RE: 2024 Aston Martin Vantage | PH Review

[samoht]

NGK210 said:

So, can someone please explain how / why a V8 twin-turbo, aluminium-bodied 2-seater Aston weighs 133kg more than a V8 twin-turbo, aluminium-bodied 2+2-seater Ferrari??

I would guess the fact they started with the chassis of the V12-engined 2+2 DB11 and then cut it down would probably explain some of it. It's much harder to chase weight out of a heavy structure than design a light one from scratch, I think.

It's possible the Vantage gets some extra rigidity in exchange for the extra mass, I don't know.

I'd also want to see actual customer examples of each on the same weighbridge before I conclude an actual weight difference.

[salmanorguk]

I guess I'm also in the minority and think the face-lift is poor.

I reckon there's not enough 'car' to translate the DB12 design and so the headlights look bulbous and body ungainly - like an Alfa Mito front end on a Nissan 350z body.

I still think the DB9 era was peak design.

[Glenn63]

samoht said:

NGK210 said:

So, can someone please explain how / why a V8 twin-turbo, aluminium-bodied 2-seater Aston weighs 133kg more than a V8 twin-turbo, aluminium-bodied 2+2-seater Ferrari??

I would guess the fact they started with the chassis of the V12-engined 2+2 DB11 and then cut it down would probably explain some of it. It's much harder to chase weight out of a heavy structure than design a light one from scratch, I think.

It's possible the Vantage gets some extra rigidity in exchange for the extra mass, I don't know.

I'd also want to see actual customer examples of each on the same weighbridge before I conclude an actual weight difference.

And the weight difference would bother me less than the state of the Roma interior with those ridiculous haptic buttons that every single person that uses them says are useless but Ferrari continue with anyway.

[Julian Scott]

Pictures and maybe that colour don't do the new Vantage justice.

There are a couple at my local AM dealer and in the flesh they look fabulous and immediately make the earlier model looked dated.

[daytona111r]

jamsp00n said:

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but totally do not get the styling of this and the DB12. Uglier, fussier and less distinctively Aston than the original design. I even think this redesign of the Vantage possibly looks more dated than the original.

Interior is an improvement, but it's pretty forgettable. These cars are not a patch on the cohesiveness and class of the original DB9 and Vantage, in era.

They had to do ONE thing on the redesign - make the grill smaller (which had already been done by an aftermarket company to good effect - but they failed to do it.

Nevertheless I hope this car is a success for them.

[Olivera]

NGK210 said:

So, can someone please explain how / why a V8 twin-turbo, aluminium-bodied 2-seater Aston weighs 133kg more than a V8 twin-turbo, aluminium-bodied 2+2-seater Ferrari??

That'll be the 'special' Ferrari scales.

[chrisironside]

Fine, I'll have one!

[fantheman80]

The wheels on the orange look a bit Kahn or Ac Schnitzer, but overall stunning. And just look at those glorious physical buttons

[NGK210]

Olivera said:

NGK210 said:

So, can someone please explain how / why a V8 twin-turbo, aluminium-bodied 2-seater Aston weighs 133kg more than a V8 twin-turbo, aluminium-bodied 2+2-seater Ferrari??

That'll be the 'special' Ferrari scales.

Good point.
I wonder, did Harry’s Garage weigh / verify?

[NGK210]

“I’d rather have this car than a 911 Turbo” – Steve Sutcliffe Intercooler vid:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1j8M0PqTpMQ

[Nik Gnashers]

salmanorguk said:

I guess I'm also in the minority and think the face-lift is poor.

I reckon there's not enough 'car' to translate the DB12 design and so the headlights look bulbous and body ungainly - like an Alfa Mito front end on a Nissan 350z body.

I still think the DB9 era was peak design.

It seems there are quite a few of us 'in the minority' then !

I don't hate it, it's ok, but I just don't 'love' it either.
The massive cod-mouth grill doesn't do the front end any favours, the rear end just doesn't work for me, and I too just don't understand who it is aimed at.
With a few options, it will be £250,000 ..... and there are cars at that price point, which are either much better track day cars, much better GT cars, or much more nimble/fun fast road cars.
So, unless somebody wants a very expensive jack-of-all trades but master of none, I just don't 'get it' at all.
I'll never be able to afford one, so it doesn't really matter, but seeing as PH allows mere 'average' people like me to have an account and comment, then comment I will.

[NGK210]

It needs the ‘cod mouth’ to maximise air-flow due to the turbos’ hot-V configuration – even at a B-road canter the turbos and exhaust will be red hot, literally.
@1:36:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5cRU12EpsVI&pp=y...

Edited by NGK210 on Monday 13th May 19:32

[Glenn63]

NGK210 said:

“I’d rather have this car than a 911 Turbo” – Steve Sutcliffe Intercooler vid:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1j8M0PqTpMQ

Great review by Sutcliffe and I think it sounds fantastic on full chat, seems a real step up from previous Astons, I need to get my lottery ticket in!

[samoht]

NGK210 said:

It needs the ‘cod mouth’ to maximise air-flow due to the turbos’ hot-V configuration

Yeah, and more broadly it needs the gaping mouth because it develops 650hp. Given that efficiency is hard to significantly increase so is fairly constant, heat output is a constant ratio to power output. 30% more hp means 30% more heat means 30% more airflow to remove said heat.

High-power cars involve a huge amount of thermodynamic work to shed heat without too much drag, a dozen separate types of radiator (water, charge, oil, A/C, ...) and complex configurations of hot and cold air and water flow. F1 cars are similarly challenged.

[Maccmike8]

Prefer the PFL front end. Otherwise very nice.

[ManyMotors]

A C7 Corvette made perfect. I hope for AM that the Vantage can generate cash.

[paulnb]

salmanorguk said:

I guess I'm also in the minority and think the face-lift is poor.

I reckon there's not enough 'car' to translate the DB12 design and so the headlights look bulbous and body ungainly - like an Alfa Mito front end on a Nissan 350z body.

I still think the DB9 era was peak design.

You nailed it.
New interior looks great, but exterior although muscular does not look cohesive nor particularly attractive. I want to like it but after watching a couple of reviews and photoshoots it just doesn’t work for me.
Prefacelift designs with new mechanical and interiors would have been better.

[panini]

I like the looks. But oh my gosh. For a ‘baby’ Aston that’s a humongous amount of power! I’m by all means no expert but isn’t this creating an issue for the DB12? Shouldn’t that car have the most power as the ultimate GT?

Make the cars lighter and stop this BHP nonsense. I’d be happy to really give a car some beans rather than sneeze and lose my license.

[davide66]

Time Aston along with Bentley and Rolls Royce were put were put out to pasture. The glory days long gone, pale imitations with no class

[P.Griffin]

I do like the way it looks, but as someone earlier said, peak (modern) Aston for me was the DBS from 2008. Anyway, times change and this is a very handsome thing indeed. However, I'm probably in the minority here, but I think it sounds terrible, at least from the test videos. Like a flatulent Corvette. Big part of the appeal for me is the engine sound and they have managed to fk it up.

Edited by P.Griffin on Tuesday 14th May 10:01