They’ve been through the mill over the years, the V8s. Born out of the DBSV8 after David Brown sold Aston Martin to Company Developments Ltd, the cars then lived through the fuel crisis and economic decline of the 1970s, followed by yet more financial crises and changes of ownership at Aston Martin itself.

Despite or perhaps because of all this, the V8 survived until 1989 – after all, it was easier to develop this 1960s model than to create a new car. By the end of the line Aston had got the V8 just right. At which point they dropped it for the Virage…

There’s consequently a world of difference in the feel of an early V8 and that of a late-1980s model. The first cars have the appeal of looking less aggressive, but the later ones are more powerful, handle better and are much quieter and more comfortable. 

They’re also indecently fast (and of course thirsty). But what they’re not is unwieldy – forget all the old road test gasps at the size of the Aston V8; cars are larger nowadays.

Prices start low, but you won’t get away with trying to run one on a tight budget. This is a thoroughbred, a truly rare car – just 3619 were built, only 342 of which are Vantages – and that’s what makes them so special.  

Desmond Smail (above) served his apprenticeship working on V8s at an Aston Martin specialist; in 1981 he launched his eponymous Aston sales, service and restoration business.

‘The V8 market had sunk a little over the last few years,’ he says, ‘although late, low-mileage cars have always been sought-after. But there’s been a big upsurge for the early cars in the last six to 12 months.

‘Lots of new Aston buyers are coming after the V8s. They’ve been bitten by the Aston bug and want a handbuilt Newport Pagnell car. V8s start at £15,000, the same as a DB7.   

‘At that price they’ll need work. 

A good 1970s car will be £40k-plus; more for a Vantage, Volante or Oscar India. The best V8 is the more powerful X-Pack Vantage, which starts at £80,000, up to £150,000. 

‘Volantes, especially in Prince of Wales spec, are highly desirable. But whichever you buy, budget for high costs. It’s an Aston!’

The bad news is that that if something on the V8 needs fixing, it won’t be cheap. The good news is that the areas that go wrong are usually reasonably easy to spot. 

The big one is the sills (the V8’s structure is steel, while outer panels are alloy. If the sills are rusty then the rear suspension trailing arm mounts and the boot floor won’t be far behind, and it’s foolish not to have them repaired while the sills are off. And to replace the sills the bottoms of the front and rear wings have to be cut off. The cost, all in, at an Aston specialist? Around £15,000…

The sills hide under stainless trims, which aren’t difficult to remove, but Desmond Smail’s guys drill a hole in the end of each sill and poke a camera down to inspect the internals. 

You’ll sometimes find corrosion where the bottoms of the alloy front wings join the steel sills, but otherwise the only other problem areas are the front and rear screens; the trim clips corrode and the rust spreads. Clips are available in stainless steel to prevent further problems.

Engines are tough, with bottom ends lasting 150,000 miles if they’ve had regular oil changes. Cylinder heads need a rebuild (new guides and exhaust valves) at around 60,000 miles. Only X-Pack and EFi cars used hardened valve seats for unleaded but the rest tend to survive, and simply receive hardened seats when the head is rebuilt. Early Bosch fuel injection was troublesome but specialists can deal with it now.

Transmissions? Strong but look for differential oil leaks. Electrics? No problem. Brakes and suspension? Same. Interiors last well, though seat foam in early cars sometimes disintegrates. 

So there you have it. Not bad, but we’d recommend a specialist inspection every time.

Don’t think of an Aston V8 as a ‘cheap’ way into the marque, because these are expensive cars to run. We’ve seen how much sill repairs cost, and a 10,000-mile service will be £1500.

The crucial point is how well a car has been looked after, and that’s not just about regular servicing – it’s about the quality of the work too.

What’s interesting is how ropey V8s are still so cheap compared with earlier Astons (Desmond Smail has a 1976 V8 with Japanese-spec engine, needing sill work, for £15,000). The DB4, 5 and 6 have gone stratospheric, the DBS is rising fast, and if the V8s hang onto their coat-tails even a sill replacement and top-end engine rebuild could be made economically viable, long-term. At the other end of the scale, the rarities such as Prince of Wales Vantage Volantes, X-Pack Vantages, Zagatos and very early cars will inevitably hold their values well.

Regardless of economics, though, if you buy any of the V8s you’ll have a true thoroughbred, a car that’s finally lost its once-vulgar image.