• Manual tranmission • Converted to 7.0-litre capacity by R S Williams • Present ownership since 2010 • Dry stored since acquisition • Requires re-commissioning Testing an Aston Martin V8 Vantage in 1977, Autocar magazine recorded a 0-60mph time of 5.4 seconds, and estimated its top speed as 170mph, figures comparable with those achievable by a Ferrari Daytona or Lamborghini Miura.

For those with a yen for even greater performance there was the factory's optional 'X-Pack' engine (like this example's) which, depending on the state of tune, had up to 432bhp available.

By way of comparison, Ferrari's contemporary 12-cylinder Testarossa could only manage a relatively paltry 390 horsepower.

The 'X-Pack' engine was first made available in 1986, the engine number suffix changing from 'V' to 'X'.

As the Vantage's mechanical specification progressed so did the coachwork, with wheel arches flaring to accommodate wider rims, increasing the overall width by 2", and 16"-diameter wheels being in...