If CAR’s track shootout were contested on looks alone, all the other cars could well have packed up and gone home when the Aston glided into the paddock. The V8 Vantage, however, has some serious go to match its jaw-slackening good looks.
If CAR’s track shootout were contested on looks alone, all the other cars could well have packed up and gone home when the Aston glided into the paddock. The V8 Vantage, however, has some serious go to match its jaw-slackening good looks.
Despite the classic styling cues, such as the trapezoidal grille and the air outlets on the front wings, this is very much an Aston of the new school; a car that promises “electrifying performance and outstanding agility”, according to its maker. A bonded-aluminium “Vertical Horizontal” architecture, which utilizes lightweight materials such as magnesium and other advanced composites, gives the Vantage a very rigid platform. Thanks to its aluminium independent wishbone suspension, the Vantage offers ride quality that is as refined as that of any gentleman’s express, yet remains remarkably nimble when pressed through the turns.
The Aston’s 4,3-litre V8 engine is hand assembled in a dedicated high-tech facility in Cologne, Germany and produces 283 kW at 7 000 r/min and 410 N.m of torque at 5 000 r/min. That results in a 0-100 km/h time of 5,85 seconds and a top speed of 282 km/h. To maintain the Aston’s refined-but-sporty balancing act, each cylinder bank sports special bypass valves that can help reduce engine noise at low speeds. When the revs hit 4 000 r/min, the bypass valves turn Jekyll into Hyde; opening up to reduce pressure in the exhaust system and resulting in a spine-chilling snarl emanating from the Vantage’s tailpipes. Aston claims that mounting the engine in the mid-front position and the six-speed Graziano gearbox at the rear gives the Vantage optimum weight distribution therefore aiding better poise at speed.
Although the figures may suggest otherwise, the Aston does not punch its way aggressively into forward motion; the effect is rather a relentless wave of power in every gear. Then, factoring in the relative ease with which one can place the Vantage on the road and the positive feedback through the steering, this is a machine that had testers at CAR admiring the fact it was smooth and effortless enough to make going fast feel slow.
At R1 500 000 the Vantage is the second most expensive piece of machinery competing in the track shoot out. How will the graceful Briton fare in the fierce heat of the competition? Find out in the January issue of CAR Magazine!
- A road test of the V8 Vantage appeared in the December 2006 issue of CAR Magazine. To receive an unabridged copy of the road test by e-mail, access our easy-to-use SMS Road Test service.
