The GT8! Carbon fibre bodied £200K 440BHP 7 Speed V8.
Discussion
AshBurrows said:
Did anyone ask AM if they'd paint the carbon? I'd like to see one where everything is the same colour and the carbon blocked in straight lines round the bottom of the car like most of the DBR9 race cars. Or even just all body colour.
Yes, they do paint the carbon. I think the standard spec was black paint, most people have opted for carbon or halo pack type ones. I havent seen any in the body colour but i'm sure it would have been possible. I think Dr.Palmers one in reception at Gaydon has black painted side skirts.AshBurrows said:
Did anyone ask AM if they'd paint the carbon? I'd like to see one where everything is the same colour and the carbon blocked in straight lines round the bottom of the car like most of the DBR9 race cars. Or even just all body colour.
I'm fairly confident that in general terms, Aston have previously said that via Q, they are quite happy painting pretty much any exterior CF panel as it's easier to paint than some plastics and metals. What's rarer for Astons is to see carbon exposed where it's normally painted (I can't remember the score with GT8, but GT12 is mostly carbon panels from memory as is Vanquish and some other models, but I don't recall seeing any in naked/coloured CF, perhaps because the CF finish wouldn't be good enough to take it ? Pagani and Mclaren charge megabucks for naked CF)That all excludes the bonnet vents on V12V, which the factory have maintained for some while (and still do to my knowledge) they won't paint, although the Spitfire edition was announced as having body coloured bonnet vents. I seem to recall a reason behind the refusal being suggested on this forum as the factory being unsure if it would take the heat, although I also seem to remember the complexity of the shape being mentioned. Didn't someone on here paint the vents themselves ? Was it a Mako one ?
JohnG1 said:
Does the cut out wheel arch at the front allow more road debris onto the sides of the car?
Not sure about the GT8 but a friend with a DB11 told me that the curlicue wing vent thing chucks so much filth down the side of the car. He said after one drive in the rain last week the whole car had to be cleaned it was so filthy. AOK said:
RobDown said:
I think mine is scheduled for late Feb/early March. Such that I'll probably delay registration until mid-April for the changeover in road tax
Sorry, I can't compute why you'd rather the car be registered post 31st March 2017? Won't it cost thousands more over the first 5 years of ownership? Please educate me as I'm in a similar position.Thanks!
1. Upfront I pay more if I register after April 1st (£2k vs £1,120)
2. Year 2 to 5 I pay £450 per annum (£140 basic plus £340 premium) vs £515 if I register pre-April 1st. So I save £65 per annum
3. After year 5 my road tax will drop to £140 (vs £515 if I register pre-April) ie I save £375 per annum
So theoretically should be better off by waiting until April as in the long run it works out cheaper.
Now I'm sure someone will say "oh but the breakeven isn't reached until year 8" (or whatever it is). But theoretically that lower on-going tax rate should, all other things being equal, make a post-April car worth a bit more than a pre-April car from day 1 (albeit practically if you're buying one GT8 over another because it saves you £375 in running costs then you might have lost sight of the bigger picture!)
Of course what might mess all of this up is the government changing the road tax system yet again in future years. But overall I'm leaning towards waiting until 1st April if the car doesn't reach the dealer until late March.
By the way, that piece of man maths applies to all Aston Martins I guess now. Presumably the £375 per annum potential saving in running costs might become relatively more material the lower down the price spectrum you go (so for example I could see an April 2017 registered V8 Vantage being worth £2k more than a March 2017 registered one in 5 years time which might be a reasonable percentage of its depreciated value)
Shmee said:
I would argue that's your opinion rather than a fact, the beauty of it is that we can all like different things. I for one very much enjoy the GTE race inspired nature of the car and you don't find a racecar without multiple tones to their liveries.
Exactly. These cars are chosen because they invoke emotion and pleasure in the owner. Who are we to say what is right or wrong. I would only go as far as to comment that it wouldn't be my particular choice if I felt it appropriate.
As it happens, I think that if we all chose "safe" colours then the world would be a very boring place. There are many cars out there that I think vary from amazing to an abomination. I'm sure that we all admire some of the more 'bright' colours that we see on this hallowed board but wouldn't buy them ourselves.
I'm very pleased that these brave people exist and make the Aston world a more interesting place.
I think your GT8 is great and seems to suit you perfectly. Certainly not obnoxious, but in no way conservative. It's also themed quite well and flows from the front to the back.
RobDown said:
By the way, that piece of man maths applies to all Aston Martins I guess now. Presumably the £375 per annum potential saving in running costs might become relatively more material the lower down the price spectrum you go (so for example I could see an April 2017 registered V8 Vantage being worth £2k more than a March 2017 registered one in 5 years time which might be a reasonable percentage of its depreciated value)
On the subject of running costs and what transfers with the car, IIRC DB11 was to include a Ferrari style servicing plan ? Did that actually end up being implemented ? I assume that cars like GT8 don't have the plan, but that as each car is replaced with the 'new architecture', e.g. replacement Vantage, they will have the plan ? Can anyone confirm/ fill in the gapsRobDown said:
AOK said:
RobDown said:
I think mine is scheduled for late Feb/early March. Such that I'll probably delay registration until mid-April for the changeover in road tax
Sorry, I can't compute why you'd rather the car be registered post 31st March 2017? Won't it cost thousands more over the first 5 years of ownership? Please educate me as I'm in a similar position.Thanks!
1. Upfront I pay more if I register after April 1st (£2k vs £1,120)
2. Year 2 to 5 I pay £450 per annum (£140 basic plus £340 premium) vs £515 if I register pre-April 1st. So I save £65 per annum
3. After year 5 my road tax will drop to £140 (vs £515 if I register pre-April) ie I save £375 per annum
RobDown said:
... then drops to the standard £140 thereafter (year 7 onwards).
Are you sure that will be correct, Rob.
The only person I have heard 'confirm' that, is a politician.
Thinking about it though, that same man tried to predict what will happen to us in 2030.
Perhaps that was just a little too much dreaming though.
Got the sack soon afterwards.
Edited by Jon39 on Monday 23 January 15:08
RobDown said:
I'm pretty confident on that Jon, or at least that's what it says on the govt website ("premium for 5 years after the first license expiry"). Of course they can always change the rules again in future....
I am sure that you got my joke Rob, politicians vs promises.
You must be very much looking forward to your own GT8.
Will you have time to visit Gaydon, when your car is on the line?
Shmee said:
I would argue that's your opinion rather than a fact, the beauty of it is that we can all like different things. I for one very much enjoy the GTE race inspired nature of the car and you don't find a racecar without multiple tones to their liveries.
Anything regarding aesthetics is indeed subjective and therefore opinion. You only have to look in the badly modified cars thread to see loads of horrors that someone somewhere at some point must have had the opinion that it looks good. Many also have multiple tones to their colouring
The race cars don't have those orange accents anyway.
Please don't take it personally. You have an absolutely superb car collection and your little mods look spot on on all of them imo but for me the orange accents look totally out of place on these cars.
martinvantage said:
What I am enjoying most about the GT8 posts is actually the breadth of colour choices, they all look good to me and the genuine enthusiasm for the cars these choices reflect.
It would be good to see them together.
I'm up for bringing mine. Didn't somebody start collecting owners details so that they could arrange?It would be good to see them together.
Ahbefive said:
Shmee said:
I would argue that's your opinion rather than a fact, the beauty of it is that we can all like different things. I for one very much enjoy the GTE race inspired nature of the car and you don't find a racecar without multiple tones to their liveries.
Anything regarding aesthetics is indeed subjective and therefore opinionThe race cars don't have those orange accents anyway.
Please don't take it personally. You have an absolutely superb car collection and your little mods look spot on on all of them imo but for me the orange accents look totally out of place on these cars.
HTH
RobDown said:
So here's my understanding, please someone correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm not an expert:
1. Upfront I pay more if I register after April 1st (£2k vs £1,120)
2. Year 2 to 5 I pay £450 per annum (£140 basic plus £340 premium) vs £515 if I register pre-April 1st. So I save £65 per annum
3. After year 5 my road tax will drop to £140 (vs £515 if I register pre-April) ie I save £375 per annum
So theoretically should be better off by waiting until April as in the long run it works out cheaper.
Now I'm sure someone will say "oh but the breakeven isn't reached until year 8" (or whatever it is). But theoretically that lower on-going tax rate should, all other things being equal, make a post-April car worth a bit more than a pre-April car from day 1 (albeit practically if you're buying one GT8 over another because it saves you £375 in running costs then you might have lost sight of the bigger picture!)
Of course what might mess all of this up is the government changing the road tax system yet again in future years. But overall I'm leaning towards waiting until 1st April if the car doesn't reach the dealer until late March.
Thanks for explaining, I'm with you now 1. Upfront I pay more if I register after April 1st (£2k vs £1,120)
2. Year 2 to 5 I pay £450 per annum (£140 basic plus £340 premium) vs £515 if I register pre-April 1st. So I save £65 per annum
3. After year 5 my road tax will drop to £140 (vs £515 if I register pre-April) ie I save £375 per annum
So theoretically should be better off by waiting until April as in the long run it works out cheaper.
Now I'm sure someone will say "oh but the breakeven isn't reached until year 8" (or whatever it is). But theoretically that lower on-going tax rate should, all other things being equal, make a post-April car worth a bit more than a pre-April car from day 1 (albeit practically if you're buying one GT8 over another because it saves you £375 in running costs then you might have lost sight of the bigger picture!)
Of course what might mess all of this up is the government changing the road tax system yet again in future years. But overall I'm leaning towards waiting until 1st April if the car doesn't reach the dealer until late March.
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