1999 Aston Martin V8 Vantage rwd

1991 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante – “Prince of Wales” Specification
(One of the rarest Aston Martin road cars ever built)

The Prince of Wales (PoW)–spec Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante is one of the most fascinating “royal-inspired” cars ever built. A 1991 example is part of an extremely small group of hand-built cars connected to a special request by Charles III when he was still the Prince of Wales.

Although the PoW cars were originally produced between 1986 and 1989, several cars built slightly later (including around 1990–1991) were converted or completed to the same specification, which is why you may see a 1991-registered example.

The Royal Origin Story (Mid-1980s)
In the mid-1980s, the Prince of Wales wanted a new convertible Aston Martin.

However, he disliked the aggressive styling of the standard V8 Vantage Volante, which had:

flared wheel arches
a deep front air dam
large rear spoiler
side skirts
These were typical of the 1980s “super-muscle” Vantage look, but the Prince preferred something more elegant and understated.

So Aston Martin engineers created a special configuration:

A Vantage-performance car in the more subtle body of the standard V8 Volante.

This became known as the “Prince of Wales specification.”

The Prince’s Personal Car
The first car built was commissioned for the Prince himself after the Emir of Bahrain offered to buy him a new Aston Martin as a gift.

His car combined:

Vantage performance
Volante elegance
bespoke interior colours
Typical royal colours included:

Buckingham or Balmoral Green exterior
Magnolia leather interior
Dark green mohair roof
These colours became iconic for PoW cars.

Extremely Rare Production
The Prince’s request inspired a tiny production run.

Total PoW specification cars built:

27 cars in total
22 right-hand drive (UK)
5 left-hand drive (North America)
Many collectors consider them the most desirable versions of the classic Aston Martin V8 Volante.

Because each car was hand-built at the Newport Pagnell factory, no two cars are exactly identical.

What Made the PoW Vantage Volante Special

1. Subtle Bodywork
Compared with a normal Vantage Volante, PoW cars:

removed the wide arches
removed side skirts
removed the large rear spoiler
kept the classic open mesh grille
The result looked like a standard V8 Volante but hid much greater performance.

2. High-Performance Vantage Engine

Under the bonnet was still the powerful Vantage “X-Pack” V8, typically producing:

about 410–435 hp
0–60 mph around 5 seconds
top speed around 170–175 mph
For the late 1980s, this made it one of the fastest convertibles in the world.

3. Hand-Built Craftsmanship

Each car featured:

bespoke leather interiors
wood veneer dashboards
manual ZF 5-speed gearbox
hand-trimmed roofs and carpets
Like most Aston Martins of the era, production was slow and highly artisanal.

Collectability Today
Because only 27 were built, the PoW Vantage Volante is:

rarer than many Ferraris of the era
one of the most sought-after classic Aston Martins
strongly associated with the British royal family
Examples regularly sell for six-figure sums, depending on provenance and condition.

Why collectors love it royal origin story extremely low production numbers subtle “sleeper” design classic hand-built Aston Martin engineering

Interesting historical note:
The Prince later sold his own original PoW car in 1995, and the proceeds went to The Prince’s Trust charity.

This car:
This one previous owned car was the second to last V8 Vantage Volante and PoW built and was sold through Aston Martin Sales London to Mr John H James, Hertfordshire in January 1990. The specification was right hand drive with manual transmission finished in Rolls Royce Balmoral Green with Tan leather piped in dark green with green carpets edged in dark green leather.

The black Mohair hood was finished with natural Wool cloth material.

The car was then sold to the current owner family in the late 1998 and taken to Aston Martin Works Service where the car was converted to left hand drive. (One of only three of the original 22 cars converted by Aston Martin Works)

In 2000 the car was taken back to Aston martin Works Service for a total bare metal repaint in the original Balmoral Green.

The car has been serviced regulargly serviced and maintained by Aston martin Hilversum in Holland since.

One of the most original examples with all matching numbers and still has the original books, tools keys and fitted luggage.

So well documented, this has to be a true prime example of the ultimate Aston Martin,