Autocar drive the revised V8 Vantage...
Discussion
Interestingly Evo's piece made the same mistake.
Still unsure about what aspects of being more 'modern' would be relevant for a sports/GT car - I always thought you bought those for the experience, not 'refinement' or fuel efficiency. A bit strange to mark a genuinely engaging and feelsome (and good looking) sports car down when at the same tmie complaining about the loss of steering feel and involvement with the more 'modern' competition - and still awarding them 5 stars...
Still unsure about what aspects of being more 'modern' would be relevant for a sports/GT car - I always thought you bought those for the experience, not 'refinement' or fuel efficiency. A bit strange to mark a genuinely engaging and feelsome (and good looking) sports car down when at the same tmie complaining about the loss of steering feel and involvement with the more 'modern' competition - and still awarding them 5 stars...
900T-R said:
Interestingly Evo's piece made the same mistake.
Still unsure about what aspects of being more 'modern' would be relevant for a sports/GT car - I always thought you bought those for the experience, not 'refinement' or fuel efficiency. A bit strange to mark a genuinely engaging and feelsome (and good looking) sports car down when at the same tmie complaining about the loss of steering feel and involvement with the more 'modern' competition - and still awarding them 5 stars...
Having recently driven the 991 s ,I have to say it is a staggeringly good car,does it make the vantage feel outdated ? In some ways yes,primarily the ride/handling combination ,the gearbox ,and very noticeably now performance wise.with the pdk its a faster than a v12 v never mind the v8v.Still unsure about what aspects of being more 'modern' would be relevant for a sports/GT car - I always thought you bought those for the experience, not 'refinement' or fuel efficiency. A bit strange to mark a genuinely engaging and feelsome (and good looking) sports car down when at the same tmie complaining about the loss of steering feel and involvement with the more 'modern' competition - and still awarding them 5 stars...
But astons have never been about being cutting edge,its about the charisma to me,does the new breed of sportscars make the aston less charismatic or less desirable ..? not to my mind.I would get as much pleasure out of the aston as the 991s or a r8 or gtr,all incredible cars .
If you have the means there has never been a better time for sportscars.
Having only had a brief demonstration drive in it, I would say that the 991 is staggeringly dull rather than staggeringly good. Yes it is fast, but so is an R8. The character of the 911 has finally been lost and what you now have is anodyne standard German high performance GT, interchangeable with the R8, the SL and the BMW M6. It does a very effective job, it is well made, it is effortless and it isn't going to offend anybody. It is bigger, there is more space in the back, the luggage space is improved. You can't fault it. It cunningly narrows the gap between the 911 and the Panamera presumably so they can convert 911 owners with families to the bigger car. What it now isn't, is THE definitive sports coupe. It doesn't make you feel that you are on a race track. The lawyers and accountants who must be the target market would actually be better advised to buy a big V8 engined Audi estate car, which does the same job, only better.
This is where the Germans were with their sports GT's in the 60's, and to my mind it is a real opportunity for AM and Jaguar.
I read the Autocar piece, and thought, like all of the press these days, they are jumping onto the current bandwagon that AM haven't the resources to develop new cars. Whether or not that is the case, journalists are blinding themselves to the qualities of the current AM cars which offer things the Germans just don't. This mad race to be first with the next widget is all very fine, and quintessentially German, but it is not the be all and end all of motoring. I have not driven the 2012 V8 Vantage, but it sounds like a genuine sports car to get your adrenaline going (which was all that I ever wanted from the 911). I was surprised to read that they thought it lacked low end torque. I had believed that was what the 4.7 engine was intended to resolve. I would also not like to smell the clutch if I were doing a 3 point turn. That would be poor. I however don't spend my time doing doughnuts like some journalists.
Those would be my only concerns from the article. Instead of more information about the car, we get two pages of how they are losing ground to Porsche. All this demonstrates is that once again motoring writers are a load of sheep. This is why Bill Boddy and LJK Setright were so good. They spoke their minds rather than always trying to be first or loudest to spout the conventional wisdom.
Check the clutch, and in my view, at £85k, you are on. Right now this is the perfect sports car and a terrific investment.
This is where the Germans were with their sports GT's in the 60's, and to my mind it is a real opportunity for AM and Jaguar.
I read the Autocar piece, and thought, like all of the press these days, they are jumping onto the current bandwagon that AM haven't the resources to develop new cars. Whether or not that is the case, journalists are blinding themselves to the qualities of the current AM cars which offer things the Germans just don't. This mad race to be first with the next widget is all very fine, and quintessentially German, but it is not the be all and end all of motoring. I have not driven the 2012 V8 Vantage, but it sounds like a genuine sports car to get your adrenaline going (which was all that I ever wanted from the 911). I was surprised to read that they thought it lacked low end torque. I had believed that was what the 4.7 engine was intended to resolve. I would also not like to smell the clutch if I were doing a 3 point turn. That would be poor. I however don't spend my time doing doughnuts like some journalists.
Those would be my only concerns from the article. Instead of more information about the car, we get two pages of how they are losing ground to Porsche. All this demonstrates is that once again motoring writers are a load of sheep. This is why Bill Boddy and LJK Setright were so good. They spoke their minds rather than always trying to be first or loudest to spout the conventional wisdom.
Check the clutch, and in my view, at £85k, you are on. Right now this is the perfect sports car and a terrific investment.
Edited by cardigankid on Wednesday 21st March 07:57
You have my unreserved respect. I wish that I had learned to count when I was a lad.
My comment comes from the fact that there are a few accountants and lawyers near where I live who have almost nil interest in cars but run 911's. (Excluding of course the guy with the 996 GT3 RS) As far as I can see it represents for them an extremely good compromise between image, a bit of shove when required, and practicality. I am not dissing them, just pointing out their requirements are not my requirements, and the 991 does not do it for me.
A V12V would of course!
PS Read this - http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/2805...
My comment comes from the fact that there are a few accountants and lawyers near where I live who have almost nil interest in cars but run 911's. (Excluding of course the guy with the 996 GT3 RS) As far as I can see it represents for them an extremely good compromise between image, a bit of shove when required, and practicality. I am not dissing them, just pointing out their requirements are not my requirements, and the 991 does not do it for me.
A V12V would of course!
PS Read this - http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/2805...
Edited by cardigankid on Wednesday 21st March 07:52
SFO said:
what was the base price before?
Has the spec been reduced at the same time?
Just under £91k, but as Aston dealers will talk discounts on pre-specified stock the real price has always been lower in reality. So it will be interesting to see how the new price affects future "deals"!! Has the spec been reduced at the same time?
The spec is actually higher than before, when you include the new modifications, helping to keep the Vantage relatively competitive against the new 911 -991.
Grant3 said:
SFO said:
what was the base price before?
Has the spec been reduced at the same time?
Just under £91k, but as Aston dealers will talk discounts on pre-specified stock the real price has always been lower in reality. So it will be interesting to see how the new price affects future "deals"!! Has the spec been reduced at the same time?
The spec is actually higher than before, when you include the new modifications, helping to keep the Vantage relatively competitive against the new 911 -991.
SFO said:
are these improvements (such as bigger brakes) or additional functionality or toys?
The extras are new aero/styling kit - new style alloys (to the base car) with wider tyres and more sporting compounds - larger front brakes with 6-piston calipers + HBA/HSA- more direct feel some steering set-up - option of Sportshift II - few other bits.Are you looking to buy a new toy?
Grant3 said:
SFO said:
are these improvements (such as bigger brakes) or additional functionality or toys?
The extras are new aero/styling kit - new style alloys (to the base car) with wider tyres and more sporting compounds - larger front brakes with 6-piston calipers + HBA/HSA- more direct feel some steering set-up - option of Sportshift II - few other bits.Are you looking to buy a new toy?
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