U.S. market V8 Vantage GTS
Discussion
Saw this on Bloomberg today. Looks like AM continue to create special editions to squeeze sales. Interesting to hear a relatively lay person's view on the car.
http://bloom.bg/1QYGzyh
"Aston Martin Vantage GTS Coupe: For Real Drivers
May 11 -- Aston's only manual V8 is the perfect ride for real road love. The $140,000 rear-wheel-drive coupe is limited to only 100 special drivers. Bloomberg's Hannah Elliott hits Mulholland Drive in possibly the last, great, manual import on the planet. (Source: Bloomberg)"
http://bloom.bg/1QYGzyh
"Aston Martin Vantage GTS Coupe: For Real Drivers
May 11 -- Aston's only manual V8 is the perfect ride for real road love. The $140,000 rear-wheel-drive coupe is limited to only 100 special drivers. Bloomberg's Hannah Elliott hits Mulholland Drive in possibly the last, great, manual import on the planet. (Source: Bloomberg)"
This is old news. The V8 Vantage no longer meets USA crash standards, the government granted Aston Martin an exemption for a set quantity of cars. I believe these are the last 100, they are for America only. It is basically a Vantage GT with some additional standard options and available in any color. They have been on dealer lots for a few months now. I'm sure they can be gotten for below msrp. The GT was the steal of this model, the GTS is nice but other than badging and a few other options, it's the same car but $30,000 - $40,000 more.
The GTS has much more standard equipment than the GT (which was an outrageously good deal), and comes in two versions -- Sport and Lux. The Sport comes with, can you guess, sporty equipment, as well as some expensive items that would have been cost options, including Sport suspension, carbon fiber splitter and diffuser, Premium Audio, black exterior and interior trim, part-alcantara interior, etc. The Lux comes with, can you guess, luxury equipment, as well as some expensive stuff that would otherwise be cost options, including Comfort suspension, bright exterior and interior trim, gloss black splitter and diffuser, Bang & Olufsen Sound, V8VS leather interior, etc.
Speedraser said:
The GTS has much more standard equipment than the GT (which was an outrageously good deal), and comes in two versions -- Sport and Lux. The Sport comes with, can you guess, sporty equipment, as well as some expensive items that would have been cost options, including Sport suspension, carbon fiber splitter and diffuser, Premium Audio, black exterior and interior trim, part-alcantara interior, etc. The Lux comes with, can you guess, luxury equipment, as well as some expensive stuff that would otherwise be cost options, including Comfort suspension, bright exterior and interior trim, gloss black splitter and diffuser, Bang & Olufsen Sound, V8VS leather interior, etc.
The choice of sports or comfort suspension, sports exhaust, black trim, and choice of either part-alcantara or full leather with contrast stitching were standard no cost options on the GT.Yes, when I said "some" expensive items I did not mean to suggest that all the items I listed were cost options on the GT -- good to clarify. Various other items, though, such as the Premium and especially B&O audio, and the carbon splitter/diffuser, were most definitely cost items on the GT.
Speedraser said:
You don't see $40K? You just need a better imagination 
As I said before, the GT was an OUTRAGEOUS steal.
It was an OUTRAGEOUS steal for a new Aston. One dealer I spoke with seemed to think that the GT decimated the Vantage market, especially the used market. I heard Aston Martin even made dealers take a hair cut in their profit to keep the GT prices down. As I said before, the GT was an OUTRAGEOUS steal.I think the idea of selling an Aston Martin based on a "cheap" price is absolutely the wrong thing for the marque -- it risks cheapening the Vantage and the marque as a whole. An Aston Martin is a top-end product, and it's easy to see where that money/cost goes -- just look at the quality of materials compared to, for example, a Jaguar F-type, a 991 or a Maserati GranTurismo. The Vantage IMO is better than that. That said, for those who bought one, they got an amazing deal.
Speedraser said:
I think the idea of selling an Aston Martin based on a "cheap" price is absolutely the wrong thing for the marque -- it risks cheapening the Vantage and the marque as a whole. An Aston Martin is a top-end product, and it's easy to see where that money/cost goes -- just look at the quality of materials compared to, for example, a Jaguar F-type, a 991 or a Maserati GranTurismo. The Vantage IMO is better than that. That said, for those who bought one, they got an amazing deal.
I don't think it was ever marketed as "cheap", but more of a special edition with a set amount of available colors and and standard features, it could be optioned up as high as any regular Vantage or Vantage S. It is in no way down market. And let's face it Aston's sales have continued to decline even crater in the US, if they don't expand their market, they cease to exist. And what a better way than at the end of the Vantages cycle. I've heard the DB11 orders are doing well and the next generation Vantage can't come fast enough for Astons sake.I did compare to the F type and your right there was no comparison, the F type wins on power, but loses everywhere else. On looks, quality, interior, fit, finish and exclusivity the Jaguar can't compete.
It's not a down-market car, but it was advertised and promoted as "an Aston Martin for $99K," which was clearly down-market from where they were -- the absolutely wrong message for the marque IMO. An Aston is a top-tier car, and marketing it on price cheapens the marque. My point is that the marque is better than that -- it should be marketed as a high-priced item because it's WORTH that premium over other "prestige" cars. It's not the GT that I have a problem with at all -- it's the way it was marketed that sold it short.
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