Budget versus performance versus desirability. Three different axes by which many performance car purchases are made every single day. But the last option, desirability, isn’t a perfect climbing line on the graph. It’s a bumpy journey. Countach versus Diablo versus Gallardo versus Huracan, for example. For many people that’s a real rollercoaster.
It’s all subjective of course, but it goes to show that new cars aren’t automatically more desirable than old ones. Now remember that the average sports car enthusiast's buying budget generally goes up over time—especially once the kids leave home—and you can understand why amazing cars like the Singer-modified Porsche 911 and the Guntherworks 400R exist. There’s a market for desirable old performance cars with modern performance and distinctly modern budgets.
Welcome to restomod, a curiously 21st century phenomenon where that cheap old sports car costs more than a new car, because it’s even more desirable and drives just as well. Maybe better. But what if air-cooled German cars with the engine at the wrong end aren’t your thing? Don’t worry, the Valiant is here to help.
Wait... the what now? "Well, it’s a name-in-progress but it’s kinda stuck," admits the owner and creator of this restored and modified 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Ali Robertson. "It started as a project car for myself, but the Aston Martin community is pretty tight and it wasn’t long before I was asked about building a second one. And a third, actually."
Ali’s "Valiant" is a thing to behold. Custom painted in Mariana Blue, a color normally reserved for the later DB11 AMR, this Vantage’s stance when parked is just about as deep as the trench that gave the color its name.
Sitting on custom-built Öhlins DFV suspension and boasting GT4-derived axles, uniballs and top-mounts, I expected a full race-car experience as I slid behind the Valiant's wheel. But there’s no eyeball shake at all as I turn out of the driveway and head towards the Nürburgring for my test drive. In fact, the ride quality on German backroads is on par with, maybe even better than, the standard 2016 Vantage N430 I just drove earlier that day.
Arriving at the track, unbuckling the stock belts and pulling out the hidden Schröth harnesses, I’m already pretty confident that this is one British sports car that can hang with the modified German regulars. And I’m not disappointed.
Immediately obvious is the Valiant's front-end grip. It’s legendary. Gently releasing the massive racing brakes and turning in quickly, I was thinking E46 M3 race car on semi-slicks and a square setup. Or a modern GT3RS on hot Michelins. Even on these road-biased Pirelli P Zero tires, this Aston turns into Hatzenbach with a ferocious confidence that paints a grin on my face. (It’s hard to believe, but Ali also offers Direzza semi-slicks and Öhlins TTX for more track-biased builds. I suspect that would be face-melting.)
The weight distribution of the Aston is clearly a massive advantage as we carve into Schwedenkreuz with barely a squeak from the tires or myself. The dry-sump 4.3-liter V-8 sits against the firewall, and the Graziano semi-automatic gearbox is actually on the back axle. Each gear shift thumps into the firmed-up bushings and uniballs with the finality of a .50-cal sniper round. Through my favorite section, Hohe Acht to Pflanzgarten, the sensation is of a car that rotates perfectly around the driver, that front-end grip being matched by rear-end traction that, in the dry, seems unbreakable.
It’s a beautifully balanced package, and, for this road tester and race car driver, one which outshines any of the factory Astons I’ve driven to date.
On the way back to Ali’s garage, only a couple of miles from the ‘Ring, I drink in the details. The hand-stitched Alcantara and matte-finish carbon-fiber. The discrete half roll-cage, the custom-trimmed Recaro SPGs and beefy steering wheel all make you feel comfortable at the limit, and comfortable on the road as well. The Valiant has a club-sport feel familiar to many lucky Porsche and Ferrari owners.
Upon my return, I compliment Ali on a job well done. But then, I also point out that for the same price as a used V-8 Vantage in mediocre condition, you could actually pick up a clean E92 M3, another fantastic naturally-aspirated V-8 with great potential.
"Yeah, but there’s a million of them," Ali retorts. "That’s not exactly a brave choice, is it?"
"Not very Valiant?" I ask, tongue-in-cheek.
"Exactly," confirms Ali.
Ali’s Robertson’s sole connection to the digital world is an instagram account. If you’re interested in shell-up rebuilds of Aston Martin V8 Vantages, you can give him a follow here.
