Footnotes

• "People who buy the Vantage will do so in the first place for its performance, and they will not be disappointed. The figures speak for themselves. But they should take extra heart because it is one of the easiest true high performance cars to drive well: and it has been given brakes to match. In comfort too, it has much to offer, and there is a great deal of what is best in the British tradition of designing and building sports cars in its making." - Autocar.
  
  The performance figures Autocar referred to were a 0-60mph time of 5.4 seconds and an estimated top speed of 170mph, figures comparable with those achievable by a Ferrari Daytona or Lamborghini Miura.
  
  With the introduction of the Vantage in 1977, Aston Martin's V8 was thrust back into the supercar league. The name had previously been applied to high-power versions of the DB six-cylinder cars, and in the V8's case the Vantage tune delivered around 375bhp; in Rolls-Royce fashion the factory chose not to disclose the actual figure, merely claiming that power was 'adequate'. Its superior performance aside, the Vantage was readily distinguishable from the standard product by virtue of its blocked-off bonnet scoop, blanked air intake, front chin spoiler and lip on the boot lid.
  
  ZF five-speed manual transmission was standard equipment, though a handful of Vantages were built with the Torqueflite automatic gearbox. With either transmission performance was shattering, the Vantage's 0-100mph time of 12.7 seconds making it the world's fastest accelerating production car at that time. For those with a yen for even greater performance, there was the factory's optional 'X-Pack' of engine enhancements that raised peak power to a mighty 410bhp. By way of comparison, Ferrari's contemporary 12-cylinder Testarossa could only manage a relatively paltry 390 horsepower.
  
  Its copy build sheet reveals that right-hand drive chassis number '12603' was built as a Vantage model for the UK market and originally finished in Chichester Blue with dark blue-piped Parchment leather interior. The Aston was delivered to its first owner – Sheraton Securities International Plc - in February 1988 by HWM of Walton-on-Thames, Surrey and was first registered as 'E336 GPJ'. The accompanying (copy) Car Record Card confirms that '12603' was built by the factory to X-Pack specification with engine number 'V580/2603X'.
  
  The current vendor purchased the car at Bonhams' sale at Aston Martin Works Service in May 2003 (Lot 218) at which time it was described as a three-owner example that had been with the then owner since 1997 and had covered 45,000 miles from new. When sold in 2003, the Aston was registered 'NPA 683'. Since acquisition the Vantage has been repainted and re-trimmed in black by renowned marque specialist, Desmond Smail.
  
  Looking suitably menacing, this mighty V8 Vantage X-Pack is offered with a substantial file of history to include sundry bills dating back to the early 1990s; more recent service invoices; a quantity of expired MoTs and tax discs; a selection of restoration photographs; and a V5C Registration Certificate (it should be noted that the current private registration is being retained).