Bond’s Spectre ride is now a real car
Turns out the DB10 wasn’t just for a movie. Meet the new Vantage. By Damien O’Carroll.
Aston Martin has revealed its long-awaited new Vantage. It has also announced to the world that it has ditched its photocopier design ethos for good.
The biggest problem the Vantage had previously was that it simply looked like a scaled-down DB. There are no such issues with the new car, which takes the majority of its styling cues from James Bond’s ride in Spectre, the movie-only DB10, and more than a dash of inspiration from the Vulcan track car and the forthcoming Valkyrie hypercar. Stuff was lucky enough to get a sneak peak at the new Vantage in person a few months ago at Aston Martin’s impressive Melbourne dealership, but our impressions of it were strictly embargoed until now. And we can happily report that the Vantage is even more impressively aggressive in the metal.
Aston Martin’s regional manager for Australia and New Zealand, Kevin Wall, made no bones about the fact that the Vantage was aimed directly at the Porsche 911.
‘‘The pricing of the Vantage will put it right in the ballpark of the high luxury sports segment that we are chasing. Which is Porsche 911.’’
Local pricing is still to be confirmed, but Wall indicated that around the $300,000 mark was the hope.
A strict two-seater, the Vantage appears quite a bit smaller than a
911, and while it is actually slightly lower and shorter, it rides on a longer wheelbase and is significantly wider (around
130mm).
The Vantage’s low, tight lines do, however, give it a purposeful look. That purpose is going fast and being the ‘‘pure driving machine enthusiasts have been waiting for,’’ according to Aston head honcho Andy Palmer.
The Vantage is the second car in Aston’s revitalised line up to be powered by the Mercedes-AMG 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 (the recent DB11 V8 was the first), in this case producing an impressive 375kW of power and 685Nm of torque that Aston Martin says will rocket the Vantage to 96kmh (60mph) in 3.5 seconds. An eight-speed ZF automatic transmission is standard, although Aston has strongly hinted that a manual version will happen.
Along with the sneak peak at the Vantage, Wall also fired up the turbo V8 for the assembled journos. The volcanic bellow was appropriately angry.
Along with its engine, the Vantage also makes use of a lot of AMG’s electrical architecture and technology. As such, the dramatic (but thankfully highly customisable) interior bares a few familiar hallmarks, particularly in the form of the infotainment system and the dial/touchpad combo that is pure Mercedes.
The Vantage was surprisingly easy to climb down into and offered more than acceptable amounts of interior space once inside, with headroom being particularly impressive.
Gone is the traditional ‘‘waterfall’’ dashboard/ transmission tunnel arrangement, replaced by a more racing-inspired interior, dominated by the large infotainment screen and prominent air vents.
Lashings of leather and carbon fibre abound, but buyers will also have a massive amount of choice both inside and outside the car.
While the traditional Aston Martin grille shape has been largely retained, it is larger, lower and significantly more aggressive.
This aggression can be dialled up or down, depending on the finish – the satin chrome style finish gives the car a far more traditional look, while the matt black is pure aggression.
Wall said that to make the potentially overwhelming task of sorting through the ‘‘almost endless’’ customisation options, Aston will launch the Vantage with six optional design packs. And, yes, one of them is called Tactical and makes more than a few allusions to a certain fictional secret agent.
For the first time on an Aston Martin the new Vantage also features an electronic rear differential (E-Diff). Linked to the car’s electronic stability control system, Aston Martin says it can ‘‘understand the car’s behaviour, and react accordingly to direct the engine’s power to the relevant wheel.’’ Unlike a conventional LSD, it can go from fully open to 100 per cent locked in a matter of milliseconds.
The company says that the Vantage’s platform is an evolution of the latest generation bonded aluminium structure first seen under the DB11, with some 70 per cent of the structure’s components new for Vantage.
Locally, Aston Martin already holds ‘‘significant orders’’ for the new Vantage, and Wall says interest is extremely high in the new car, from both existing customers and those new to the Aston Martin brand.
‘‘The dealers are telling me we haven’t got enough, but that’s OK. That’s not necessarily a bad position to be in,’’ he said.
Despite high international demand for the Vantage, Wall still expects it to drive significant growth for the brand in the Asia Pacific region. Deliveries of the new Aston Martin Vantage are expected to begin around the second quarter of 2018.