TOp Gear Last Night, Aston vs Ferrari

[franv8]

Have to say this - although undoubtedly someone will shoot me down in flames!

Ferrari 575 vs Aston Martin Vanquish 'S' (Ghia X popular plus?)

Both £170k cars, and yes very nice (although I think they skimped over how bad the AM gearbox was - it seemed TERRIBLE!)BUT after the track lap times, both done in the wet, what was above the two of them?

Base model Corvette! (Was the C6 lap in the wet, can't remember?) No mention of it, but:

No mention of it beating Ferrari at LM,

Or the upcoming battle Ferrari vs Aston (which will also be, er, vs Corvette methinks!)

Thoughts on apostcard please...

[yellowshark454]

Err not quite right. Both laps and the C6 were dry laps. The Ferrari posted the same time as the C6, albeit Clarkson placed the Ferrari above the Corvette, so much for alphabetical sequence!

[Gixer]

The AM was on 5th Gear tonight. It broke down - twice!!!

Both times it through a belt. AM gave her some BS about putting 500hp through 1 wheel??? But as she said, she has done the same move on loads of other 500hp cars and they cope with it.

As for the C6 on TG, you have got to remember that was only the base car, wait for the C6 Z06.

[97BlackC5]

Don't worry about the Ferrari or the Aston when it comes to the racing, as it looks like its going to the the Maserati MC12 that will be the main threat to the C6-R, 1st & 2nd in the FIA GT Series in China at the w/e (although that was only a 3 hour race)gotta keep going for a further 21 hours to beat the Vette!!!!!

[kenski]

I sat through Fifth Gear - the prog that showed the design flaw in the Aston (and yes, a car that throws a belt because you turn too quickly is not adequately designed) and was really non-plussed.

I like the look and sound of most AM's and this one was supposed to be the fastest... yet it was almost a second slower to 60 than my Z06 and although it boasts a top speed of 25mph more than the vette it seemed like it'd take forever to get there.

I'm sure it'd be great for Nascar... as long as the belt didn't keep falling off on the corner.

[c4koh]

Getting horsepower from an engine is one thing, making sure the engine and bits don't break is another, making sure the engine turns in decent mileage (i.e. avoids gas guzzler tax!), making sure owners aren't fleeced for expensive services every 3-6000 miles is another, oh, and that the car shouldn't be an impossibility price wise.

£170K for me isn't an Aston-Martin (Ford!) or a Ferrari (Fiat!), but a C1+C2+C3+C4+C5+C6 !!

So belts breaking or not, spending £170K on an Aston Martin would also have me dressed in the Emperor's new clothes

[Gixer]

My wifes boss once showed us under the bonnet of his brand new AM. Only to find that it wouldnt shut - maybe they build design flaws into every model.