New Vantage arrives
ASTON Martin Kuala Lumpur has pulled the sheets off its latest offering that sports a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 for plenty of excitement from under the hood of the new Vantage.
For seven decades, since the DB2 in 1951, the Vantage moniker has been Aston Martin’s heartbeat and now it’s made a return as the second of seven new models in seven years - as part of the British sports car brand’s Second Century Plan.
”This is the essence of the Vantage driving experience - a car that’s never less connected and engaging with the breadth of capability to revel in challenging roads and bare its teeth on the track,” said Aston Martin head of sales operations Nancy Chen.
The high powered two-seater, with an estimated price after duties that starts from RM1.6mil, uses an extruded bonded aluminium body structure that’s covered by steel panels to make the car measure in at 4,465mm-long, 2,156mm-wide and 1,273mm-tall.
The external fittings include a titanium front grille, LED headlights with integrated daytime-running lights, full-width LED tail lights with dynamic indicators, clam shell hood and side gills (for bleeding air pressure from the wheel arches) as well as a front splitter, up-swept boot lid and a rear diffuser to take care of generating down-force.
The front and rear axles puts its wheelbase at 2,704mm apart and comes with the standard fitment of 20-inch Y-spoke silver wheels wearing a mix of 255/40 (front) and 295/35 (rear) Pirelli P-Zero tyres that obscure the 400mm (front) and 360mm (rear) curve-slotted brake discs.
At 1,530kg (dry) and a 50:50 weight-distribution, the car is suspended by an adaptive damping system, fitted to a front independent double wishbone and rear multi-link setup, that comes with Skyhook technology to provide Sport, Sport+ and Track modes.
Under the hood, lies a mid-mounted (behind the front wheels) Mercedes-AMG M177 4.0litre (3,982cc) twin-turbo V8 engine that was bred in Afalterbach, Germany to produce 510PS at 6,000rpm and 685Nm of torque from 2,000 to 5,000rpm.
In order to achieve the optimal 50:50 weight-distribution, a carbon fibre propeller-shaft with an aluminium torque tube connects the engine to the rear axle - where an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and (for the first time) an electronic differential waits to manage power-delivery to the rear wheels.
This allows the car to sprint from 0-100kph in 3.6 seconds before reaching a top speed of 314kph while having a combined fuel-economy of 10.5 litres per 100km and emitting 245g of carbon dioxide per kilometre.
The front axle is controlled by an electric power-assisted steering rack with a speed-dependent rack and pinion power-assisted steering.
Inside, as standard, the cabin features Strathmore leather / Alcantara / carpet combination, black steering wheel, powered sports seats with memory function, Satin Silver with Gloss Black interior trims, keyless-entry with pushstart function, electric parking brake and dual-zone automatic climate controls.
In terms of entertainment, standard fitment is an Aston Martin Audio System that uses an 8.0-inch LCD screen with USB, iPod/iPhone integration playback, radio, integrated navigation system as well as Bluetooth connectivity and phone streaming.
For safety, the car comes with the usual offerings of airbags, antilock braking system, electronic brakeforce distribution, emergency brake assist, dynamic stability control, traction control, hydraulic brake assist, positive torque control and dynamic torque vectoring.
“A true sports car with a sharper look and a keener dynamic edge, the new Vantage is the Aston Martin (that) pure driving machine enthusiasts have been waiting for,” added Chen.