Daytona has recently received a small consignment of the limited Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition which comes with more power and some Formula 1 pedigree.
Competing in the top tier of motorsport comes at a considerable price tag. While each team on the grid covets the grand prize of a constructors championship, there are also secondary benefits that can trickle into commercial gain. Mercedes-Benz, for example, has been able to implement the hybrid and state-of-the-art turbocharging technology into their commercial products, increasing power and improving efficiency.
Most teams currently competing in the championship, save from the Haas Formula 1 Team, Scuderia Alpha Tauri and Red Bull Racing, are either a division of a commercial brand that shares their name or directly affiliated to them. Aston Martin has become one of the most recent automakers to do so after becoming a name-sponsor in 2021 with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team.
Fruits of this collaboration have materialised with the Vantage F1 Edition which has now landed in South Africa. Like the Formula 1 team, the latest addition into Aston Martin’s portfolio employs a Mercedes-AMG derived motor although the newcomer is powered to the tune of 393 kW and 685 N.m from the 4,0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 as opposed to its standard counterpart. This allows the sports car to hit 100 km/h in 3,6 seconds in Roadster guise while the Coupe manages 0,1 second quicker. The Coupe will also go onto its 314 km/h top speed, 8 km/h faster than the drop-top. The limited edition model has only had two examples landed on our local shores with a price tag of roughly R4 849 999.
In addition to the performance upgrades, the Vantage F1 Edition also comes with some upgraded aero, which provides 200 kg of downforce on both ends of the model at top speed. All four corners also include brand new 21-inch rims while racing inspired graphics line the rest of the exterior.
Two models have been brought into the country by Daytona, the official Aston Martin dealer in South Africa, with a third arriving later on in the year. Considering this is a series production, more may be imported from England thereafter although to keep the model exclusive, numbers will likely be kept low.