.

You might expect dragster pace and it’s certainly quick – but it’s far more refined and grown-up than that, with great gobs of power throughout the rev range, building as an ocean swell rather than with any sudden surge. The gearbox smooth’s out with revs, slicing through its five ratios with a meaty mechanical precision. And all the while there’s that truly glorious noise, a rich timbre that’s all engine unlike today’s exhaust-tuned Astons, which sound bloodcurdling enough but lack the hearty authenticity of Tadek Marek’s deep-lunged quad-cam unit. It seems only right that the vast power bulge to accommodate its four Weber carbs and air box should so dominate the view ahead.

Bespoke front spoiler for ‘PoW’ cars and face does without Vantage blanking plate. Creases above grille hint at DB predecessors

From within, this is a very special place to be. Yes, you might spot the odd bit of borrowed switchgear, but it feels carefully put together and comfortable, with its deeply padded leather chairs and extra headrest pillows. It’s easy to picture yourself twirling the tactile Nardi three-spoke to point that prow south, and carrying on until you hit Cannes. On the auto route it’ll burble along at the legal limit registering barely 2500rpm, with dollops of effortless overtaking pace at the ready.

This car might not turn you into a Prince, any more than kissing a frog will. Yet in catering to the discreet tastes of one man, Aston Martin not only demonstrated its ability to create bespoke jewels, but also built the most desirable V8 in the model’s two-decade production run.

David Brown and Newport Pagnell

1947 Engineering supremo David Brown buys AM, adding Lagonda a few months later to form Aston Martin Lagonda

1948 2 Liter Sports (DB1) wins at Spa

1949 DB2 arrives. Evolves into DB2/4 and DB MkIII. Team boss John Wyer joins AM; DB3 and DB3S racers follow

1954 Brown buys Tickford Motor Bodies in Newport Pagnell. Production begins to migrate to Buckinghamshire

1958 140mph DB4 launched, with Tadek Marek’s 3.7-litre ‘six’, chassis by Harold Beach and Superleggera body by Touring

1959 AM enters Grand Prix racing with outdated and unsuccessful DBR4, but DBR1 wins Le Mans and seals WSCC

1960 Short-wheelbase, 314bhp twin-plug DB4GT introduced for racing, ultimately evolving into the streamlined ‘Project’ cars. AM begins association with Zagato and the DB4GTZ is launched in 1961

1963 4-litre DB5 replaces 4. A year later, Sean Connery drives DB5 in Goldfinger, the first of many AM ‘Bond cars’. Radford builds 12 shooting brakes

1965 Kamm-tail DB6 replaces the DB5; Mk2 follows in ’69; convertible version introduces the ‘Volante’ name

1967 William Towns-styled DBS brings a fresh look and de Dion rear suspension

1969 Tadek Marek’s 5340cc V8 arrives in the DBS V8. Evolves into the V8 S2 in 1972, with high-performance Vantage (from ’77), Volante (’78), Zagato (’84) and a limited run of four-door Lagondas

1972 David Brown sells AM and Company Developments takes control

1975 Firm is sold by the Receiver to Peter Sprague and George Minden

1976 Towns’ ‘wedge’ Lagonda launched

1980 AM bought by Tim Hearley’s CH Industrial and Victor Gauntlett’s Pace Petroleum

1984 Automotive Industrial briefly takes over AM, before Gauntlett and Peter Livanos swiftly buy it back

Specification