Anyone gone Vanquish to Vanquish S?
Discussion
I've driven a 6-speed Vanquish and an 8-speed Vanquish S
The 8-speed is a better gearbox and the driving experience is noticeably better at lower speeds / up hills etc where being in the 'right' gear for low rev oomph matters. However, there wasn't much difference with foot to the floor from a rolling start or at higher speeds.
The 8-speed is a better gearbox and the driving experience is noticeably better at lower speeds / up hills etc where being in the 'right' gear for low rev oomph matters. However, there wasn't much difference with foot to the floor from a rolling start or at higher speeds.
I have a 2015 8 speed Volante, primary decat and highflow secondaries, which now makes the car feel sharper. I’ve just been quoted £49k to swap for a 2017 S. Having driven both, other than the quad exhaust, different diffuser and a red S on the boot, to me, there’s no real world difference, certainly not £49k worth!
handyman 1417 said:
I have a 2015 8 speed Volante, primary decat and highflow secondaries, which now makes the car feel sharper. I’ve just been quoted £49k to swap for a 2017 S. Having driven both, other than the quad exhaust, different diffuser and a red S on the boot, to me, there’s no real world difference, certainly not £49k worth!
Ouch. I’m assuming that was at an AM MD? I’ve been keeping an eye on Vanquish S prices for a while, as it’s probably the only car I’d consider changing to. Prices seem to have fallen quite dramatically this year, with cars now available for circa £115,000. I would agree with you. The cost to change v real world difference/gain probably doesn’t add up, especially in the current economic environment. BRM. Minglar said:
handyman 1417 said:
I have a 2015 8 speed Volante, primary decat and highflow secondaries, which now makes the car feel sharper. I’ve just been quoted £49k to swap for a 2017 S. Having driven both, other than the quad exhaust, different diffuser and a red S on the boot, to me, there’s no real world difference, certainly not £49k worth!
Ouch. I’m assuming that was at an AM MD? I’ve been keeping an eye on Vanquish S prices for a while, as it’s probably the only car I’d consider changing to. Prices seem to have fallen quite dramatically this year, with cars now available for circa £115,000. I would agree with you. The cost to change v real world difference/gain probably doesn’t add up, especially in the current economic environment. BRM. The other factor is that there are far fewer S models around, so likely to be more resilient when it comes to future value? Certainly was the case with the original Vanquish last time I looked.
LooneyTunes said:
Minglar said:
handyman 1417 said:
I have a 2015 8 speed Volante, primary decat and highflow secondaries, which now makes the car feel sharper. I’ve just been quoted £49k to swap for a 2017 S. Having driven both, other than the quad exhaust, different diffuser and a red S on the boot, to me, there’s no real world difference, certainly not £49k worth!
Ouch. I’m assuming that was at an AM MD? I’ve been keeping an eye on Vanquish S prices for a while, as it’s probably the only car I’d consider changing to. Prices seem to have fallen quite dramatically this year, with cars now available for circa £115,000. I would agree with you. The cost to change v real world difference/gain probably doesn’t add up, especially in the current economic environment. BRM. The other factor is that there are far fewer S models around, so likely to be more resilient when it comes to future value? Certainly was the case with the original Vanquish last time I looked.
BRM.
Minglar said:
Well, I’m not so sure. The “S” cars are no doubt rarer, more aggressive and better looking. But as for future resilience? We live in strange times. I don’t think it will be long before you will be able to pick one up for sub £100,000 and I think there is a strong possibility they will cross over against the previous generation “S” cars. Regarding the earlier price gap comment, I wonder how much an AM MD would offer you should you choose to trade in an “S” against a standard car? That would be an interesting conversation no doubt!
BRM.
I prefer the looks of the non S BRM.
I have been driving a standard Vanquish with a modified Bosch control unit (595 hp) for 5 years. I don't particularly notice the difference to the Vanquish S, except for the fact that the S is considerably louder, due to the modified rear silencer. It makes more noise, which feels as if the car is accelerating more, but this is not the case. Only top speed is slightly higher <5 km/h, due to the better-stepped ZF gearbox. I live in Germany, fast driving is not an issue here. I had the S version for a week for testing during the inspection and used it as a daily driver. In my opinion, the upgrade is not worth the money. There have been no noticeable changes to the chassis, which is still very comfortable.
I did a fair bit of research and swaying back and forth over the two cars before making my own purchase.
The S will give
A different / improved aero package some will prefer this look some won't
Revised suspension geometry with bigger anti roll bars etc
An updated and new inlet manifold
An updated ecu
Quad pipes
The differences these made to how I found the cars behave was a bit more than you might imagine. The floaty feel you get when pushing on hard on a more challenging road with undulations are far better controlled in the S than the standard car. It just feels more planted and offers a good bit more confidence.
It's is a fair bit louder than the standard car too, though just as quiet on the settled cruise at 70 to 80mph in 8th gear. Start up is quite biblical when you're trying to creep away early in the morning. Your neighbours will know you've gone out.
Now most of the above may or may not be important as to how you intend using the car or whether you like the looks of the changes.
Are your driving skills really going to notice the extra 27 bhp? Mine aren't both cars are bloody fast
However the things that swung it for me in my own decision process were the following
1. I believe only about 530 S models were made from about 3000 gen 2 Vanquish so is more rare (someone may have more accurate figures)
2. Potential for holding value or depreciating less is improved
3. MOST S models carried far more options on them and you don't really have to pay for them as a used purchase
4. If I got the std car would I always think I should have got the S as its perceived to be the better car (snobbery effect)
If the premium is about £25k for the S car and many of them.carry about £40k of options my man maths started sway the argument. It's easy to find a car with
Light forged alloys
Carbon roof / mirror caps / strakes
Upgraded leather
Upgraded filograph stitching
Carbon front grill
One77 steering
Etc
These are obviously just my thoughts but you will definitely notice the difference on back roads when you push on if thats your thing. You won't notice much if any difference on the motorway except perhaps the extra noise while accelerating up the slip road.
Obviously this isn't the best time of year to try and push a car to see if that handling improvement is worth it so a difficult decision but any good main dealer would probably give you the car for a half day or so to get a 'feel' for things.
Happy hunting as they say
The S will give
A different / improved aero package some will prefer this look some won't
Revised suspension geometry with bigger anti roll bars etc
An updated and new inlet manifold
An updated ecu
Quad pipes
The differences these made to how I found the cars behave was a bit more than you might imagine. The floaty feel you get when pushing on hard on a more challenging road with undulations are far better controlled in the S than the standard car. It just feels more planted and offers a good bit more confidence.
It's is a fair bit louder than the standard car too, though just as quiet on the settled cruise at 70 to 80mph in 8th gear. Start up is quite biblical when you're trying to creep away early in the morning. Your neighbours will know you've gone out.
Now most of the above may or may not be important as to how you intend using the car or whether you like the looks of the changes.
Are your driving skills really going to notice the extra 27 bhp? Mine aren't both cars are bloody fast
However the things that swung it for me in my own decision process were the following
1. I believe only about 530 S models were made from about 3000 gen 2 Vanquish so is more rare (someone may have more accurate figures)
2. Potential for holding value or depreciating less is improved
3. MOST S models carried far more options on them and you don't really have to pay for them as a used purchase
4. If I got the std car would I always think I should have got the S as its perceived to be the better car (snobbery effect)
If the premium is about £25k for the S car and many of them.carry about £40k of options my man maths started sway the argument. It's easy to find a car with
Light forged alloys
Carbon roof / mirror caps / strakes
Upgraded leather
Upgraded filograph stitching
Carbon front grill
One77 steering
Etc
These are obviously just my thoughts but you will definitely notice the difference on back roads when you push on if thats your thing. You won't notice much if any difference on the motorway except perhaps the extra noise while accelerating up the slip road.
Obviously this isn't the best time of year to try and push a car to see if that handling improvement is worth it so a difficult decision but any good main dealer would probably give you the car for a half day or so to get a 'feel' for things.
Happy hunting as they say
The S has dropped alot in value since early 2023...quite a few around the £115k mark which is £15-20k lower I'd guess. I'd personally go for the S but £49k is alot to pay for some marginal gains above the standard car that you have already. Defo fancy owning the S at some point myself.
Emilio Largo said:
Matt?!! Bist Du´s wirklich? 
Lange nichts mehr von Dir gehört - leider! Wäre toll, wenn Du Dich im deutschen Forum wieder zu Wort melden würdest. 
. Ich denke, Dein Wissen wird dort nicht nur von mir vermißt. Liebe Grüße!
To which Lange nichts mehr von Dir gehört - leider! Wäre toll, wenn Du Dich im deutschen Forum wieder zu Wort melden würdest. . Ich denke, Dein Wissen wird dort nicht nur von mir vermißt. Liebe Grüße!Google translate said:
Frosted?!! Is it really you? Haven't heard from you for a long time - unfortunately! It would be great if you would speak up again in the German forum. I think your knowledge will not only be missed by me there. Best regards!
I'm.not sure the OP specifically wants a faster car, and I don't think the S is about that.
The Bam R upgrades you refer to may be very good upgrades but it doesn't make rhe car an S model. It's now a modified standard car and some would argue the changes away from stock have now devalued it too.
I know many people like to change / modify their cars in either the looks dept or the performance dept or indeed both but MANY (dare I say Aston owners in particular?) Like to keep things stock where possible.
Would I drop £40k on an early Vantage with those sort of upgrades, quite possibly, in that i wouldnt hold them against the car but neither would i seek out a car with those mods so i would be quite neutral at that price point. However would I drop £80 to £100k on a Vanquish with those upgrades, definitely not. I would want it as it left the factory. Just my own thought process obviously.
I don't think Vanquish buyers see the S particularly as a faster model or bought it on that basis its really viewed as a slightly more accomplished and rare version in a more tied down chassis. Now whether that's worth swapping cars for ........well that's for the OP to decide.
The Bam R upgrades you refer to may be very good upgrades but it doesn't make rhe car an S model. It's now a modified standard car and some would argue the changes away from stock have now devalued it too.
I know many people like to change / modify their cars in either the looks dept or the performance dept or indeed both but MANY (dare I say Aston owners in particular?) Like to keep things stock where possible.
Would I drop £40k on an early Vantage with those sort of upgrades, quite possibly, in that i wouldnt hold them against the car but neither would i seek out a car with those mods so i would be quite neutral at that price point. However would I drop £80 to £100k on a Vanquish with those upgrades, definitely not. I would want it as it left the factory. Just my own thought process obviously.
I don't think Vanquish buyers see the S particularly as a faster model or bought it on that basis its really viewed as a slightly more accomplished and rare version in a more tied down chassis. Now whether that's worth swapping cars for ........well that's for the OP to decide.
cayman-black said:
For me personally, i would not touch a modified car unless it was just a cats removed job.
Sometimes it comes down to understanding whether or not an upgrade is actually exactly that, and getting one’s head around the fact that some components (mainly those unseen by the customer) can be quite poor from the factory. The exhaust manifolds on any Vantage come to mind. Looking at the ones removed from my ‘S’ which was supposed to be an improved design introducing the precats for EU5, they are dreadful.
The ‘factory’ pipes are badly formed, unequal and uneven/discontinuous internal CSA, unequal length and worst of all, there is no collector. Each manifold pipe end is deformed into a restrictive half moon shape then pairs are welded to 2 circular stubs on each of the two pre-cat housings.
This is a result of, as ever, meeting the requirements of cost, packaging and emissions while having ‘acceptable’ performance. A typical compromise.
The idea that these ‘factory’ manifolds (and much else) cannot be improved upon is clearly preposterous. when I collected my tuned length, beautifully formed and welded stainless manifolds I almost wanted to put them on wall rather than in car. The cost is immense, and the gains are marginal (maybe 20hp in isolation) and only really exist at the top end, which is precisely why the factory doesn’t do it, especially given that the factory would still have to accommodate the pre-cats for homologation purposes..
The same is so often true for suspension, wheels, tyres and even brake components. The cost of doing it perfectly is such that the factory would never be able to sell the car at profit.
Our American cousins tend to understand these fundamental things far more readily. Even Astons are built to a cost and can be seriously improved, it’s why the likes of BR exist.
As long as whatever is being considered is from a reputable supplier, with similar-to-OEM durability, environmental resistance and robustness, it’s relatively easy (but costly) to improve on OEM exhausts, suspension, brakes, wheels, tyres and much else.
Where things get more interesting is when we start considering heavy engine modifications, especially when we tinker with pressure charged engines or try to add pressure charging to highly tuned base engines not originally designed for it. Here there are real risks of exceed the design limits of some obscure internal engine or transmission component and end up with catastrophic early life failure. This is the sort of modification I’d advise anyone to be much more wary of.
On the OP’s post, Vanq S is naturally going to be the more desirable car, being the last and best resolved of not just the Vanq but all the n/a Astons. It is however going to be only marginally better car than the earlier versions, and as has been already eloquently stated, it is really down to the individual to decide whether the additional cost is worth it, baking into the calculation the likelihood of a higher retained value alongside all the other stuff mentioned.
Edited by Calinours on Saturday 18th November 15:53
Calinours said:
The cost of doing it perfectly is such, that the factory would never be able to sell the car at a profit.
They don't worry about such trifles. That was mastered very early on, by 1925 in fact, when the receiver arrived at 53 Abingdon Road, Kensington.
Have continued with an identical business model ever since. Much more fun.
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