One to Buy: 1600 miles from new 2000 Aston Martin Vantage V600 Le Mans
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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.
