• Rare left-hand drive X-Pack Vantage model (one of 43)
  
• Factory uprated to 6.3 litre engine and 6-speed gearbox
  
• Very low mileage and known history
  
• A rare, useable and appreciating classic British GT
  

Perhaps no car better epitomizes the ‘British Bulldog’ epithet than Aston Martin’s muscular V8 Vantage, the fastest British production car for most of its long life. For most collectors the pick of the family is the final ‘X-Pack’ version, boasting 408bhp and built from 1986 until V8 production ceased in 1989: just 137 were made of which only 43 were left-hand drive, although this total includes manual and automatic versions and cars destined for low emissions markets such as the USA, Japan and Switzerland where owners had to make do with rather less grunt.

Not the wealthy Italian owner of this example, though. Not content with the factory’s standard 408bhp, he returned the car there in 1992 for a complete rebuild to the ultimate Works spec for any V8 Vantage at a cost of £53,151 (bills available) to include: 6.3 litre engine (465bhp and 460lb/ft); 6-speed ZF gearbox; large bore sports exhaust; full handling kit, brake upgrade and 4.09 differential. Aston Martin Works Service confirm this was the only Vantage, of the handful that were upgraded in period, to receive both the 6.3 litre engine and a six-speed gearbox, endowing it with phenomenal performance. Most aficionados rate the 6.3 as the ideal displacement, with a sportier character than the 7.0 litre and far more torque- some have suggested it feels like double- than the 5.3. Converted at 12,937km, the car now shows a further 6,980km. One of a kind, it has to be the ultimate Aston Martin Vantage.