The fuel-injected Series 5 2-door coupe was introduced in 1986. Series 5 was the most powerful V8 among the Aston Martins of the late 80s. Engine: 5,340 cc V8 providing 380 hp. Acceleration 0–60 mph: 5.2 seconds Top speed: 168 mph Only 405 Series 5 cars were built before production ceased in 1989. (wikipedia)
So far as is known, in 1998 Aston Martin Works converted in excess of 80 engines to V600 spec including regular V8 Vantage, Special Series Cars, Vantage Le Mans and Special Edition Vantage Volantes. Aston Martin announced in 1999 the commissioning of a series of 40, special named and numbered editions of the V8 Vantage in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Aston Martin's victories at Le Mans and in the World Sports Car Championship. It is powered by the same 5.3 litre twin supercharged V8, producing 600 bhp, 60 more than the 'standard' Vantage. It has a potential top speed of over 200mph.
Just four cars had the ultimate 600bhp version of the supercharged engine and the six speed manual gearbox (automatic and five speed were also offered). Acceleration from standstill to 100km/h took 3.9 seconds and top speed was quoted as “in excess of 320km/h”.
Of the 40 Le Mans made, 15 were right-hand drive, 22 were left-hand drive and three were converted from RHD to LHD. The specification of the 40 cars varied from customer to customer. (astonmartins.com, ultimatecarpage.com & kidston.com)
1999 Aston Martin Vantage V600 Supercharged Le Mans
