1999 Aston Martin V8 Coupe

Finished in Mendip Blue Metallic with a grey leather and Alcantara interior, this Aston Martin Coupe is number 100 of the 101 built, something the cherished registration number of ‘V100 AMV’ reflects.

The pinnacle of the 1990s Aston Martins, this Newport Pagnell-built coupe has a very high specification including the Works Service manual overdrive conversion on the four-speed automatic gearbox in addition to the carbon fibre details that are thought to be unique to this example.

The owner is an Aston Martin enthusiast and his contacts in the AM world also suggest this is one of only two V8 Coupes fitted with the Dynamics magnesium wheels, a design more usually seen on the Le Mans Vantage V600. It is also the only car of the 101 built to have the grey leather and Alcantara trim option.

As you would expect, it has been well maintained from new by no lesser authority than Aston Martin Works. Stratton Motor Company, the renowned Aston Martin Heritage Dealer, picked up the baton for its last service, a comprehensive, £5,000 fettling following its purchase at the end of 2020.

Still showing just 33,000 miles on the odometer, it’s only being sold because the vendor finds himself with four cars and only three garages. Still, his loss could be your gain because we can’t see an opportunity like this coming up for a long, long time…

The Vantage-inspired lines are glorious, aren’t they? Quite possibly the most beautiful British coupé of all time, the Mendip Blue Metallic paint shows them off to perfection.

Mind you, a shade as dark as this would be equally ruthless in highlighting any damage but that’s okay because there isn’t any. With straight and unsullied panels that are perfectly aligned, this is an Aston Martin you’d be proud to drive in even the most highfalutin company.

And, this is a sporting coupé that wears its performance lightly; with only a modest boot spoiler, the V8’s simple and clean lines are accentuated by equally simple front and rear bumpers – and they’re all in the same high-quality condition as the rest of the coachwork.

The triple headlamps, which are located behind Triplex heated covers, are also in great shape, as are the rest of the light lenses.

The 18-inch Dynamics magnesium wheels (a £4,523 option at the time) are similarly unassuming in design – but then you can afford to be humble when you cost the first owner more than a grand a pop….

Fitted with new centre caps only a few hundred miles ago, they’re fitted with a set of Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrico tyres. These look good but the fronts do have some age-related degradation in between the treads, so could do with being replaced.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The Aston’s overall appearance is superb. Subtle and understated, it packs a more discreet visual punch than we’re used to seeing and we’re utterly smitten by its specification.

And, there isn’t much for you to do. If it were ours we’d be tempted to get it machine polished as there are some ‘love marks’ from over-enthusiastic polishing but these swirl marks are faint and polishing them out should be straightforward.

There’s oxidisation at the base of the rear screen and both front wings, the lower section of the offside C-pillar, and both B-pillars might be slightly less straightforward to deal with but it doesn’t look too bad at the moment. There are a number of age related marks that could be addressed if a new buyer so wished.

And, finally the nearside front alloy wheel has a small scuff on the rim and all show marks from ham-fisted fitters using metal sockets to remove the wheel nuts.

The interior is a clever and elegant take on the traditional Aston Martin wood ‘n’ leather cabin.

For a start the centre panels of the seats are trimmed in Alcantara, with only the outer part in leather. Alcantara is used elsewhere too, with carbon fibre (which was a £2,643 option) playing a supporting role alongside a leather covered dashboard and a pleated Alcantara headlining. There’s plenty of high-quality stitching, too.

It looks wonderful and it’s great to see something that’s a little bit quirky without going full-on 1970’s Porsche.

The front seats are grippy and comfortable. The deep bolsters should hold you tight in the bends too, and the pair are electrically adjustable and heated via a control panel on the inside edge of each seat.

The individual rear seats are separated by a huge armrest. They are, as is usually the case, in an even better condition than the ones in the front.

The steering wheel might not be the most exciting example you’ve ever seen but it sits in front of a carbon fibre dash that contains a set of white-on-black instruments including a 200mph speedometer, so #swingsandroundabouts, eh?

The carpets are in great shape, as are the door cards and headlining.

Everything is beautifully designed – the headlining is as elegant as any we’ve seen – and the liberal use of carbon fibre in lieu of the more usual wood lifts the cabin into the territory more usually occupied by supercar exotica.

An Alpine headunit and CD-multichanger provides the music when you get bored of the engine and exhaust noise. (Unlikely, we know.)

The boot is as exquisitely trimmed and presented as the rest of the interior and it plays home to a CD multichanger, two tyre repair canisters, the tool kit and jack, plus a fire extinguisher.

Flaws are few. The outer edge of the driver’s seat is a little crumpled and areas of its piping show a tiny amount of colour loss but neither is serious and it is all entirely consistent with the car’s age and mileage.

Oh, and a cover is missing from a coat hook.

The carbon fibre-theme extends under the bonnet and while some of the foam insulation on the intake pipes has degraded a little, that’s about the extent of your underbonnet woes.

The underside is neat and strong but the mild surface corrosion that’s starting on the steel chassis could do with being caught sooner rather than later. A session with a wire brush and some rust killer should do the trick, followed by a coat of underseal to protect it.

As you can see, it bursts into life with a muted roar, showing good oil pressure and a good charge. It settles into a nice idle and revs well.

It also sounds so good we’d recommend turning the volume up and putting it on replay.

Or bidding. Obviously.

The Aston comes with the book pack, including the wallet with an individually numbered plaque on the front, plus the original invoice and build sheet.

Its MoT certificate is valid until March 2024 and the history file includes expired MoT certificates and tax discs plus the stamped service history booklet and a bunch of old invoices.

The service history is recoded as follows:

• 25.11.1999 and 194 miles – pre-delivery inspection by Lancaster Reading
• 24.02.2000 and 521 miles – 1,000-mile service by Aston Martin Works Service of Newport Pagnell
• 29.06.2000 and 2,855 miles – 6,000-mile service by Aston Martin Works Service of Newport Pagnell
• 26.04.2001 and 3,903 miles – 15,000-mile service by Aston Martin Works Service of Newport Pagnell
• 15.05.2002 and 5,809 miles – 22,500-mile service plus replacement exhaust, two front dampers, and miscellaneous fettling by Aston Martin Works Service of Newport Pagnell
• 21.10.2003 and 11,190 miles – annual service plus miscellaneous repairs to air-conditioning and cooling systems and new rear brake pads by Aston Martin Works Service of Newport Pagnell
• 26.01.2004 and 11,868 miles – service
• 25.06.2004 and 14,113 miles – miscellaneous repairs
• 27.04.2005 and 18,566 miles – 15,000-mile service plus refurbishment of alloy wheels and rectification of various leaks
• 17.08.2005 and 22,655 miles – various repairs plus engine tune
• 10.02.2006 and 25,734 miles – 30,000-mile service
• 09.10.2006 and 29,236 miles – 37,500-mile service
• 30.03.2007 and 30,687 miles – 45,000-mile service plus fresh coolant and various repairs
• 11.06.2015 and 32,261 miles – 15,000-mile service plus new rear brake pads, fresh coolant and automatic transmission fluid, new wheel cap badges, exhaust mounts, and more
• 30.07.2022 and 32,804 miles – service plus two nearly new catalytic convertors and various repairs by Stratton Motor Company at a cost of £5,000+

It also comes with two sets of keys and fobs.

The original Aston Martin invoice shows a purchase price of more than £163,000 – or almost £300,000 in today’s money, making it a very expensive sportscar but then it was handbuilt by craftsmen and women at Newport Pagnell.

Largely analogue and V8-powered, it’s not an exaggeration to say we will never see the like again, especially in this configuration.

All of which makes our guide price of between £55,000 and £60,000 look like astonishing value.

You know what to do.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.