Collection day - my first Aston Martin!

[grarno]

So after owning a Lotus Elise 111S and a Ginetta G40R for a few years I've decided I'm now too old (almost 35 ...) for these harsh riding cars.

After many months of reflection and test drives:

• Lotus Evora S: did the 3 day Lotus Academy (special thanks to Jay) and absolutely loved it, but can't justify buying a brand new one given the price. A 2013 Sportsracer would have been the sweetspot but they are very hard to find. Service from Lotus over the Elise ownership has also been very disappointing so I was not too keen to continue that experience. I have not tried the Exige V6 but I would expect the ride to be as hard as in the Elise. So unfortunately closing the Lotus chapter for now
• BMW M3: amazingly versatile, a lot cheaper to maintain than my other options but a tad boring eventually
• Porsche 911 GTS: very effective car but I found the PDK gearbox too smooth and not engaging enough. I had a Boxster S a few years ago and to be honest the 911 didn't feel that much different ...
• Audi R8 V10 manual: great to look at, extremely fast, amazing build quality and great service from Audi but hired one for a day and found it a bit soulless

All this lead me to do a PDC day with Aston Martin in a V12 Vantage S. It was a revelation! I had driven a friend's V8 before but the V12 is a completely different animal. I love the mix of subdued looks, luxury interior, alcantara steering wheel and so much torque and noise!

Unfortunately the V12 S is still out of my budget so I'm going for a 2010 V12 Vantage. It has a sport exhaust and cats which I'm quite excited about and I was quite keen on the red stitching interior. I'm collecting it on Thursday from JCT600 in Leeds and will be heading straight to Wales to do the Evo triangle and other scenic roads of the area. I'm like a kid before Xmas! A few pictures below.

[grarno]

Thanks for all the kind words guys. I cannot wait! and it looks like the weather is playing ball. Also looks like there's a few of us heading for Wales this weekend, well I'll only be there Thursday and Friday. First time for me and I'm planning to do a few routes that are on this website http://www.greatestdrivingroads.com/

@ AndyBrew: Which V12S did you end up buying? I saw a Volcano red with black roof, lips and rear panel at HWM in Surrey and it looked stunning.

@ V12woollie: it's the Quicksilver sport exhaust and cats, which should make it sound pretty mean. With this and the sport button I'm wondering whether taking the infamous fuse 22 out would be useful?

@Jon1967x: I actually tried the Maserati GT MC Shift as well, but it felt so big and heavy and I hated the gearbox. Stunning looking and sounding car though.

@Minglar: really like the Storm Black with the red flecks and goes well with the red stitching. Very tempted to get red calipers as well ...

Is it Thursday yet?!

[grarno]

Today is New Car Day! So excited