One to Buy: 1600 miles from new 2000 Aston Martin Vantage V600 Le Mans
Undoubtedly the most formidable Aston Martin road car of the 1990s and early 2000s was the V600-equipped Vantage. Launched at the Birmingham Motor show in October 1998, the V600 pack most notably included a 600bhp incarnation of Aston’s legendary twin-supercharged V8.
Other upgrades included a Super Sport exhaust, traction control, Eibach springs, Koni dampers, stiffer anti-roll bars and revised bump stops. The brakes were uprated with a new AP Racing system that included grooved discs, six-piston calipers up front and four-piston calipers out back.
The standard six-spoke wheels were switched to lightweight hollow spoke magnesium rims supplied by Dymag.
Most examples of the V600 also came with a close-ratio five-speed gearbox instead of the usual six-speed unit.
Five months after the V600 was launched, Aston Martin announced a limited edition Le Mans pack at Geneva in March ‘99. It was created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Aston Martin’s victory at the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours where Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby had won in the firm’s legendary DBR1.
Available in standard V550 or V600 trim, the Le Mans pack featured a blanked off radiator intake with twin openings in each corner, a pair or large hood-mounted cooling vents, DBR1-style vents behind each front wheel and an aluminium alloy fuel filler cap. Inside, natural aluminium inserts replaced the usual burr walnut parts. A cover that concealed the wheel bolts gave the effect of a centre-lock arrangement.
Production was limited to 40 units.
Currently on sale with Tom Hartley Jnr. is perhaps the lowest mileage Vantage V600 Le Mans in existence. Configured in Aston Racing Green with Saddle Tan hide and alcantara inserts, the car has covered just 1665 miles from new and is offered fresh from a major service at RS Williams Ltd.
Reprinted below is Tom Hartley Jnr.’s description for this ultra low mileage V600 LM:
A Vantage Le Mans was the last of the truly hand-built Aston Martin’s. Constructed with an aluminium body it was the very last model to be powered by the legendary Tadek Marek’s renowned V8 engine. Built to celebrate the factory’s famous victory at the Le Mans 24-Hour Race in 1959 when Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby took the chequered flag first in ‘DBR1/2’.
A very different car to a ‘normal’ Vantage, many styling updates included but were not limited to its front wing side vents, ducted bonnet, ‘nostril’ front grille, improved high-downforce air dam, while at the rear the spoiler was revised to incorporate the high-intensity and reversing lights. The Le Mans received unique five-spoke magnesium alloy wheels while beneath the skin its chassis boasted the kind of extensive upgrading, in the form of the ‘Driving Dynamics’ package, required to cope with the massive increase in performance. Aston Martin engineers developed a blown version of the proven 5,340cc V8 engine, twin mechanically driven Eaton superchargers being preferred to turbo-chargers on the grounds of superior throttle response. Quite apart from its already stupendous maximum output of 550bhp a special tuning program was offered to buyers for whom 550bhp was not enough, resulting in the V600 specification cars squeezing out a total of 600bhp along with further upgrades to the brakes and suspension.
This particular example is car number 19 of only 40 examples ever produced and is most probably the finest surviving of them all. It was delivered from new in the ultimate V600 specification package (as opposed to being upgraded later in life, as some others have) including a close-ratio 5 speed gearbox and has only covered 1,665 miles from new!
Complete with its original invoice, handbooks, tool kit, spare keys, sterling silver key fob (given to all original owners), road map, torch, old tax disc’s, old MOT’s, Aston Martin car cover, a well-documented history file which contains original correspondence to the first owner plus a dedicated V8 Vantage Le Mans factory book signed by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby.
Fresh from a comprehensive service by renowned marque specialists R.S. Williams Ltd and best described as indistinguishable from new throughout.
Price: £495,000
