Footnotes

'It's not by any means the world's most expensive drophead in production (the Corniche costs an extra £23,000) nor is it quite the quickest, though a Porsche Cabrio would have to be very well driven to get away from it, but the Aston Martin Volante is perhaps the greatest. It is a true sports car which is also luxuriously comfortable.' - Fast Lane.

Aston Martin had always intended the DBS to house its new V8 engine, but production difficulties meant that the car first appeared with the DB6's 4.0-litre six. Bigger and more luxuriously appointed than the DB6, the heavyweight DBS disappointed some by virtue of its slightly reduced performance, but there were no complaints when the V8 finally arrived in 1969. With an estimated 315bhp available from its 5,340cc four-cam motor, the DBS V8 could reach 100mph in under 14 seconds, running on to a top speed of 160mph, a staggering performance in those days and one which fully justified the claim that it was the fastest production car in the world.

The Aston Martin V8 survived the changes of ownership and financial upheavals of the 1970s, appearing in countless variants, one of the more exclusive being the Volante. Introduced in response to customers' demands for such a car, the Volante first appeared in June 1978. Arguably the ultimate in soft-top luxury, the newcomer boasted a lined, power-operated hood which, when erected, endowed the walnut embellished interior with all the solidity and refinement associated with the saloon version. As Fast Lane observed: 'If the word "convertible" produces in your mind an image of fiddling with wafer thin hood irons and fighting against a shrunken hood with numerous attachment points, you are not thinking of the Volante.' Although its open-car aerodynamics meant that top speed suffered with the hood down, the Volante's 150mph maximum nevertheless ranked it among the world's fastest convertibles. V8 Volante chassis numbers ran from '15001' to '15849', a total of 849 cars.

This fine, automatic transmission example was purchased by Kingsley Curtis in 1983, having had one former keeper. and was initially registered in his company's name. The Volante was Kingsley and his wife's favourite and most regularly used car among all those in the collection. Always serviced by the Stratton Motor Company, it comes with the service book stamped by them annually up to June 2012 (at 24,509 miles) plus numerous related invoices, while Kirtling Garage and Marshall's of Cambridge are among the other firms that have worked on the car. A leaking heater matrix is the only fault notified.

Finished in green metallic with cream leather upholstery, this well cared for Volante is offered with the aforementioned service history, MoT to June 2016, V5C registration document and a quantity of MoT certificates, dating back to 1985, supporting the recorded mileage.