Fit for a King Like many classic drop-top sports cars of old, the Aston Martin V8 Volante was conceived to meet demand from the United States of America. Upon its introduction, this car proved so popular with Americans that, for many months, the only right-hand-drive V8 Volante was the prototype with which Aston launched the model in 1978. A positively charming blend of sporting luxury and old English grandeur, the V8 Volante was a car for those who wanted to whisper rather than shout, waft rather than surge and arrive at their destination relaxed and put together rather than tired and disheveled. Someone like the former Prince of Wales and current King of the United Kingdom Charles III, who famously owned a V8 Volante. We love the handsome coachwork with its discreet muscular flare, the sumptuous suppleness of the Connolly hide and the electronically operated folding canvas roof – a novelty back in the late 1970s. The more desirable Series 1 cars were fitted with three Weber carburettors rather than the later electronic fuel injection and can be easily identified by the muscle car-like hump in the bonnet. Just 134 right-hand-drive Weber carburettor V8 Volantes left Aston Martin’s Newport-Pagnell factory, of which this wonderful example is one. Chassis number 15383 A late-production Weber carburettor car, the right-hand-drive Aston Martin V8 Volante we’re offering has so many strings to its bow, most notably the fact it’s been in the same ownership since 1994. Finished in Suffolk Red over a Magnolia interior with contrasting Burgundy piping, chassis number 15383 was acquired new by a Glasgow-based holdings company on 2 May 1985 via the official Aston Martin dealer Stratton Motor Company. The third and current owner acquired the car from a dealer in Henley-on-Thames in November of 1994, when the mileage was noted as 21,440 miles. In the 32 years since then, this V8 Volante has covered just 10,000 miles and been regularly maintained regardless of cost. Undertaken by a mix of official Aston Martin dealers and respected marque specialists, this car’s maintenance exhaustive record, which totals tens of thousands of pounds, has been fastidiously documented in the accompanying bumper history file. In 2013, the owner spent an astonishing £35,000 with Aston Martin Works, which undertook a raft of works to keep the car in the finest possible visual and mechanical fettle. Works also subsequently fitted this Aston with an upgraded AP Racing braking system. As a result, not only does chassis number 15383 present in the most beautiful condition, but it also drives excellently.