Older model now with up to 400bhp
After the Vantage got its new 4.7-litre V8 back in August, owners of the earlier 4.3-litre model may have been feeling a little emasculated. But the boys at Aston rarely miss a trick, and after seeing huge declines in sales of new cars and crashing residuals on the used market, they're offering performance and handling upgrade packages for the earlier smaller-engined model to help the owners to start pulling again.
The key to unlocking some more performance from the old lump lies in induction; Using a system originally developed for the DBS, Aston have added a pair of switching airbox-valves that open at 5,500 rpm, meaning extra power at high revs without unsettling the car for town driving. An ECU upgrade will also adjust ignition timing and allow owners to opt to use higher-octane fuels.
All this means that headline figures are brought much closer to the later model, with a 20bhp power-hike bringing power to 400bhp, and an extra 10Nm of torque bringing the figure to a muscular 310 lb/ft. This is still only halfway to the 4.7-litre car's 346 lb ft and 420bhp respectively, but we're still talking pretty massive figures here.
To help the handling of the older car, the Sports Pack that has been a popular option on the current Vantage can now be fitted to the older car. This brings uprated springs and Bilstein dampers, along with lightweight forged aluminium wheels to add a sharper edge to the Vantage's handling.
No word on official prices yet for any of these bits, but dealers are quoting figures and availability now.
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)