RE: Driven: Aston Martin Vanquish

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

- I haven't driven the DBS, ideally nowadays I need the rear seats, but they do sound lovely.

[DB9VolanteDriver]

sgq89 said:

To be honest, love it or hate it, the fact that opinion is so divided surely means that Aston have made a mistake here? I always thought Astons were meant to be powerful yet elegant. This looks horrendous in my opinion. Rather have a DBS by miles. This looks chincy.

Full agreement here.

[PhantomPH]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

- I haven't driven the DBS, ideally nowadays I need the rear seats, but they do sound lovely.

DBS has rear seats (such as they are - and assuming someone ticked that box on purchase). Or is that what you meant - the rear seats suck? (they do...although you can fit a couple of kids in the back...or a few midgets. Or some bendy dancing girls.

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

PhantomPH said:

DBS has rear seats (such as they are - and assuming someone ticked that box on purchase). Or is that what you meant - the rear seats suck? (they do...although you can fit a couple of kids in the back...or a few midgets. Or some bendy dancing girls.

Thanks I need to go and take a closer look.

[PhantomPH]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

PhantomPH said:

DBS has rear seats (such as they are - and assuming someone ticked that box on purchase). Or is that what you meant - the rear seats suck? (they do...although you can fit a couple of kids in the back...or a few midgets. Or some bendy dancing girls.

Thanks I need to go and take a closer look.

From the classifieds here :

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

Thanks, probably better than the 997 Ive got now, and they are getting closer to 60/70k. I should have given them more consideration before.

[Trevor M]

Putting photos of a DBS and the Vanquish side by side and then flipping back and forth, it's pretty clear that the Vanquish is the better looking car and has a nicer interior. It's an improvement aesthetically and dynamically.

As others have commented, I have to laugh out loud when I read that it "should have 700 hp"! Oh really? Not only is it clear that this car is not for the likes of you, but it's clear that you have no idea how close to impossible it is to really exploit and enjoy an automobile with even around 500 hp on a public roadway is. About the only real "value" beyond that amount lies in phallic compensation when you're talking about your car with the naive.

[heavyearly76]

DBS for me please...

[Dagnut]

Forget about the power why is it so heavy? why make a carbon car and not lose any weight? baffled.

[whoami]

The Duke of Edinburgh said:

Not only is it clear that this car is not for the likes of you

[Vee12V]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

Thanks, probably better than the 997 Ive got now, and they are getting closer to 60/70k. I should have given them more consideration before.

Yes it has rear seats. But even with the light weight (= thin) carbon seats,
don't expect to put someone back there. There's just no space for your legs.

[richardaucock]

Dagnut said:

Forget about the power why is it so heavy? why make a carbon car and not lose any weight? baffled.

Interesting to speak with Reichman about carbon fibre: he says the big gain was not in saving weight but in allowing them to design curves and angles that would be impossible in aluminium. Look to the depth of the rear side panel, he said. Such depth of draw would simply be impossible with metal.

If it's through using carbon that Aston's been able to create such a striking car, I can forgive any lack of weight loss!

Oh, and it's also all still VH underneath...

[anonymous-user]

Trevor M said:

it's clear that you have no idea how close to impossible it is to really exploit and enjoy an automobile with even around 500 hp on a public roadway is.

rubbish. you even get used to it pretty quickly

[peter450]

Shame it's not got the latest 8 speed auto, for a 190k motor using the old 6 speeder seems a bit much, even if it is a good box it looks like serious penny pinching in a 190k car

[porker9xx]

20 years ago, basic new Aston Martin Virage (310PS, 7.2 sec 0-62 mph) cost more than new Lamborghini Diablo and all new Ferraris (except F40), and new Virage Volante cost was almost the same as new Ferrari F40!

The same was before... Basic new Aston Martin V8 (310PS) in its time cost more than new Lamborghini Countach!

20-30 years ago Aston Martin had the same engines and looks for years... But the above mentioned prices could be justified by the rareness and exclusivity of Aston Martin. There were very few cars built.

But now Aston Martin is mass produced sameness. And without any quality compared to its competitors. Also the cars are no longer exclusive to justify the price, having in mind 10 years technological lag compared to competitors.. That's why we constantly see that Aston Martin is struggling as a manufacturer. For example, Ferrari with each generation is a big step forward in looks and technology (i.e. 550/575 -> 599 -> F12Berlinetta). The Astons are just the same thing. All are the same since the DB9, which was realeased in 2004. The average person wouldn't tell the difference between '04 DB9 and '13 DB9...

All of the above is just my personal opinion.

Edited by porker9xx on Wednesday 14th November 20:30

[Ninjaboy]

It looks like a tarted up DB9, they need to do something new now as it's obviously sharing an awful lot with the DB9. I also hate to bring up power but it's well behind the competition now the original Vanquish was right at the top of it's game. I would agree that it's really at the sweet spot powerful enough but usable and not massively stressed.

It feels like a confused product to me, it's not luxury enough to be a cruiser but it's not hardcore enough to be a sunday blaster placing it too close to the DB9.

Edited by Ninjaboy on Wednesday 14th November 20:45

[356Speedster]

porker9xx said:

20-30 years ago Aston Martin had the same engines and looks for years... But the above mentioned prices could be justified by the rareness and exclusivity of Aston Martin. There were very few cars built.

But now Aston Martin is mass produced sameness. And without any quality compared to its competitors. Also the cars are no longer exclusive to justify the price, having in mind 10 years technological lag compared to competitors.......The average person wouldn't tell the difference between '04 DB9 and '13 DB9...

All of the above is just my personal opinion.

I'm just curious by some of these comments.... not being argumentative, just curious... Aston make approx. 4,000 cars a yr, that's less than Ferrari, but about twice that of Lambo. You can not call any of them mass produced, so I think they are very much an exclusive car maker, which will of course carry a price premium.

I think the strong brand appearance of their cars is a big part of their appeal too. I'm not certain the people buying into the brand want the products to be radically styled (yes, yes, the Virage did push that point a little far!).. I "get" Aston and would certainly consider one of their cars.

Technologically, I really don't have a problem with them either. Their 4th gen VH architecture is still one of the most advanced out there, behind carbon monocell structures. Aston's use of carbon and aluminium is pretty cutting edge in my book.

Comments made about 8-speed 'boxes are a bit surprising. Why does a sports car with so much power & torque need an 8-speeder? It's probably got the grunt to run a 4-speeder without breaking a sweat! I like the fact that Aston haven't followed the trend of cramming loads of ratios in the 'box and have done what's right for the car - a constantly shuffling 'box that the big V2 whips thru' in no time wouldn't be right IMO. Lambo are hardly technology trail blazers and I'd argue that modern Porsches & Ferraris are stuffed with pointless technology most folks neither want, understand or need. I'd say Aston are keeping it real

I can understand why folks don't like the new Vanquish, but many of the comments are short sighted and fail to recognise who AM are and what they and their products stand for. They are low volume, (largely) hand made niche products for a certain person. I think their last 8yrs or so styling has been spot on, friends with AMs don't complain of reliability and I'd certainly say they're a quality product. I hope Aston continue to stay true to their values and don't follow the herd, as I think they're stronger for it. Just my humble...

[NGK210]

Dagnut said:

Forget about the power why is it so heavy? why make a carbon car and not lose any weight? baffled.

Same with the original Vanquish

I had a tour round the old Newport Pagnell production line, so saw several Vanqs in various states of build - acres of carbonfibre under the skin (eg, the rear 'sub-frame' aft of the rear wheels), the main tub was aluminium, the doors (and bootlid, IIRC?) fibreglass - sorry, to use Aston-speak, I mean 'composite' - and the rest of the body was also ally, ditto the suspension. But its weight was 1835kg

I assume there's a huge steel girder, or two, concealed somewhere in its makeup, the V12 secretly has a cast iron block and/or the seat frames are made of tungsten?

[037]

I failed to get excited about the release of the virage, but after seeing one in the flesh on Sunday , wow what a car!
They do all look very similar though and sometimes a photo just doesn't do justice . I'll pass judgement till I see a Vanquish.
I'd like Aston Martin to try and claw back the aggressive style they had in the 80s

[tommy vercetti]

That looks wicked, love the looks. Loved the previous vanquish too, has aged nicely