RE: Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Manual

[Valgar]

Not my type of car personally but I do commend them for a manual V12, definitely a rare combo.

[MyCC]

Just goes to show how we have all got used to fast cars being easy to drive. Back to basics driving is the perfect fit for such an analogue type of car. Good on Aston, a big V12 with manual box in a small coupe should not be easy to drive. A very special car.

Regards,

MyCC.

[aeropilot]

twinturban said:

A dog-leg is such a good idea, sacrifice 1st to 2nd for a better 2nd to 3rd, 4th to 5th. Forget 0-60, re-focus on real world road driving.

Indeed, and as an ex-dog leg ZF 'box Sunbeam-Lotus owner I'll give Aston one of these for having the balls to do it.


But as other have said, somebody horse whip the muppet that decided the Halfords paint job was a good idea on an Aston!!

[anonymous-user]

Dan Trent said:

Again, it requires the driver to think, plan and apply themselves to the process of selecting the right gear and time to deploy it. But that is what marks the V12 Vantage - manual or Sportshift - out from the more instant gratification offered by the competition. Each to their own but - personally - I find that very appealing about the Aston, never mind if it's 'slower' on paper.

Hope that helps!

Dan

I would suggest that the Aston would be the most fun in the long term, any number of fast(er) point to point cars are out there for less money if that is what takes your fancy, I can't imagine why anyone interested in driving would want a car with less involvement over one with a few flaws? It's just typical of the generation we are in, everything easy, no learning curve, quick fix.

[XJ40]

Is this actually a new car? That shape seems as old as the hills.

It's still a very pretty machine though, surely a classic, timeless design. And a big NA V12 motor with a stick shift too, seem archaic and all the better for it. Just making some space in the fantasy garage as I type...

[Dan Trent]

To expand on my previous and quite wordy posts here are a couple of pictures that hopefully flesh out the points I was making!

And as far as the Halfords colour scheme goes it is optional with the Sport-Plus pack. And the other combos sound nicer, comprising Speedway White/orange, Allora Green/yellow, Jet Black/silver or Skyfall Silver/white.

Cheers,

Dan

Edited by Dan Trent on Wednesday 18th May 11:28

[Zod]

yonex said:

Dan Trent said:

Again, it requires the driver to think, plan and apply themselves to the process of selecting the right gear and time to deploy it. But that is what marks the V12 Vantage - manual or Sportshift - out from the more instant gratification offered by the competition. Each to their own but - personally - I find that very appealing about the Aston, never mind if it's 'slower' on paper.

Hope that helps!

Dan

I would suggest that the Aston would be the most fun in the long term, any number of fast(er) point to point cars are out there for less money if that is what takes your fancy, I can't imagine why anyone interested in driving would want a car with less involvement over one with a few flaws? It's just typical of the generation we are in, everything easy, no learning curve, quick fix.

For the sort of driving that most of us do, this car is already much more than quick enough. It is more involving to drive on B roads than most of the obvious alternatives, simply because of the manual box and the hydraulic steering.

[Roundm]

drool - want - drool - want more - dribble

not sure what else to add - If I won the lottery, this would be at the top of the list of cars to put in my garage - and then take out and feed dinosaurs to.

beautiful car, and a lovely noise

[ORD]

Dan Trent said:

To expand on my previous and quite wordy posts here are a couple of pictures that hopefully flesh out the points I was making!

And as far as the Halfords colour scheme goes it is optional with the Sport-Plus pack. And the other combos sound nicer, comprising Speedway White/orange, Allora Green/yellow, Jet Black/silver or Skyfall Silver/white.

Cheers,

Dan

Edited by Dan Trent on Wednesday 18th May 11:28

What are the ratios like? What is max speed in 2, for example? And 3?

[drmark]

What's with the MG Rover orange bits?

[Dan Trent]

ORD said:

What are the ratios like? What is max speed in 2, for example? And 3?

A gentleman never tells...

But as per diagram second will do you for pulling away, third is for gratuitous noise and tighter corners on twisty roads and fourth will pull from c. 50mph and - IIRC - circa 1,500rpm to, well, as far as your denial will take you.

Final drive - and I'll presume gearing - is identical whether it's a Sportshift or manual.

Dan

[XJ40]

drmark said:

What's with the MG Rover orange bits?

Yes I don't understand the orange/yellow painted bits. I can only think that it's supposed to be akin to motorsport livery, is that really what's required on such a classy, upmarket road car? I'd tick the delete box for those...

[JPF40]

ORD said:

What are the ratios like? What is max speed in 2, for example? And 3?

My guess is that the ratios will be the same as the existing sport shift because it is the same gearbox less the robotised stuff.

The manual dog legs come into their own once you master them, not possible in a day and certainly not for a car review, as a result you cant really deliver the whole story.

The ratios come into their own because, in theory, you can shift faster pulling straight down, in this case from 2nd to 3rd and again 3rd to 2nd.

I'm also guessing that the final production cars will have a slightly more refined action from gear to gear because it would appear that it is still work in progress.

I'm not sure that Aston chose this configuration either, I think it was a simple case of thats what its always been and by chance chucking the robotised bits left them with something that is actually very appealing.

Mines coming September.

[JPF40]

XJ40 said:

Yes I don't understand the orange/yellow painted bits. I can only think that it's supposed to be akin to motorsport livery, is that really what's required on such a classy, upmarket road car? I'd tick the delete box for those...

Ordered mine with the sports pack in Alloro Green and deleted the yellow, same goes for the interior!

[Lagerlout]

This is what it's about. I think it looks naff too, but great on a DB3S ! I drove one a couple of weeks ago with the livery on it and it doesn't work in my eyes.

[anonymous-user]

XJ40 said:

Yes I don't understand the orange/yellow painted bits. I can only think that it's supposed to be akin to motorsport livery, is that really what's required on such a classy, upmarket road car? I'd tick the delete box for those...

Respectfully, I disagree. This is the mad dog of the Aston range, the two eggs, fried bread, sausage, beans, black pudding AND bacon edition. Definitely needs stripes and the occasional slap on the arse to keep it in check. Man, this is as far from classy as Aston can get. Want!

[AMArchie]

I applaud Aston for having the guts to offer this no cost option on the current V12 Vantage S. In my view it is great antidote to the rather sanitised driving experience many modern sports cars offer today.
One aspect which hasn't got much comment so far is the rev-matching capability; my AM dealer has explained that it provides automated blips on the downshifts, and full rev matching on the up shifts. This apparently allows the driver to keep the accelerator 'mashed to the floor' while the clutch is applied, next ratio up selected and clutch released. The revs briefly drop away during the shift, despite the unchanged accelerator position, and then the revs are fully back on it once the clutch is released. Sounds amazing, and I am hoping to get a chance to drive one of these soon to assess it for real.
My dilemma, is it it a car worthy of trading in my 2010 V12 Vantage for.....?
Only one way to find out I guess - to get in one and have a go.

Edited by AMArchie on Wednesday 18th May 12:16

[GroundEffect]

ORD said:

Dan apparently found the gearbox almost impossible to use properly, so much so that he didnt change gear much! He may be wrong or incompetent, but I have not used the 'box so have to go with what he says.

The PDK-adapted 7 speed in the 991 isnt great, but it is perfectly usable. It nonetheless got slated by a lot of journos.

7 gears is plain silly. We deserve manual boxes built as manual boxes, not adapted from autos with too many gears.

All that said, I do quite like the idea of having 2 and 3 in the same plane.

The 'Speedshift' AMT and a DCT have very little in common. A DCT doesn't have normal shift forks, or shift turret for example. An AMT does.

[XJ40]

JPF40 said:

XJ40 said:

Yes I don't understand the orange/yellow painted bits. I can only think that it's supposed to be akin to motorsport livery, is that really what's required on such a classy, upmarket road car? I'd tick the delete box for those...

Ordered mine with the sports pack in Alloro Green and deleted the yellow, same goes for the interior!

Very nice, enjoy!

[XJ40]

thecook101 said:

XJ40 said:

Yes I don't understand the orange/yellow painted bits. I can only think that it's supposed to be akin to motorsport livery, is that really what's required on such a classy, upmarket road car? I'd tick the delete box for those...

Respectfully, I disagree. This is the mad dog of the Aston range, the two eggs, fried bread, sausage, beans, black pudding AND bacon edition. Definitely needs stripes and the occasional slap on the arse to keep it in check. Man, this is as far from classy as Aston can get. Want!

I don't disagree that it's the lairy one in the Aston range, but I still see it as more of a gents motor. I wouldn't want such livery on my Porsche/Lambo/Ferrari road car either, but it's a personal preference of course...