Much like Victor Frankenstein, I'm also giving life to my own creature and at times, I'm consumed with guilt, despair, and regret over the nature of my creation. All joking aside, I know what I am doing may be sacrilegious to most who read this, but know that I love the Vantage so much that I actually have a completely stock example at home that I won't touch. My 2008 V8V Roadster however, is fodder for my imagination...

So far phase 1 is purely cosmetic and is already north of USD 30,000 , which is disclosed here solely because my wife doesn't read these forums It entails:

-Complete V12 body upgrade with carbon fiber rear valence and front bumper lip, side skirts and V12 hood with carbon fiber air vents (AMBits);

-6 slat carbon edition front grille (having the blade holders painted black as they come in a gray that is lighter than the blades themselves);

-24k gold emblems (front & back) from the Dragon edition Vantage + custom gold painted rear boot release button and trim to match;

-Custom lighting from Oracle; (1) painted headlights (chrome delete) with red angel eyes & DRLs (I'll still have the option of activating the OEM look because all light mods will have their own switch and will be completely independent from the factory electrical system), blue "demon eye" projectors with a custom logo etched on the glass, (2) fender turn signal led retrofit (not merely adding a wedge LED bulb, but having a large circular Amber circuit board fabricated - and clear housing smoked black of course), (3) front and rear bumper side marker retrofit to red LEDs extending the full length of the housing, (4) exterior red LED accent lighting with flood light "pods" in all 4 hood vents, side strake vents, rear bumper mesh and wheel wells, (5) license plate LED circuit board fabrication;

-Custom carbon fiber work including carbon fiber mirror caps, side strakes, exterior and interior door handles/pulls, speedster humps (first time ever done on a Vantage to my knowledge), entire lower/center/upper console, door sills (with polished brass/black lettering sill plates from Tony Hall), gauge cluster trim and upper housing, air vents, window switches, etc.

-20" black rims and lowering springs from the VCollection including painted center wheel caps with gold wings to match the Dragon emblems;

-Yellow brake calipers;

-Custom seats with gold AM wings logo embroidered in headrests and door leather upgrade;

-3m Satin black wrap over the entire car including chrome delete;

-Wind screen from AMBits;

-Carbon edition clear tails from AMBits (because my existing clear tails have gray surrounds);

-Sun visor update (to flap/mirror version) from AMBits;

-Rear view mirror/GDO replacement (current one is slightly foggy in areas);

-Powder coated black exhaust tips; and

-Black and yellow California plates

Below is a photoshop rendering I made of what it will look like (but the rendering was made on a coupe and this is for a roadster).

I'll make sure to update as things progress, but here are some progress and overall project inspiration pics:

 

It looks superb !

 

Wow, that's one hell of a project!

Drop your change much?

 

That looks more like what was left of my funds after I bought my car.

 

Did even more than that to a 1987 928... By the time I was done I had $105,000 into it!

 

A whole new meaning to enjoying every aspect of Aston Martin ownership! The only concern I have is the screwdriver on the leather seat and the can drink on the hood --It's great to see the pleasures of AM ownership come alive - Enjoy!!

 

Awesome! Love to see people 'making it yours'. Can't wait for finished pics but please post along the way.

 

I was totally shocked when we took that panel out. There's literally about $15 worrh of change in there and it seems to all be somehow stuck. I told the techs to periodically take change out to get sodas at the vending machine since my car will be there for the next 1 to 2 months (apparently the new paint must breathe for three weeks before it gets wrapped). Lol

 

We shall see. I've done similar things on other cars - purely from my imagination, and they usually work out fairly well.

 

Now you're freaking me out. Lol And the 928 was my dream car in High School. It's only one of four front engine coupes Porsche ever built.

 

Seats and hood are toast as part of this project, so I figured what the hell?

 

Will do. And assuming the carbon work is outstanding, I will then share my reference should anyone want certain parts "skinned" (not cheap vinyl wrapped, but 1/2 the cost of dry carbon (prepreg and autoclave method).

 

That looks awesome. I was debating the Dragon 88 emblems as well!

 

I'll take some better pics of them tomorrow for you. Literally everyone that I've showed them to thinks they are amazing. They truly have a jewelry-ish tlook and feel to them.

 

A few things you might consider:

The picture below is of the seats I had done using Aston's modern stitching pattern but with larger diamonds and internal to the seat. I wanted actual Aston leather, but the dealer said their supplier could match the color and their leather would wear better - while it did match for a while it quickly faded to another hue and after just a month showed signs of premature wear. I traded the car for a 15 GT, but had I kept it they would have refinished the leather. So be aware and keep with Aston's supplier.

The next is of a clear paneled hood I had done with back lighting to show off the detailed Chevy 383. Similar to that which you did elsewhere.

I also had gills made (the 928's are nicknamed the shark) and had a rear view camera placed in the upper portion of the back gill on both sides... with screens installed into the dash panel. Color was the BMW Mini Orange.

Lastly I did not want a liberty walk look and instead fender widening that would look mild and factory. They actually did about 20 radial cuts in the fender, pulled it out about 2 inches, then filled and reshaped to get the car wider but in a very stealth way. The fuel cap is a Mustang part. The car won People's Choice Award at a Car Craft Summer National.