V12 Vantage tribute video
Discussion
A five minute tribute to the magnificent and much missed V12 Vantage number 355 I owned until fairly recently.
I don't enjoy watching it anymore, it makes me miss the car, so here it is for your benefit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GCAMJf_kSE
Bloody good car that though, the best paint and build quality I've ever seen in a car. I know some moan about Aston paint but that one was spectacularly good. I spent last weekend at 'Mercedes Benz World' at Brooklands and couldn't find a single car that didn't look like it was covered with orange peel close-up. I've also noticed that the Vanquish doesn't have the OCD alignment of the carbon fibre in the front splitter, is this cost cutting?
I'm quite convinced that the manual V12 Vantage will be regarded as a highly sought-after future classic, it's already something of a cult car but thankfully for V12 Vantage owners Aston made the V12 Vantage S auto only. One day, when the world wakes up from the delirium of all this paddleshift nonsense, it will be manual cars that attract the premiums.
The world is fast moving back towards turbos, autos, nanny electronics, hybrids and electric steering. What better antidote to all that insulation from the experience of driving than a normally aspirated 6 litre V12 coupled to a manual gearbox?
I don't enjoy watching it anymore, it makes me miss the car, so here it is for your benefit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GCAMJf_kSE
Bloody good car that though, the best paint and build quality I've ever seen in a car. I know some moan about Aston paint but that one was spectacularly good. I spent last weekend at 'Mercedes Benz World' at Brooklands and couldn't find a single car that didn't look like it was covered with orange peel close-up. I've also noticed that the Vanquish doesn't have the OCD alignment of the carbon fibre in the front splitter, is this cost cutting?
I'm quite convinced that the manual V12 Vantage will be regarded as a highly sought-after future classic, it's already something of a cult car but thankfully for V12 Vantage owners Aston made the V12 Vantage S auto only. One day, when the world wakes up from the delirium of all this paddleshift nonsense, it will be manual cars that attract the premiums.
The world is fast moving back towards turbos, autos, nanny electronics, hybrids and electric steering. What better antidote to all that insulation from the experience of driving than a normally aspirated 6 litre V12 coupled to a manual gearbox?
to the manual descriptions!... and I am the current proud keeper of this very car...
It is just a little louder nowadays with Capristo 2ndary cat delete pipes.
A very basic modification that makes it sound like it should have from the factory. Not overly loud. just the exact right tone that let's the complexities of the v12 engine erupt to life.
I have to disagree on the paint front. The paint was not particularly good up close. Had to be thoroughly paint corrected (3 full days by Rob at supercardetailing) and protected with Swisswax Crystal wax.
And all astons are poor on that front. Not Ferrari-poor, but poor nonetheless.
The paint is beautiful with its red flecks but the finish was not good (prior to correction) with all sorts of marks and swirls probably probably originating at the factory.
These defaults only ever become obvious under intense bright white light. Not necessarily in the sunshine.
Otherwise it is an epic, epic car. People will eventually wake up to it.
I 100% agree on the manual-only element that will eventually lift this car to cult status.
Aston got it wrong not to offer a manual on the v12v 's'.. An aston is not a 911 gt3 and the Aston automated manual is not good enough..
Thanks for the vid.
It is just a little louder nowadays with Capristo 2ndary cat delete pipes.
A very basic modification that makes it sound like it should have from the factory. Not overly loud. just the exact right tone that let's the complexities of the v12 engine erupt to life.
I have to disagree on the paint front. The paint was not particularly good up close. Had to be thoroughly paint corrected (3 full days by Rob at supercardetailing) and protected with Swisswax Crystal wax.
And all astons are poor on that front. Not Ferrari-poor, but poor nonetheless.
The paint is beautiful with its red flecks but the finish was not good (prior to correction) with all sorts of marks and swirls probably probably originating at the factory.
These defaults only ever become obvious under intense bright white light. Not necessarily in the sunshine.
Otherwise it is an epic, epic car. People will eventually wake up to it.
I 100% agree on the manual-only element that will eventually lift this car to cult status.
Aston got it wrong not to offer a manual on the v12v 's'.. An aston is not a 911 gt3 and the Aston automated manual is not good enough..
Thanks for the vid.
erics said:
These ..faults only ever become obvious under intense bright white light. Not necessarily in the sunshine.
If it takes an intense white light to find the faults, and they are invisible even in sunshine, then do they really count as faults?I'm sure mine has some flaws that are only visible under a UV lamp, but I'm really not worried.
Yes Eric is the lucky owner now, but I thought that information was for him to share on a public forum, not me.
I hope to see some more recently shot video soon, especially with the exhaust mods, the sound must be incredible, I always enjoyed the sound as standard but I have to admit that Gallardo which belongs to a friend would always drown out the Vantage in tunnels which was a bit annoying - not anymore!
As for the paint I've never met a detailer that didn't suggest a car needed 'extensive paint correction', that's their job, I get it and would no doubt do the same if I were a detailer. But I can only compare what I can see with from other manufacturers and Aston Martin are among the best. God knows what your detailer would have made of the Mercedes range at Brooklands!!! They must be considered beyond correction! Regardless of all that, I'm sure the paint must be even better now and that must be quite a sight to behold! I hope to see it again in the metal one day.
Until then, if this thread turns into an online tribute to V12 Vantage no.355, count me in!
I hope to see some more recently shot video soon, especially with the exhaust mods, the sound must be incredible, I always enjoyed the sound as standard but I have to admit that Gallardo which belongs to a friend would always drown out the Vantage in tunnels which was a bit annoying - not anymore!
As for the paint I've never met a detailer that didn't suggest a car needed 'extensive paint correction', that's their job, I get it and would no doubt do the same if I were a detailer. But I can only compare what I can see with from other manufacturers and Aston Martin are among the best. God knows what your detailer would have made of the Mercedes range at Brooklands!!! They must be considered beyond correction! Regardless of all that, I'm sure the paint must be even better now and that must be quite a sight to behold! I hope to see it again in the metal one day.
Until then, if this thread turns into an online tribute to V12 Vantage no.355, count me in!
erics said:
These ..faults only ever become obvious under intense bright white light. Not necessarily in the sunshine.
If it takes an intense white light to find the faults, and they are invisible even in sunshine, then do they really count as faults?I'm sure mine has some flaws that are only visible under a UV lamp, but I'm really not worried.
Hi Jonny,
Nice opf you to start up this thread.
I think I posted a garage video with the new sound a while back. While dig it out for you.
As it turns out, Matt who also posted on this thread also went for the same mod..
With regards to the paint, I am no expert but developped a slightly better eye over the years.
The problem is that it seems that they rush the cars out of the factory and they do not have properly trained people at the dealerships to prepare them correctly.
I SPECIFICALLY ask Works NOT to wash or touch the bodywork under any circumstances! Even telling them not to, they still managed to give the car a quick 'wipe' and put some swirls back on.
A friend of mine with a DBS cab had a Works 'detailer' trying to correct some swirls they had put on and the guy went through the clear coat... Needless to say that he was unimpressed.
The paint is beautifull yet EXTREMELY soft and prone to markings. You have to be very carefull when washing and drying it and never apply any sort of pressure.
With regards to Works, they do an amazing job all around. If they had the right people to clean and valet the cars then it would be perfect.
Nice opf you to start up this thread.
I think I posted a garage video with the new sound a while back. While dig it out for you.
As it turns out, Matt who also posted on this thread also went for the same mod..
With regards to the paint, I am no expert but developped a slightly better eye over the years.
The problem is that it seems that they rush the cars out of the factory and they do not have properly trained people at the dealerships to prepare them correctly.
I SPECIFICALLY ask Works NOT to wash or touch the bodywork under any circumstances! Even telling them not to, they still managed to give the car a quick 'wipe' and put some swirls back on.
A friend of mine with a DBS cab had a Works 'detailer' trying to correct some swirls they had put on and the guy went through the clear coat... Needless to say that he was unimpressed.
The paint is beautifull yet EXTREMELY soft and prone to markings. You have to be very carefull when washing and drying it and never apply any sort of pressure.
With regards to Works, they do an amazing job all around. If they had the right people to clean and valet the cars then it would be perfect.
The Pits said:
Yes Eric is the lucky owner now, but I thought that information was for him to share on a public forum, not me.
I hope to see some more recently shot video soon, especially with the exhaust mods, the sound must be incredible, I always enjoyed the sound as standard but I have to admit that Gallardo which belongs to a friend would always drown out the Vantage in tunnels which was a bit annoying - not anymore!
As for the paint I've never met a detailer that didn't suggest a car needed 'extensive paint correction', that's their job, I get it and would no doubt do the same if I were a detailer. But I can only compare what I can see with from other manufacturers and Aston Martin are among the best. God knows what your detailer would have made of the Mercedes range at Brooklands!!! They must be considered beyond correction! Regardless of all that, I'm sure the paint must be even better now and that must be quite a sight to behold! I hope to see it again in the metal one day.
Until then, if this thread turns into an online tribute to V12 Vantage no.355, count me in!
I hope to see some more recently shot video soon, especially with the exhaust mods, the sound must be incredible, I always enjoyed the sound as standard but I have to admit that Gallardo which belongs to a friend would always drown out the Vantage in tunnels which was a bit annoying - not anymore!
As for the paint I've never met a detailer that didn't suggest a car needed 'extensive paint correction', that's their job, I get it and would no doubt do the same if I were a detailer. But I can only compare what I can see with from other manufacturers and Aston Martin are among the best. God knows what your detailer would have made of the Mercedes range at Brooklands!!! They must be considered beyond correction! Regardless of all that, I'm sure the paint must be even better now and that must be quite a sight to behold! I hope to see it again in the metal one day.
Until then, if this thread turns into an online tribute to V12 Vantage no.355, count me in!
That Gallardo was a 520bhp 07 spec car and I can tell you that there is not even a fag paper between them all the way to a very high speed. The Vantage has more torque but the Gallardo revs higher and produces a little more power. That's how they feel to drive. The Vantage pulls a little harder all the way to 7,000, Gallardo is a shade more ferocious over the last thousand revs (7-8000rpm) at which point the Vantage has changed gear and is rampaging forward again. Don't let anyone tell you the Gallardo is faster, it isn't. It's also hugely more physical to drive, you have to be quite brutal with the pedals and stick when changing gear, it's actually quite hard to drive smoothly when going slower but like a good Italian thoroughbred it wants to be driven flat out and is only happy being driven hard. The Vantage is much smoother and all the control weights are lighter and slicker to operate. Steering is in a different league to the Gallardo which is pretty numb but the 4wd doesn't help here. I loved driving the Gallardo it was an absolute riot but I fondly remember returning to the relative serenity of the Vantage afterwards and the embrace of those fantastic lightweight seats, the whole car feeling poised and ready for action. It seemed to enjoy taking on the Gallardo as much as I did!
It would be fair to say that the later 560bhp Gallardos must have a bit more performance than both but I returned from that trip pretty satisfied with no.355. So I gave it a thorough scrub down with an old brush I pinched from a french service station (ONLY JOKING ERIC!).
It would be fair to say that the later 560bhp Gallardos must have a bit more performance than both but I returned from that trip pretty satisfied with no.355. So I gave it a thorough scrub down with an old brush I pinched from a french service station (ONLY JOKING ERIC!).
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