High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Virage was Aston Martin's replacement for the decades-old V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high- performance Vantage in 1993, and the name of the standard car was changed to V8 in 1996. This V8- powered car was intended as the company's top model, with the 6-cylinder 1994 DB7 slotted below it. Although the DB7 switched to a V12 engine and claimed the performance crown, this V8 model (by then in Vantage form) remained the exclusive, expensive, and hand-built king of Astons. It was replaced in 2000 with the Vanquish. The V8 Vantage name reappeared on a new entry-level model in 2005. By the end of the 2000 model year, 1,050 of all Virage related models had been produced.