Attended the UK launch of the new Aston Martin Vantage early last year and thought it looked fabulous, but I was rather disappointed once I sat in the cabin. It felt a little claustrophobic—being a left-hooker with a raised centre console and bucket seats offering no backrest adjustment didn’t help.
Fast forward to last week: I spent five days with this bad boy, and my opinion has changed considerably. This particular car has the steering wheel on the correct side, a fully adjustable steering column and comfort seats. It’s a strict two-seater, with the bulkhead immediately behind the occupants. I have my seat quite far back, and after a bit of jiggling I was able to find a comfortable position. Once settled, the cabin proved to be a genuinely pleasant place to spend time.
The interior is well finished, blending an infotainment system with physical buttons. The knurled adjustment wheels on the centre console add a premium touch, though you can’t help but notice some of the auxiliary switchgear comes straight from the Mercedes parts bin.
Under the bonnet sits a 4.0-litre V8 with hot twin turbos nestled in the ‘V’ between the cylinder heads. It’s an AMG-derived unit producing 650 BHP and 800 Nm of torque—and it’s superb. There’s no shortage of grunt, and it feels properly fast too. Adding a personal touch is the signature of the factory technician who signed this car off.
I was initially apprehensive about the German-sourced ZF 8-speed auto gearbox, criticised by some pundits. Admittedly, it’s not a PDK, but the ratios suit the performance, and left to its own devices the box shifted intuitively—exactly when I needed it to.
This car is a hooligan and demands respect. You can’t quite get away with stuff you can in a 911 and 800 Nm through the back wheels provides an exciting ride. The front end becomes a little skippy and you really need to keep your wits about you when pressing on! Tyres are bespoke ultra-wide Michelin Pilot Sport 5S and work well with this car.
The base price of £168k seems consistent with comparable performance machinery, but once options and OTR charges are added, it heads towards £200k—this is a little salty.
Still, there’s a hint of a deal to be struck and looking at the ads, there are currently 18 x 2025 cars available averaging around £150k which seems a bit more realistic, although I suspect residuals will drop further next year. Thinking about it you can buy a new, well spec’d 992.2 GTS for roughly the same money and it’s probably just as fast in the real world, but maybe not quite so much of an event to drive.
Still you pays your money and takes your choice.
Regards,
Clive
Fast forward to last week: I spent five days with this bad boy, and my opinion has changed considerably. This particular car has the steering wheel on the correct side, a fully adjustable steering column and comfort seats. It’s a strict two-seater, with the bulkhead immediately behind the occupants. I have my seat quite far back, and after a bit of jiggling I was able to find a comfortable position. Once settled, the cabin proved to be a genuinely pleasant place to spend time.
The interior is well finished, blending an infotainment system with physical buttons. The knurled adjustment wheels on the centre console add a premium touch, though you can’t help but notice some of the auxiliary switchgear comes straight from the Mercedes parts bin.
Under the bonnet sits a 4.0-litre V8 with hot twin turbos nestled in the ‘V’ between the cylinder heads. It’s an AMG-derived unit producing 650 BHP and 800 Nm of torque—and it’s superb. There’s no shortage of grunt, and it feels properly fast too. Adding a personal touch is the signature of the factory technician who signed this car off.
I was initially apprehensive about the German-sourced ZF 8-speed auto gearbox, criticised by some pundits. Admittedly, it’s not a PDK, but the ratios suit the performance, and left to its own devices the box shifted intuitively—exactly when I needed it to.
This car is a hooligan and demands respect. You can’t quite get away with stuff you can in a 911 and 800 Nm through the back wheels provides an exciting ride. The front end becomes a little skippy and you really need to keep your wits about you when pressing on! Tyres are bespoke ultra-wide Michelin Pilot Sport 5S and work well with this car.
The base price of £168k seems consistent with comparable performance machinery, but once options and OTR charges are added, it heads towards £200k—this is a little salty.
Still, there’s a hint of a deal to be struck and looking at the ads, there are currently 18 x 2025 cars available averaging around £150k which seems a bit more realistic, although I suspect residuals will drop further next year. Thinking about it you can buy a new, well spec’d 992.2 GTS for roughly the same money and it’s probably just as fast in the real world, but maybe not quite so much of an event to drive.Still you pays your money and takes your choice.
Regards,
Clive
