Aston Martin has been quick to overhaul its range with the sensational DB12 and now it is the turn of the smaller but feistier Vantage. The Aston Martin Vantage has been the quintessential muscle car in the Aston Martin range with its shorter wheelbase and myriad iterations including the bonkers V12. Now, the new Vantage gets a different look plus a new interior while piling up a lot of horsepower.
The headline grabbing figures include 665PS/800Nm from the 4.0 V8 Twin Turbo engine, with a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. That is a serious 100 horses plus from the earlier version and puts it in the league of the supercars. There is more torque too and Aston Martin has tuned this powertrain to be more edgy and deliver a pure muscle car meets supercar driving experience.
Then the characteristic Aston Martin roar from its engine has also been tweaked to be more operatic and have a louder tone with those cylinders making their presence felt.
Aston Martin Vantage: Prices start at $230,000
Other changes include larger turbos and more cooling while the 8-speed automatic has been primed for this potent powertrain. With a serious top-speed of 202 mph and rocketing from a standstill to 60 mph in just 3.4sec, the Vantage now has clearly grown up with rubbing shoulders with some supercars placed above.
Both the shortened Final Drive Ratio and transmission shift calibration have been modified by Aston Martin along with a new Launch Control system. Launch Control also allows the car to deploy the prodigious amount of torque with the E-Diff, ESP slip control and engine torque management.
Drivers can also adjust the wheelspin and indulge in some smoky tire shredding drifts with its lairy behaviour kept intact. It is a bonafide front-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car but with the personality uncorked with dynamic enhancements while adding more finesse. Aston Martin has not left any stone unturned with new trick dampers, a new electric steering and nearly everything being re-tuned or changed.
![Aston Martin Vantage AMR - [SOUND ON]](https://regardingluxury.com/wp-content/cache/flying-press/CBx71ifr6KY-hqdefault.jpg)
Aston Martin Vantage: Top speed of 202 mph
It also looks more purposeful with a massive new grille which is 38 percent larger and the car has a wider stance too with a hunkered down look. The new grille is not about increasing the glamour quotient too as it is about more airflow to feed its V8 lurking underneath. The standard 21-inch wheels are pushed further to the side and there are new Matrix LED headlamps.
It looks more muscular and a big departure from the original Vantage but somehow fits the dynamic traits embedded in it. We like the new direction that Aston Martin is taking and there is a hint of One-77 about its new design as well.
The interior takes massive ergonomic strides too with moving away from the archaic cabin design of the older models. There is more technology being discreetly tucked away within a veneer of craftsmanship. Forget the confusing switches as instead there is a new 10.25-inch touchscreen with a full capacitive single and multi-finger gesture control.
This new infotainment system which first made its debut in the DB12 is all in-house and is vastly better than the earlier one. We also take solace from the fact that proper physical buttons are also there for crucial vehicle functions like drive selection, heating and ventilation plus also override switches for Chassis, ESP, and Exhaust.
Prices are expected to start from $230,000 being a competitor to the likes of the new AMG GT and the Porsche 911 Turbo amongst others. We think the new Vantage straddles a fine line between being a GT and a supercar along with a healthy dose of muscle being injected in its admittedly sharper demeanour.
Somnath Chatterjee grew up around cars and most of his childhood was spent obsessing over supercars. Years later he decided to start writing about them and hasn’t looked back since. While he has had his fair share of cars, the world of automobiles never ceases to amaze him. Travelling all over the world to drive them along with sharing that experience is what ultimately keeps him going. He hopes to drive a Ferrari 288 GTO someday because, well, do you really need a reason?
