Aston Martin 2012 Virage
Introduction
The 2012 Aston Martin Virage quite literally fills in the gap between the simply splendid DB9 and therefore the exotic DBS in terms of aggressive styling, engine output, suspension calibration and price. From the layman's perspective, there is not a whole ton of differentiation here, and indeed it's going to be tough for even Aston Martin aficionados to inform the Virage apart from its siblings at a glance. But thought-about solely on advantage, there is a heap right regarding the Virage.
At its core, the Virage is built from the foremost current, most evolved version of the "VH" platform architecture that began within the DB9 and has since expanded to include each Aston Martin presently sold. Introduced at the close of last year, the V12-powered Virage promotes Aston Martin's style language evolution in addition. The sparingly sculpted body is unmistakably Aston Martin, however with a sharper, more modern flair that was meant to take the company into the subsequent generation.
As is that the case with two-thirds of current Aston Martins, the driving force for the Virage could be a hand-engineered aluminum half dozen.0-liter V12. Twenty horsepower on either aspect of the Virage's output can land you in either DB9 territory or the DBS's neighborhood. However, not like the DB9, the Virage comes with commonplace racing-impressed carbon-ceramic disc brakes and 20-inch wheels -- simply just like the a lot of dedicated DBS.
However there's a lot of to an Aston Martin than hardware, or perhaps software. The experience of driving an Aston Martin is meant to be pleasurable on many levels: audibly, visually and even "olfactorily." The Virage interior is practically wallpapered in aromatic, premium leather, plus wood, alloy and piano black trim. If you do not take care of the colours Aston Martin offers, you'll be able to pay extra to have any color matched inside or out. Modern conveniences like smartphone connectivity, a premium audio system and navigation are normal, but you won't find a reverse camera -- best use caution of that shapely rear finish.
Thus is that the roughly $20,000 leap from the DB9 to the Virage worthwhile? Some makers charge nearly that much for a carbon-ceramic brake system upgrade alone, plus you get the nifty "road-reading" suspension and twenty a lot of horses under the Virage's hood. Seems like a deal to us, and perhaps even more of a cut price than the following $70,000 jump up to the DBS.
There are a number of other exotic sports or grand touring cars just like the Audi R8, Bentley Continental GT, Jaguar XKR, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG or Porsche 91one Turbo. Each offers a unique motoring experience with wildly varying worth tags. The 2012 Aston Martin Virage might not be the final driver's car, but what it lacks in maximum thrills, it makes up for with gorgeous smart appearance, everyday drivability and loads of character.
Body Designs, Trim Levels, and Choices
The 2012 Aston Martin Virage is out there in coupe and convertible body designs, the latter of that is known as Volante. A combine of vestigial "plus-two" seats are normal, however the coupe allows you to exchange them with a additional useful, weight-saving parcel shelf at no added value.
Standard equipment includes twenty-in. wheels, high-performance tires, carbon-ceramic brakes, an adaptive suspension, bi-xenon headlights, LED running lights, front and back parking sensors, power-folding mirrors, a battery disconnect button (for extended parking), automatic climate management, cruise control, heated eight-manner power front seats with power lumbar adjustment and memory functions, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, Bluetooth, a navigation system and a premium sound system with a CD player, satellite radio, auxiliary audio jacks and an iPod/USB interface. The Volante also gets a fully powered soft top and a wind deflector.
Besides an offered Bang & Olufsen BeoSound audio system, the Virage's options are limited to style and customization items including 5 distinct wheel designs. There's a rather massive selection of colors from which to decide on (including Volante roof colours), and you can request any paint code Aston Martin or any other manufacturer has ever used. There also are plentiful interior trim varieties and leather hues obtainable.
Powertrains and Performance
The rear-wheel-drive 2012 Aston Martin Virage is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 that produces 490 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. A traditional six-speed automatic transmission with shift paddles is standard. Aston Martin estimates the Virage will go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and claims a top speed of 186 mph. The heavier Volante convertible version should be a few ticks slower.
Safety
The 2012 Aston Martin Virage comes with antilock carbon-ceramic brakes, traction and stability control, front aspect airbags (that shield head and torso) and parking sensors. The Volante additionally comes commonplace with automatically deploying rollover bars.
Interior Design and Special Features
It's tough to search out a surface within the Virage that is not covered in soft leather, whereas wood, piano black, alloy trim and even sapphire crystal fill in the blanks. As a testament to the recent-world craftsmanship Aston Martin maintains to the current day, every Virage interior utilizes seven premium hides from Scandinavia and requires more than 70 man-hours to complete.
Easily deciphered buttons combine with a central screen to form a user-friendly interface, and therefore the novelty of the dash-mounted transmission selector (with individual "P, R, N, D, L" glass push-buttons) can never grow previous. The Virage was the first Aston to be endowed with the greatly improved Garmin-sourced navigation system and vi.5-inch high-definition screen, though admittedly, Aston Martin's electronics interface could be a very little behind the days.
The Virage conjointly maintains the ornate Aston Martin gauges and their strange oppositely rotating dials (the speedometer needle swings clockwise; the tachometer goes counterclockwise). The speedometer's small numbers additionally render it largely useless, though there's a digital speedometer in the trip pc as a backup.
The driver seat is marvelously comfy, with ample leg- and headroom for taller drivers. However since no human is seemingly to ever match within the backseat, you may furthermore choose the parcel shelf offered in the coupe instead. For larger things, the trunk is truly quite generous for an exotic sports car at 6.5 cubic feet for the coupe and 5.4 cubic feet for the Volante. As for the Volante, visibility isn't great with the prime raised and wind buffeting can be tiresome.
Driving Impressions
If you're cross-looking within the Aston Martin garage, get prepared to hear several of the same old descriptions. The 2012 Aston Martin Virage is surprisingly simple to drive, with decent outward visibility and a traditional automatic transmission that delivers smooth shifts while not the jerkiness associated with fancier automated manuals. Selecting the Sport setting noticeably increases throttle response and shift speed, and permits gears to be held manually all the way to redline without automatically upshifting.
The automobile is also quite comfortable, with supportive, heated seats and a compliant ride quality. The electrical-assist steering is precise, and the car's 50/50 weight balance assures neutral handling. As for the engine, it provides the same thrilling experience that you simply get from the DB9 and DBS, which is to say, abundant power in the middle of the wonderful song of a wailing V12.
Therefore how is the Virage completely different from other Aston Martin models? Well, it really comes right down to its styling, engine output and suspension calibration. Whereas the DB9 has an adjustable suspension, the Virage goes a step further with a suspension just like the prime-tier DBS that automatically adapts to road conditions with five programmed stiffness settings within two driver-selectable modes. The result's not solely a higher ride (that is nevertheless still quite firm) however additionally handling that a lot of adeptly deals with pavement imperfections that would usually knock the DB9 out of whack. As the newest model in the Aston Martin line, the Virage would possibly not attack corners with the identical ability because the additional purposeful DBS, however it's doubtless to be a a lot of livable car on daily-to-day basis.
Aston Martin 2012 Virage InteriorThe 2012 Aston Martin Virage quite literally fills in the gap between the simply splendid DB9 and therefore the exotic DBS in terms of aggressive styling, engine output, suspension calibration and price. From the layman's perspective, there is not a whole ton of differentiation here, and indeed it's going to be tough for even Aston Martin aficionados to inform the Virage apart from its siblings at a glance. But thought-about solely on advantage, there is a heap right regarding the Virage.
At its core, the Virage is built from the foremost current, most evolved version of the "VH" platform architecture that began within the DB9 and has since expanded to include each Aston Martin presently sold. Introduced at the close of last year, the V12-powered Virage promotes Aston Martin's style language evolution in addition. The sparingly sculpted body is unmistakably Aston Martin, however with a sharper, more modern flair that was meant to take the company into the subsequent generation.
As is that the case with two-thirds of current Aston Martins, the driving force for the Virage could be a hand-engineered aluminum half dozen.0-liter V12. Twenty horsepower on either aspect of the Virage's output can land you in either DB9 territory or the DBS's neighborhood. However, not like the DB9, the Virage comes with commonplace racing-impressed carbon-ceramic disc brakes and 20-inch wheels -- simply just like the a lot of dedicated DBS.
However there's a lot of to an Aston Martin than hardware, or perhaps software. The experience of driving an Aston Martin is meant to be pleasurable on many levels: audibly, visually and even "olfactorily." The Virage interior is practically wallpapered in aromatic, premium leather, plus wood, alloy and piano black trim. If you do not take care of the colours Aston Martin offers, you'll be able to pay extra to have any color matched inside or out. Modern conveniences like smartphone connectivity, a premium audio system and navigation are normal, but you won't find a reverse camera -- best use caution of that shapely rear finish.
Thus is that the roughly $20,000 leap from the DB9 to the Virage worthwhile? Some makers charge nearly that much for a carbon-ceramic brake system upgrade alone, plus you get the nifty "road-reading" suspension and twenty a lot of horses under the Virage's hood. Seems like a deal to us, and perhaps even more of a cut price than the following $70,000 jump up to the DBS.
There are a number of other exotic sports or grand touring cars just like the Audi R8, Bentley Continental GT, Jaguar XKR, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG or Porsche 91one Turbo. Each offers a unique motoring experience with wildly varying worth tags. The 2012 Aston Martin Virage might not be the final driver's car, but what it lacks in maximum thrills, it makes up for with gorgeous smart appearance, everyday drivability and loads of character.
Body Designs, Trim Levels, and Choices
The 2012 Aston Martin Virage is out there in coupe and convertible body designs, the latter of that is known as Volante. A combine of vestigial "plus-two" seats are normal, however the coupe allows you to exchange them with a additional useful, weight-saving parcel shelf at no added value.
Standard equipment includes twenty-in. wheels, high-performance tires, carbon-ceramic brakes, an adaptive suspension, bi-xenon headlights, LED running lights, front and back parking sensors, power-folding mirrors, a battery disconnect button (for extended parking), automatic climate management, cruise control, heated eight-manner power front seats with power lumbar adjustment and memory functions, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, Bluetooth, a navigation system and a premium sound system with a CD player, satellite radio, auxiliary audio jacks and an iPod/USB interface. The Volante also gets a fully powered soft top and a wind deflector.
Besides an offered Bang & Olufsen BeoSound audio system, the Virage's options are limited to style and customization items including 5 distinct wheel designs. There's a rather massive selection of colors from which to decide on (including Volante roof colours), and you can request any paint code Aston Martin or any other manufacturer has ever used. There also are plentiful interior trim varieties and leather hues obtainable.
Powertrains and Performance
The rear-wheel-drive 2012 Aston Martin Virage is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 that produces 490 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. A traditional six-speed automatic transmission with shift paddles is standard. Aston Martin estimates the Virage will go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and claims a top speed of 186 mph. The heavier Volante convertible version should be a few ticks slower.
Safety
The 2012 Aston Martin Virage comes with antilock carbon-ceramic brakes, traction and stability control, front aspect airbags (that shield head and torso) and parking sensors. The Volante additionally comes commonplace with automatically deploying rollover bars.
Interior Design and Special Features
It's tough to search out a surface within the Virage that is not covered in soft leather, whereas wood, piano black, alloy trim and even sapphire crystal fill in the blanks. As a testament to the recent-world craftsmanship Aston Martin maintains to the current day, every Virage interior utilizes seven premium hides from Scandinavia and requires more than 70 man-hours to complete.
Easily deciphered buttons combine with a central screen to form a user-friendly interface, and therefore the novelty of the dash-mounted transmission selector (with individual "P, R, N, D, L" glass push-buttons) can never grow previous. The Virage was the first Aston to be endowed with the greatly improved Garmin-sourced navigation system and vi.5-inch high-definition screen, though admittedly, Aston Martin's electronics interface could be a very little behind the days.
The Virage conjointly maintains the ornate Aston Martin gauges and their strange oppositely rotating dials (the speedometer needle swings clockwise; the tachometer goes counterclockwise). The speedometer's small numbers additionally render it largely useless, though there's a digital speedometer in the trip pc as a backup.
The driver seat is marvelously comfy, with ample leg- and headroom for taller drivers. However since no human is seemingly to ever match within the backseat, you may furthermore choose the parcel shelf offered in the coupe instead. For larger things, the trunk is truly quite generous for an exotic sports car at 6.5 cubic feet for the coupe and 5.4 cubic feet for the Volante. As for the Volante, visibility isn't great with the prime raised and wind buffeting can be tiresome.
Driving Impressions
If you're cross-looking within the Aston Martin garage, get prepared to hear several of the same old descriptions. The 2012 Aston Martin Virage is surprisingly simple to drive, with decent outward visibility and a traditional automatic transmission that delivers smooth shifts while not the jerkiness associated with fancier automated manuals. Selecting the Sport setting noticeably increases throttle response and shift speed, and permits gears to be held manually all the way to redline without automatically upshifting.
The automobile is also quite comfortable, with supportive, heated seats and a compliant ride quality. The electrical-assist steering is precise, and the car's 50/50 weight balance assures neutral handling. As for the engine, it provides the same thrilling experience that you simply get from the DB9 and DBS, which is to say, abundant power in the middle of the wonderful song of a wailing V12.
Therefore how is the Virage completely different from other Aston Martin models? Well, it really comes right down to its styling, engine output and suspension calibration. Whereas the DB9 has an adjustable suspension, the Virage goes a step further with a suspension just like the prime-tier DBS that automatically adapts to road conditions with five programmed stiffness settings within two driver-selectable modes. The result's not solely a higher ride (that is nevertheless still quite firm) however additionally handling that a lot of adeptly deals with pavement imperfections that would usually knock the DB9 out of whack. As the newest model in the Aston Martin line, the Virage would possibly not attack corners with the identical ability because the additional purposeful DBS, however it's doubtless to be a a lot of livable car on daily-to-day basis.
Aston Martin 2012 Virage
Aston Martin 2012 Virage Side View
Aston Martin 2012 Virage
Aston Martin 2012 Virage
Aston Martin 2012 Virage
Aston Martin 2012 Virage Front View
No comments:
Post a Comment