1988 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante Prince of Wales

This is a 1988 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante Prince of Wales. It is from the final series of Vantage models that were introduced in 1986. Available with either closed Saloon or open Volante coachwork, they were all fitted the ‘580X’ engine. A revised and more powerful version of the previous V580 motor, it was re-engineered to its highest state of tune, producing 432bhp.

This was the first time the Vantage engine was offered in the V8 Volante as a production ‘Vantage Volante’. There had been a handful of bespoke orders for Vantage engines to be fitted in Volante’s previously, but the factory saw the demand for a fast convertible. The Vantage Volante was therefore offered as a production model alongside the standard V8 Volante. They were all fitted with Weber Marelli Electronic Fuel Injection ‘V585’ engine.

HRH King Charles was a long term Aston Martin owner. He was gifted a new DB6 Mk 2 Vantage Volante for his 21st birthday by his mother HRH Queen Elizabeth. 15 years later, he was generously offered another new Aston Martin Volante by the Emir of Bahrain. He requested a car with Vantage performance but the appearance of a standard car, without the 80s inspired extended wheel arch and sill covers of the production Vantage Volante

Hence, the factory built him a car with a bespoke 580X Vantage engine and standard Volante coachwork. The wheel arches had to be slightly flared to allow the fitment of the larger Vantage wheels. The ‘PoW’ Volante was born and a very limited production of special orders followed with a total of 22 RHD cars and 5 LHD built. The LHD cars were all born with EFi (V585) engines, not the V580X.

This exceptional factory 1988 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante Prince of Wales was the sole example ordered with Vanden Plas Blue Coachwork. It was fitted from new with ZF manual transmission. and has covered a mere 18,000 miles from new.  Without question the most desirable model of the V8 Aston Martin range, it benefits from an uprated braking system and big bore exhaust system. The Holy Grail of V8s!!