The new Vantage sharpens one of the old empire’s best weapons yet again
More power, a nicer place to sit, and carefully chiseled looks, and none of that EV or hybrid non-sense.
To the delight of Aston Martin fans worldwide, a new Vantage was just announced. You might expect some form of EV or hybrid with the world moving forward toward electrification, but no! This old warrior soldiers on in with a God honest twin-turbo V8 and no electrification to be seen. Leave it up to the Brits to shrug off anything modern and go forth in battle with a trusty steed.
The catch? This old war horse needs to be taken seriously. Power is up from the last generation with 128 additional ponies and 590-pound feet of torque coming to the front lines from a hand-built AMG-derived unit. Aston’s engineers were able to squeeze the larger numbers out by modifying the cam profiles, fine-tuning the compression ratio, and hanging larger turbos.
Behind the bespoke engine is an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission, which if you’re confused about why there is no manual or some DCT box, well, it’s because automatics are just that good. We’ve come full circle back to the slushbox being the last, best thing to quickly shift gears.
This rear-wheel drive gentleman’s track and street toy has a trick E-differential to get all the power to the ground. A new launch control integrates the powertrain and transmission and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) to allow the maximum amount of torque without unnecessary wheel slip, ensuring the quickest 0-60 times—an advertised 3.4 seconds to sixty miles per hour and 202 top speed.
Visually the car isn’t a huge departure from the ‘old Vantage’. The outgoing car was already easy on the eyes, and therefore, the new car gets minor changes in the form of a new front bumper, fenders, and standard LED headlights. The new aero bits are part fashion and part function with the radiators getting 29% more air than the outgoing model.
Wheels-wise the new Vantage rides high on twenty-one inches of forged alloys. Tires are spec’d as Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 with 275/30 in front and massive 325/30 tires in the rear. Wheels can be ordered in three distinctive designs: five-spoke, multi-spoke, and a Y-spoke with multiple colors and finishes. Carbon ceramic brakes are available.
Inside the new Vantage, the most obvious improvements have been made from the outgoing model. A 10.25” touchscreen with Pure Black technology and multi-finger gesture control is prominently on display. Infotainment is built in-house and supplemented with an Aston Martin app supporting Apple and Android devices. The app itself allows owners to interact and engage with their cars. All cars will come equipped with an 11-speaker 390w stereo but a Bowers and Wilkins 15-speaker 1170w stereo is available if you get tired of the waste disposal units belting out the old world’s best tunes.
All this adds up to a car with 50/50 weight distribution and a solid competitor for the 911 Turbo S and Mercedes-AMG models. A plusher interior, more power, and slightly more chiseled looks goes on sale Q2 this year with prices starting at $190,000.
– M. T. Blake
(FB & IG @_mtblake)
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