V12 Vantage Sports Plus pack

[Ex Boy Racer]

Thanks to everyone for their advice on the B&O system in other thread.

Now I'm after info on the Sports Plus pack. My question is, can the extra power actually be felt when driving? I'm kind of a fastest is best person, but if this minor increase is completely unnoticeable I'd prefer to spec my own preferred colour.

(I know a non-Sports Plus colour can be specified, but at £5k it seems a bit much!)

[12pack]

I assume you are asking as you plan to drive the car hard (the Ex in your name applies to Boy and not Racer..). In my opinion having driven extensively on UK tracks and - well, aggressively, on UK roads, all versions of the V12 Vantage are traction-limited.

The only time this is not the case is on a dry track on a straight with temperatures above 25C assuming the track is asphalt. All other times you are managing power to the back end. The S indeed has more torque 3-4K rpm and more shove at the top, but really far less of an effect than if you'd just got more traction when you started rolling on the throttle. Hence I'm of the not exactly sure what the 5 additional bhp would actually bring besides bragging rights.

Edited by 12pack on Tuesday 24th January 16:15

[Ex Boy Racer]

Completely agree about traction, but there were times when my old Vantage V12 could be let off the leash.

I was wondering if the extra bit could be felt in these moments or whether it was such a small increase it was basically the same

[12pack]

I'm sure someone better informed than I will come along about it. I now understand the car I'd demo'd (my post in this thread below - Saturday Oct 29) was actually a Sports Plus car. But I'm not sure how to compare to a regular S.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[AdamV12V]

Ex Boy Racer said:

Thanks to everyone for their advice on the B&O system in other thread.

Now I'm after info on the Sports Plus pack. My question is, can the extra power actually be felt when driving? I'm kind of a fastest is best person, but if this minor increase is completely unnoticeable I'd prefer to spec my own preferred colour.

(I know a non-Sports Plus colour can be specified, but at £5k it seems a bit much!)

IMHO the very last reason to spec the SP+ pack is for the minor 5BHP power hike. It is a great value package IF you happen to like the colour combos, the decals, the wheels and the interior trim. Everything however is available separately if you ask, and I'm sure that will include the airbox / map to get the power hike. The cumulative cost will be more than SP+, but if its just the power hike I cant see AM charging more than say a grand tops for it - and even that would be a rip off.

I can honestly say that you wont think the car is underpowered without it, and 5BHP is <1% more so your level of driving skill will make far more difference. I'm not even sure its worth the pub bragging rights, and 99.9% of pub goers are oblivious to the fact the V12VS has 55BHP more than a V12V, and certainly have no idea about the subtly of SP+ adding another 5BHP. The car already feels insanely overpowered, so nobody, including you will ever say - ohhh, this car really could do with another 5BHP you know!

My advice - is do what I did, and spend the money on things such as a colour and other trim that will make you happy on far more occasions than the 5BHP will.

[Ex Boy Racer]

AdamV12V said:

Ex Boy Racer said:

Thanks to everyone for their advice on the B&O system in other thread.

Now I'm after info on the Sports Plus pack. My question is, can the extra power actually be felt when driving? I'm kind of a fastest is best person, but if this minor increase is completely unnoticeable I'd prefer to spec my own preferred colour.

(I know a non-Sports Plus colour can be specified, but at £5k it seems a bit much!)

IMHO the very last reason to spec the SP+ pack is for the minor 5BHP power hike. It is a great value package IF you happen to like the colour combos, the decals, the wheels and the interior trim. Everything however is available separately if you ask, and I'm sure that will include the airbox / map to get the power hike. The cumulative cost will be more than SP+, but if its just the power hike I cant see AM charging more than say a grand tops for it - and even that would be a rip off.

I can honestly say that you wont think the car is underpowered without it, and 5BHP is <1% more so your level of driving skill will make far more difference. I'm not even sure its worth the pub bragging rights, and 99.9% of pub goers are oblivious to the fact the V12VS has 55BHP more than a V12V, and certainly have no idea about the subtly of SP+ adding another 5BHP. The car already feels insanely overpowered, so nobody, including you will ever say - ohhh, this car really could do with another 5BHP you know!

My advice - is do what I did, and spend the money on things such as a colour and other trim that will make you happy on far more occasions than the 5BHP will.

Interesting that you say it's good value. I can see that the power hike comes for nothing if I like the colours, but they really are very limited and dull compared with some on the AM palette.

What are the interior trim benefits - not seen those?

[AdamV12V]

Ex Boy Racer said:

What are the interior trim benefits - not seen those?

All the info you need is on the link below, scroll down to my full reply at the bottom of the page. Looks like the thread was a very similar when you asked about SP+ back in July

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=161...

[V12s]

Ex Boy Racer said:

AdamV12V said:

Ex Boy Racer said:

Thanks to everyone for their advice on the B&O system in other thread.

Now I'm after info on the Sports Plus pack. My question is, can the extra power actually be felt when driving? I'm kind of a fastest is best person, but if this minor increase is completely unnoticeable I'd prefer to spec my own preferred colour.

(I know a non-Sports Plus colour can be specified, but at £5k it seems a bit much!)

IMHO the very last reason to spec the SP+ pack is for the minor 5BHP power hike. It is a great value package IF you happen to like the colour combos, the decals, the wheels and the interior trim. Everything however is available separately if you ask, and I'm sure that will include the airbox / map to get the power hike. The cumulative cost will be more than SP+, but if its just the power hike I cant see AM charging more than say a grand tops for it - and even that would be a rip off.

I can honestly say that you wont think the car is underpowered without it, and 5BHP is <1% more so your level of driving skill will make far more difference. I'm not even sure its worth the pub bragging rights, and 99.9% of pub goers are oblivious to the fact the V12VS has 55BHP more than a V12V, and certainly have no idea about the subtly of SP+ adding another 5BHP. The car already feels insanely overpowered, so nobody, including you will ever say - ohhh, this car really could do with another 5BHP you know!

My advice - is do what I did, and spend the money on things such as a colour and other trim that will make you happy on far more occasions than the 5BHP will.

Interesting that you say it's good value. I can see that the power hike comes for nothing if I like the colours, but they really are very limited and dull compared with some on the AM palette.

What are the interior trim benefits - not seen those?

I have ordered a V12s manual with sport plus package.

The included interior "options" are;

Caithness ( contemporary ) leather ( albeit reduced quantities because of the wide use of Alcantara ) as opposed to Strathmore which is standard
Alcantara dashboard as Adam has mentioned
Pure black ( contemporary ) headlining ( opposed to Tailors Grey which is standard )

Stitching and accents can be red,yellow,orange,silver or black

[AdamV12V]

V12s said:

I have ordered a V12s manual with sport plus package.

The included interior "options" are;

Caithness ( contemporary ) leather ( albeit reduced quantities because of the wide use of Alcantara ) as opposed to Strathmore which is standard
Alcantara dashboard as Adam has mentioned
Pure black ( contemporary ) headlining ( opposed to Tailors Grey which is standard )

Stitching and accents can be red,yellow,orange,silver or black

The headliner is only Pure Black with the dark interior option, it is actually Grey Blend, not Tailors Grey, with the light interior option.

The full impact of SP+ on the interior can be seen the dealer spec flowcharts below.



Hope that helps - ask if you need any more info

[V12s]

AdamV12V said:

V12s said:

I have ordered a V12s manual with sport plus package.

The included interior "options" are;

Caithness ( contemporary ) leather ( albeit reduced quantities because of the wide use of Alcantara ) as opposed to Strathmore which is standard
Alcantara dashboard as Adam has mentioned
Pure black ( contemporary ) headlining ( opposed to Tailors Grey which is standard )

Stitching and accents can be red,yellow,orange,silver or black

The headliner is only Pure Black with the dark interior option, it is actually Grey Blend, not Tailors Grey, with the light interior option.

The full impact of SP+ on the interior can be seen the dealer spec flowcharts below.



Hope that helps - ask if you need any more info

Thanks.

Unfortunately I cannot read the flow chart as the image is a bit grainy.

When I mentioned the headlining, I was referring to what is deemed as an "upgrade" within the sport plus pack over standard - as was asked by Ex Boy Racer. Tailors grey primary headlining is standard figment on a V12 Vantage S. Any other colour is extra over.

Pure black or grey blend are used on sport plus pack cars - and these colours are normally deemed as a contemporary finish, which would attract a premium price on a non sport plus pack car ( seems crazy to me )

When speccing my car, it left the dealer confused a few times such was the discrepancy in information available.

All worth it though as such a fabulous car !

[AdamV12V]

V12s said:

Thanks.

Unfortunately I cannot read the flow chart as the image is a bit grainy.

Opps sorry, it is quite poor quality as its a photo of a photocopy!

See if this helps - click on the link to expand to a much larger version.

https://thumbsnap.com/f/uaYUPIGk

[Ex Boy Racer]

Hmmm. Unfortunately I'l be getting a roadster.

I was shocked to be reminded that I was asking about the Sports Plus pack such a long time ago. I know I'm a bit slow, but surely AM could make things a bit simpler!

Not sur gif it gives the upgraded leather as described - my contact finds it as confusing as I do.

So back to the important thing - can the extra performance be noticed?

[Flugplatz]

Surely its better to add a bit more cash and get the GT12 35bhp upgrade for the £12K

There is absolutely no chance you will feel an extra 5 bhp at all.

Edited by Flugplatz on Wednesday 25th January 00:58

[C997]

AdamV12V said:

and 5BHP is <1% more so your level of driving skill will make far more difference.

This and the fact that exact power figures are not possible anyway. I doubt if Aston Martin can even tune individual engines to be within 1% of each other and they certainly wont be able to set up each individual engine to exact power figures as stated by every manufacturer. Even differences between dynos used to test engines would be greater than 1%.

The last thing I thought about when speccing the Sports Plus pack was the power increase. I think the increase is 8 bhp and that's irrelevant in the real world. Ambient temperature and hence air density would probably give a bigger swing in power figures than that.

[V12s]

Ex Boy Racer said:

Hmmm. Unfortunately I'l be getting a roadster.

I was shocked to be reminded that I was asking about the Sports Plus pack such a long time ago. I know I'm a bit slow, but surely AM could make things a bit simpler!

Not sur gif it gives the upgraded leather as described - my contact finds it as confusing as I do.

So back to the important thing - can the extra performance be noticed?

I do believe on a roadster that the sport plus pack brings full Caithness leather instead of Strathmore.

I'd also agree with others that 5bhp will be unnoticeable on the road, but if you like the lightweight wheels and the available colours - then the pack is good value compared to speccing items individually.

[V12s]

Flugplatz said:

Surely its better to add a bit more cash and get the GT12 35bhp upgrade for the £12K

There is absolutely no chance you will feel an extra 5 bhp at all.

Edited by Flugplatz on Wednesday 25th January 00:58

Is this now available for manual cars ?

[Ex Boy Racer]

Available on manuals. But not on roadsters for some reason. A bit disappointing to say the least.

Thanks for your help all. I am checking exactly what the pack gives. If it also upgrades the leather it will be worth it I think.

I simply cannot see why they specify certain colours with the pack. Why not allow choice as normal?

AM's option system is very strange and puzzling

[CSK1]

The V12 Vantage S Performance Pack is available on SportshiftIII equipped cars be it Coupe or Roadster.

[AdamV12V]

Ex Boy Racer said:

I am checking exactly what the pack gives. If it also upgrades the leather it will be worth it I think.

I simply cannot see why they specify certain colours with the pack. Why not allow choice as normal?

AM's option system is very strange and puzzling

It's a cosmetic sports trim pack - the key bits really are the exterior colour combos and the decals and the matching interior alcantara trims, so makes sense to me that they have to limit the options when presenting this as a value pack. If you want complete customisation that is available through Q, just ask as some of the things really aren't as expensive as you might think. For instance I got what I view as an improved version of the SP+ alcantara/leather dash from Q for £695 and then spent the remaining £5300 on other bits that I preferred over the rest of the SP+ pack options.

Even if you don't go SP+, you should definitely upgrade the leather though to Caithness, the Strathmore really isn't the grade you would expect in an Aston. The chart I have linked above clearly shows that the SP+ comes with the Caithness upgrade and that applies to the Roadster too (I have another scan at home which shows that too). For the avoidance the only 3 colours available in the free Strathmore are Obsidian Black, Lords Red and Sandstorm - although all 3 of these are also available in Caithness too, but if you are going for any other colour it will be at least Caithness, if not the super-lux Balmoral. See http://www.astonmartin.com/colour-and-trim/palette for more...

Don't forget the contemporary pack also allows you to reduce the cost of the interior and paint combos without compromising at all on choice at all, so take a good look at that. If you don't like the SP+ pack colour combos then I really see no reason to go with it as that's 95% of the reason behind it, and you can otherwise get a lot of options for £6k! If you are factory ordering a car you are realistically paying a premium to do so, so get the car 100% as you want and don't compromise.

[Big Ry]

Ex Boy Racer said:

I simply cannot see why they specify certain colours with the pack. Why not allow choice as normal?

Whilst I don't know, I would imagine if you pressed the issue then they would probably be a bit more flexible. For instance if you were ticking both the Contemporary and Sport Plus Packs, then I think it would be reasonable to expect that you could pick a colour from the contemporary range (although without looking i'm not sure if ticking both would make financial sense compared to ticking just the options you want.....but you know what I mean).

I do know however that a customer of a certain dealership ordered an N430 without the roof rails and lipstick etc, it was a solid colour. I know it caused a bit of an argument and headache with the factory but they still did it, as it was a case of "I'm not ordering one unless you do it", and I guess AM aren't in a position to turn down "reasonable"requests like that, and in all honesty nor should they. As they say, you pay your money you take your choice, it's not like asking for a different engine or gearbox, they have to paint the bloody thing anyway, and I'd guess that a solid colour was actually easier too.