‘The power stakes for Aston Martin had been significantly raised on its 5.3-liter V8 to 432bhp, with consequent performance enhancement. It was a ferocious car: the Volante had a top speed of 146 mph and a 0-60 mph figure of 6.6 seconds.

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‘Until 1990 it would be Aston Martin’s staple product. Why such a long reign? Because it was really so great, challenging the years!

‘The Living Daylights, released to movie theaters in 1987, featuring of course the inimitable James Bond – played to characteristic great effect by Timothy Dalton, the first of his two outings as the English superspy.

‘The car driven by Bond in The Living Daylights was a V8 Volante convertible, the personal property of Aston Martin Lagonda chairman Victor Gauntlett.

‘A marketing wizard, Gauntlett placed himself at the head of the luxury car’s sales-team, overseeing the marketing of the V8 Volante, extending Aston Martin’s commercial reach into the oil-rich Gulf states. Gauntlett himself described the V8 Volante as ‘a stylish thoroughbred, beautifully built, luxurious, fast and immensely safe.’

‘In 1982 Aston Martin was presented with a Royal Warrant of Appointment by Prince Charles, the then Prince of Wales and now King of England, himself an Aston Martin driver: Prince Charles had a new V8 Vantage Volante delivered in 1987.

‘Equipped with 3-speed automatic transmission, V8 engine, front-wheel disc brakes, dual exhaust outlets, Smiths instruments, VDO temperature gauge, option dash pad, body-color convertible soft top, side marker lights, three-spoke steering wheel, ‘Volante’ badging, alloy wheels with Goodyear tires, jack, tool roll, and a full-size spare tire fitted in the trunk.

‘Amenities include air conditioning, dual-side mirrors, forward-folding front seats with head restraints, power windows, sun visors, cigar lighter with an ashtray, glove compartment, center console, and a Blaupunkt radio. Also included is a service voucher with stamps and a copy of the certificate of ownership dated from December, 1984. Note that the power-operated soft top will need to be serviced in order to be operational. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a select few to own a piece of British automobile history that is mechanically sound.

‘Indeed the V8 Volante had more of the look and feel of a sophisticated muscle-car, a big shift. But it cleverly fused that more brusque feel – pushy nose and cubic lines, aggressively, muscular – with that of a grand tourer, a very European car, ever ready to whisk you down the French National 7 to Monaco and a swinging night at the casino tables. This car adored long stretches of swift motoring and tireless touring. Unsurprisingly this absolutely classic Aston Martin was a big sales hit.

‘The Aston Martin V8 Vantage had a further outing in a Bond film in 2021’s No Time To Die, the last to feature Daniel Craig as the spy: Bond drove it as he returned to MI6 headquarters, and at the end of the film it was driven by actor Madeleine Swann as she drives her daughter, telling her the story of James Bond.

‘But in Johnny English Strikes Again, a James Bond parody, Rowan Atkinson, drives his very own car Aston Martin V8 Vantage that he had bought six months before filming commenced.

‘Another thing that was so great about the V8 Vantage: it didn’t take itself too seriously and could laugh at itself.

-Alex Manos, Owner