The Virage shares almost identical styling – and dimensions – with the British marque’s DB9 and DBS sports cars, though the company insists its all-new Virage coupe and convertible have been designed to offer buyers something different.
The Virage will be positioned between the luxury-laden, $368,469 DB9 and performance-focused, $497,441 DBS sports cars when it arrives in Australia in July, with a price tag sitting somewhere between. It will use the same 6.0-litre V12 engine, though with slightly different power and torque outputs of 365kW and 570Nm.
The engine is teamed to a six-speed automatic transmission, and there’s a 'Sport' button on the dash that can be pressed to sharpen throttle response and quicken gear shifts while also holding gears to the engine’s rev limiter.
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Carbon-ceramic brakes should ensure the Virage stops quickly, too, and they’re standard – despite the majority of its competitors charging up to $25,000 for them as an option.
The Virage uses the same light-weight bonded-aluminium architecture as the DB9, DBS and Rapide four-door. Aston, however, says it has used its experience of developing the Rapide to improve body stiffness – especially in respect to the convertible (Volante) model – as well as all-round refinement.
The Virage is also fitted with an adaptive suspension system that allows the driver to choose one of two different modes (normal and sport) with five different stiffness settings in each mode.
Inside, the Virage is fitted with a hand-stitched leather-lined interior that uses seven cowhides to cover its surfaces. It also gains a few useful additions such as a sat-nav system with a 6.5-inch high-resolution display, Bluetooth connectivity, and a premium audio system with iPod integration.
Aston Martin Australia says it will start taking orders for the new Virage this week.
source: smh
