Aston Martin Ultimate Portfolio 1968-1980 - Road Test Books
This collection of road tests and other articles centring on Aston Martin, records the gradual development of the DBS, the successor to the DB6 Mk 2, with the six-cylinder 4 litre engine into the mighty 170 m.p.h. V8 Vantage. By default, it also chronicles the various upheavals that occurred in the company between the years 1972 when Sir David Brown sold the company to Company Developments, its near certain death in 1974 and its revival by the Sprague-Minden-Curtis-Flather consortium. The latter group took the company to new realms with the mighty 400b.h.p. V8 Vantage, a concept car called Bulldog, the William Towns Lagonda V8 wedgy and paved the way to the Gauntlet-Livanos era. During this time, the company stayed away from motorsport, leaving that to private owners of which there were many. But that would change in a few years time. Despite a diminished market brought about by the stringent emission laws of the USA that excluded the V8 until 1978 when the company was able to make the V8 comply. The Company managed to hang on by attracting new investors. However, the optimistic suggestions of the numbers to be built never manifested itself, though the V8 Lagonda gave them a lifeline by finding a ready market in the Arab states in the middle-east. Victor Gauntlet arrived in 1980 and a new impetus was found, though even he would be finding life difficult, notwithstanding his efforts to gain new momentum. This book records the development of the DBS into the mighty 170 mph V8 Vantage. Included are road tests, drivers impressions, new model reports & performance data. Models covered: DBS, DBS V8, AM V8, Vantage, Volante, Bulldog & Lagonda. A total of 208 pages including 32 in full colour. SB. SKU: AM68UP ISBN: 9781855207233
