The last hand made supercar was british | FerrariChat

The last hand made supercar was british

Discussion in 'British' started by amc, Aug 18, 2018.

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  1. amc

    amc Formula Junior
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    old school
    The Aston Martin V8 Vantage (1993-2000)
    this is back when the Virage family of cars was just as luxurious and exquisite as any Rolls or Bentley but also much faster and cooler looking.
    I know the cars were made from the ground up in Newport Pagnell with the help of hammers, english wheel and jigs.
    Also trying to understand how much of the engine and the gearbox was made in-house, I know they worked close with Cosworth, but how about the transmission who and how much was made outside?
     
  2. flat_plane_eddie

    flat_plane_eddie F1 Rookie
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    Do you mean the Virage?
     
  3. absent

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    NEP and flat_plane_eddie like this.
  4. Tenney

    Tenney F1 Rookie
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  5. Pranucci

    Pranucci Formula Junior
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    This has lots of info on all the various versions;
    Check out all the custom versions:
    http://astonmartins.com/car/v8-vantage-v550/
    http://astonmartins.com/car/v8-vantage-v600/
    AFAIK the engines were built by AM, heads were still the Callaway 32 valve heads from the Virage ( probably ported).
    Wilder cams and dual superchargers, ended with 600hp and 600ftlb.
    Gearbox was a Tremec or Corvette 6 speed, I think, and for most models 6th gear was blocked off.
    Auto gearbox too.
    I have a standard Virage, and good lord they are heavy cars.
    Don't let the aluminum bodywork fool you.
    AM would update cars for owners after sale, for a nominal price.
    JK!
    (Works Service has no nominal prices)
     
  6. absent

    absent F1 Veteran
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    My unicorn is a V600 LM, my number one car I desire the most.
    One day I hope to come across one with LHD that does not cost $700k plus.........
    Black on Black........
    Tom Hartley had one last year but I was not ready money wise.
     
  7. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

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  8. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

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  9. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Hand made to me means people actually hammered out the body laid it up by hand.

    The Mac F1 probably still fits that description. So do Paganis

    Anything else is mass production. if you use steel dies to make the shapes, that to me is not “hand made”
     
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  10. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Morgan still hand builds cars - at least as of 2012 or so. My old company was going to do a case study with them, and I was close to seeing the inner workings. They did tell me it’s still a mostly hand-built process for their cars.

    FWIW.
     
  11. malex

    malex Formula 3
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    I think Christian von Koenigssegg might debate your assertion. Unlike Pagani, Koenigssegg builds their own engines, including the blocks. Pagani uses Mercedes AMG engines (modified admittedly, but still AMG at its core . . . not that it's a bad thing).
     
  12. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    I'm not sure I would qualify Koenigssegg as a "mass production" manufacturer. But you have a point about that.
     
  13. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    The difference is "hand made" vs "hand assembled". You could argue most cars are "hand assembled" even today. If you are using mass production tools to make most of the parts, then is it hand made or just hand assembled?

    That is the root of the issue. It's what the definition of what "is is".

    To me, if a guy gets a sheet of aluminum and starts banging away on a form to make the car shape on a buck, or starts with a piece of fiberglass or carbon fibre and lays it up one piece at a time using his craftsmanship to make it, that's hand made.

    Stamping a body out in a tool and then screwing it to a chassis is not IMO.
     
  14. malex

    malex Formula 3
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    Agreed. But you mentioned Pagani and I tend to think of Pagani and Koenigssegg similarly - other than I can spell Pagani without having to look it up first.
     

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