The V-type asteroid is very similar to the more common S-type, as it is also made up of stony irons and ordinary chondrites. The only significant difference between this rarer form of asteroid is that it contains more pyroxene than the more commonly found S-type.

It is thought that most or all V-type asteroids originated as fragments from the crust of the asteroid 4 Vesta, possibly blasted out by a single very large impact at some point in Vesta's history.