Title: 1973 Aston Martin AM Vantage
Transmission: 5 Speed Manual
Mileage: 96719
Chassis Number: AM/6021/RA
The Aston Martin Vantage was always intended to host the Tadek Marek designed V8, which of course it did, but there are 70 rare beats who continued to use the Aston Martin 4.0 litre straight-six that was such a staple of the brand
In period the V8 might have been seen as the 'better' option but today we're not quite sure, as the car fits so nicely the smooth and balanced nature of the famous DOHC six with the dog leg manual gear box
Our car has a modest 10 previous owners, the last being Aston Workshop who supplied the car in 2010 to the most recent keeper
The first invoice in the file is from the well known Richard Stewart Williams (RS Williams) dated 1986 with the car at 61,261 miles. RS continued to look after her until the turn of the decade
Incidentally it was during this period of the late 80s that RS were sanctioned by AML & Zagato to build four continuation DB4GT Zagato's, so one can be well assured of the quality work they were producing at the time
From the first invoice in 1986 to the present day there is a continuous stream of invoices exclusively written by Aston Martin specialists and main dealers who undertook annual servicing and maintenance
When reading through the file it is clear that no expense was spared by any of the owners in her upkeep
Regular and thorough maintenance continued until 2004 when she was SORN'd, for our overseas friends, a SORN is the legal way of declaring in the UK that a vehicle isn't being used
She stayed on SORN until 2009 when she was given a full recommission by the Aston Workshop who spent a total of 88 hours performing a meticulous health check on the engine, transmission, steering, braking, body, sills, lights & electronics
Unsurprisingly then when the most recent keeper acquired her in 2010 he chose to continue in the vein of fastidious and quality maintenance
He also chose to respray the car in the very period Old English Pewter, electing for metallic paint giving her many different hues depending on the light reflecting off her
At the same time and perhaps unnecessarily, although certainly to the cars benefit, her engine was the subject of a full restoration, during which it was stripped and rebuilt and the engine bay repainted
Many many thousands of pounds have been spent on her maintenance by this chap, all documented in the file showing a life of luxury, and certainly a last decade of care very few cars are lucky enough to experience
Rather charmingly the interior remains completely original and only shows signs of how she's been so well looked after during her 47 years
