Some Hunter Grill Love
Discussion
I would love to experience 'the 200kg of downforce, which you can feel in the high speed stuff', but wherever I drive, I always seem to encounter, traffic ahead; speed limits; potholes; traffic jams; speed cameras; traffic lights; people who don't need to work glued to the road; old dodderers in Nissan Micras; trailer caravans; sleeping policemen (no they are definitely not sleeping police women, although they could be sleeping face down) and the threat of jail when I am suddenly surprised by spotting three figures showing on the speedo.
Does that big rear wing actually have any practical use, which I might possibly have overlooked ?
Now, there is an invitation for jokes. Over.
BiggaJ said:
CSK1 said:
Well, I didn’t like the new front when it came out but it kind of grew on me and I now prefer it to the latest iteration with the classic grille.
This ^ ... I had the same feelings towards it but now, I really like the original new Vantage grill. 
Wayne95 said:
Time is the friend of ugliness and the enemy of beauty…
Well, I think this doesn’t really apply to Aston Martin, does it? Think DB4, 5 and 6 in all their iterations, and also other timeless classics, 911, 300 SL Gullwing.Classic Riva boats are also quite immune to ugliness and will always be beautiful.
Maybe your quote refers to human beings?
Although there’s more to it than external appearance don’t you think?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
M1AGM said:
Agree. I've come round to liking the new vantage more than when it launched. Maybe it's something to do with the 'G's (grilles/gills) but I cant get past the side gills not lining up quite right with the doors, so I'm still out.
It can be done, the biggest issue i think Aston have is the lack of panels and primarily the front end. The panels that are there are large in particular the bonnet and clamshell style of it all of which has a knock on to the door and gills situation. A number of cars struggled with bonnet and door damage as they clipped each other when being opened. Hence I think the door level issue and interaction with the styling on the gills.
Mine has the perforated gills, an element of surprise for me is always how much heat hangs around that area.
CSK1 said:
Well, I think this doesn’t really apply to Aston Martin, does it? Think DB4, 5 and 6 in all their iterations, and also other timeless classics, 911, 300 SL Gullwing.
Classic Riva boats are also quite immune to ugliness and will always be beautiful.
Maybe your quote refers to human beings?
Although there’s more to it than external appearance don’t you think?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I agree. You can also include Callum/Fisker designed Astons, the Ferrari Daytona, many older Jaguars. Unfortunately the new Vantage will never be held in any high regard. It’s more of an oddity. Classic Riva boats are also quite immune to ugliness and will always be beautiful.
Maybe your quote refers to human beings?
Although there’s more to it than external appearance don’t you think?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
MY OPINION - None
OBSERVATION - A huge proportion of early (2005 to 2018) Vantage owners, subsequently moved on to the later models,
V8V4.3 to V8V4.7 to V8VS to V12V and to limited/special models.
Here are 10 pages of evidence.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
QUESTION - Why have we not read on this forum, of more VH Vantage owners moving to the (2018) Vantage models?
I can only recall a tiny number.
Perhaps it has nothing to do with the grille design, but what could have caused the apparent lack of interest amongst existing owners, in the current Vantage model?
Jon39 said:
MY OPINION - None
OBSERVATION - A huge proportion of early (2005 to 2018) Vantage owners, subsequently moved on to the later models,
V8V4.3 to V8V4.7 to V8VS to V12V and to limited/special models.
Here are 10 pages of evidence.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
QUESTION - Why have we not read on this forum, of more VH Vantage owners moving to the (2018) Vantage models?
I can only recall a tiny number.
Perhaps it has nothing to do with the grille design, but what could have caused the apparent lack of interest amongst existing owners, in the current Vantage model?
1) Engine - some people cannot see past the technical partnership with MB
2) Looks some don't like the design direction
3) Interior some don't like not having the latest infotainment, too many buttons or design
4) £££ - a new Vantage saw a significant price uplift from the get go
What I don't as a current gen owner understand (and it is not just on here as I have seen it elsewhere from VH platform owners) is almost the Tesla esque fanboy nature of the VH Vantage over anything post that car, an unwillingness to accept change almost. I still think IMO AM have done a brilliant job in comparison with a number of other designs that have come out around this time.
The New vantage was always going to be “the difficult second album” for AM.
Despite being more reliable, more dynamic, faster and better equipped, it just hasn’t seen the success of the original.
I love the new vantage but not enough to buy one, and I’ve been close. Had a deposit in an F1 edition and then cancelled. The price does come into it, too many shortcomings for the money. I understand Astons have never been “the best” at any one thing like a Ferrari, Lambo or even McLaren have been but it’s still hard even for a die hard fan.
Despite being more reliable, more dynamic, faster and better equipped, it just hasn’t seen the success of the original.
I love the new vantage but not enough to buy one, and I’ve been close. Had a deposit in an F1 edition and then cancelled. The price does come into it, too many shortcomings for the money. I understand Astons have never been “the best” at any one thing like a Ferrari, Lambo or even McLaren have been but it’s still hard even for a die hard fan.
nathwraith1 said:
The New vantage was always going to be “the difficult second album” for AM.
Despite being more reliable, more dynamic, faster and better equipped, it just hasn’t seen the success of the original.
I love the new vantage but not enough to buy one, and I’ve been close. Had a deposit in an F1 edition and then cancelled. The price does come into it, too many shortcomings for the money. I understand Astons have never been “the best” at any one thing like a Ferrari, Lambo or even McLaren have been but it’s still hard even for a die hard fan.
I think you’ve nailed it there nath. There have been so many threads on here regarding new Vantage, and the topic has been one of the most divisive and polarising I can remember. The only other topic that has generated similar reactions has been the AML Stock Market Listing thread. It’s really hard to pinpoint why new Vantage has had limited success with the previous generation car owners. The multiple owner thread Jon posted is very interesting. I would wager that most of the posters in that one still have the last car in their list. I do, and I still don’t feel any strong desire to change to the latest model. I can’t pinpoint one specific reason as there are many. But the new car, while vastly more capable, just does not generate the necessary desire to get me to spend. It’s also interesting that many posters in that thread used to be regular contributors to this forum, and many are no longer seen. To me that indicates a real frustration with the direction that AML has taken over the last five or six years. But trends change and so do customers, and AML could not carry on producing a car which is now almost twenty years old, despite the vast affection for it. In many ways the Gaydon generation of owners feel very much like the NP ones did in the mid 2000’s. As an aside does anyone know how many new V8 Vantages have been built since late 2017? I’m curious to see how the numbers compare. Despite being more reliable, more dynamic, faster and better equipped, it just hasn’t seen the success of the original.
I love the new vantage but not enough to buy one, and I’ve been close. Had a deposit in an F1 edition and then cancelled. The price does come into it, too many shortcomings for the money. I understand Astons have never been “the best” at any one thing like a Ferrari, Lambo or even McLaren have been but it’s still hard even for a die hard fan.
Best Regards
Minglar
Minglar said:
..... As an aside does anyone know how many new V8 Vantages have been built since late 2017? I’m curious to see how the numbers compare.
I hope my memory is working.
I think you should be able to work out the answer reasonably accurately, from each of the annual reports.
AML have recently being providing splits with the production figures (Wholesale sales) ie. GT and Sportscars.
The Vantage being the only sportscar, but slightly complicated by the model overlap in 2018.
Apart from that, we only have the quarterly GB only figures, available from the DVLA.
Ninja59 said:
There clearly has been varying reasons, but in summary from what VH owners have stated:
1) Engine - some people cannot see past the technical partnership with MB
2) Looks some don't like the design direction
3) Interior some don't like not having the latest infotainment, too many buttons or design
4) £££ - a new Vantage saw a significant price uplift from the get go
What I don't as a current gen owner understand (and it is not just on here as I have seen it elsewhere from VH platform owners) is almost the Tesla esque fanboy nature of the VH Vantage over anything post that car, an unwillingness to accept change almost. I still think IMO AM have done a brilliant job in comparison with a number of other designs that have come out around this time.
What I don't understand is how you can generate an accurate and comprehensive list of the problems with the new car, then turn around and act perplexed at an "unwllingness to accept change". As a VH owner, I can tell you that I am not at all resistant to change, at least when said change is on balance for the better, or when it serves a purpose. At least with respect to the former, I would argue that the new Vantage does not fit the bill.1) Engine - some people cannot see past the technical partnership with MB
2) Looks some don't like the design direction
3) Interior some don't like not having the latest infotainment, too many buttons or design
4) £££ - a new Vantage saw a significant price uplift from the get go
What I don't as a current gen owner understand (and it is not just on here as I have seen it elsewhere from VH platform owners) is almost the Tesla esque fanboy nature of the VH Vantage over anything post that car, an unwillingness to accept change almost. I still think IMO AM have done a brilliant job in comparison with a number of other designs that have come out around this time.
nathwraith1 said:
The New vantage was always going to be “the difficult second album” for AM.
Despite being more reliable, more dynamic, faster and better equipped, it just hasn’t seen the success of the original.
I love the new vantage but not enough to buy one, and I’ve been close. Had a deposit in an F1 edition and then cancelled. The price does come into it, too many shortcomings for the money. I understand Astons have never been “the best” at any one thing like a Ferrari, Lambo or even McLaren have been but it’s still hard even for a die hard fan.
Agree. But what exactly do you mean by "more dynamic"? My initial reaction to such a phrase is that it supports my above comments about change. I'm not sure we needed (or indeed, wanted) the new Vantage to achieve Porsche like levels of dynamism, but it would have been rather nice if it had looked half as good as the previous version.Despite being more reliable, more dynamic, faster and better equipped, it just hasn’t seen the success of the original.
I love the new vantage but not enough to buy one, and I’ve been close. Had a deposit in an F1 edition and then cancelled. The price does come into it, too many shortcomings for the money. I understand Astons have never been “the best” at any one thing like a Ferrari, Lambo or even McLaren have been but it’s still hard even for a die hard fan.
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