Vantage Grille

[alan powley]

The new AMR lightweight mesh grille .
Is this like the vantage v12 grille ? but not made of carbon it look very nice in the email from aston .
Can some one help or has some one fitted one .

[telum01]

Just got the first one in for one of my customers. Weights 0.24 kg

[HBradley]

Rich, I was contemplating getting one so it would be great to see what it looks like fitted.

[alan powley]

Thanks for the update . i picked one up this week £400 for a bit of black wire mesh . And no fixing screws for the new brackets you need more screws to fit so off to aston martin to pick up the bits not very good is it and £400 later . ps yes its very light 0.24kg but not the quality from aston .

[Jon39]

Is the real authentic AMR grille available, including the famous pair of yellow lights ?

Now we are talking AMR.

[steveway]

why not just change it to the "S" grille as mine

[jonby]

Jon39 said:

Is the real authentic AMR grille available, including the famous pair of yellow lights ?

Now we are talking AMR.

unfortunately, in the flesh, it looks somewhat 'unpolished' - just two bits of wire mesh either side of the lamps. The bit behind that holds the lamps is a full, large CF piece that wouldn't work in the road car. You can tell I did look into it............

It's a little clearer in this shot
https://images.cdn.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co....

Edited by jonby on Wednesday 19th July 12:02

[V8V Pete]

Is it just me that prefers the slatted grille?

[Shnozz]

V8V Pete said:

Is it just me that prefers the slatted grille?

Nope, me too. In fact the same applies to the chrome window surrounds, side vents etc. I even far prefer the original red and black rear lights versus the "lexus lights".

I've modified almost every car I have owned but the V8V is, in my eyes, perfect as it left the factory. I won't be making any mods at all other than the chrome radio buttons I installed and swapping the key fob for the Jag one.

[Jon39]

V8V Pete said:

Is it just me that prefers the slatted grille?

No you are not alone Pete.

My post above was just a tester tease.

For an actual track racing car, I do like all the modifications, because each one is present for a genuine reason and purpose.

For a road car, I am with you.
The Bright Finish grille looks beautiful, and the horizontal bars provide an added illusion of width.

Anyway we all like different things, so let us enjoy the variety of preferences.

[jonby]

Shnozz said:

V8V Pete said:

Is it just me that prefers the slatted grille?

Nope, me too. In fact the same applies to the chrome window surrounds, side vents etc. I even far prefer the original red and black rear lights versus the "lexus lights".

I've modified almost every car I have owned but the V8V is, in my eyes, perfect as it left the factory. I won't be making any mods at all other than the chrome radio buttons I installed and swapping the key fob for the Jag one.

I'd agree, but it depend on overall spec. So for instance, if going black wheels and grille, obviously it makes sense to then look at black window surrounds

I get why they have moved away from a slatted grille on vantage, particularly in light of vantage being the motorsport model that Aston use. I can certainly see why they might give a different option if they bring out say an AMR version of DB11. But the slatted grille in general terms is a big part of the Aston identity and would be a shame to lose

As for the lights or for that matter other cosmetic enhancements & changes, I think it's often the case with all sorts of cars that the original looks best and then changes are made for the sake of change along the way, with history then looking back more kindly at the original - lamborghini countach & ferrari testarossa are two cars in particular I have in mind with that point

[avinalarf]

telum01 said:

Just got the first one in for one of my customers. Weights 0.24 kg

Do they do a similar mesh grill for my 2006 DB9 ?
If not which other options are available,not slatted.

Edited by avinalarf on Wednesday 19th July 13:29

[avinalarf]

When I had my 1991 Virage I made a template,some chicken mesh wire,painted it black and attached it to my original slatted grill.
Cost peanuts and looked OK.
BTW ,I changed the spacing on the plate to "normal" after George on this forum said it looked chavvy. In retrospect I had to agree.

Edited by avinalarf on Wednesday 19th July 13:40

[V8Andrew]

Much as I have modified my car quite a bit, the slatted grill on an aston martin is part of the design language and heritage of the marque. Mine is painted black, but will remain with a slatted grill, in my mind it is one of the things that identifies it as an Aston.

[telum01]

A lot of people are going to prefer the slatted grille, and a lot of people prefer the mesh-style grilles like the V12 Vantage S. The AMR mesh grille is a lighter, lower cost option than the V12VS grille, but you don't get the carbon fiber framing. For some people, that's a bonus. Without more carbon fiber on other areas of the car, it can throw off the overall look of the car. I've talked to several people that have put V12VS carbon grilles on their standard V8V and noted that the plastic front splitter looks boring or out of place with the carbon fiber right above it and now they want the carbon fiber front splitter and rear diffuser like you get on the V8VS, V12V, and V12VS. Style is completely subjective, but the AMR grille is proving to be really popular.

alan powley said:

Thanks for the update . i picked one up this week £400 for a bit of black wire mesh . And no fixing screws for the new brackets you need more screws to fit so off to aston martin to pick up the bits not very good is it and £400 later . ps yes its very light 0.24kg but not the quality from aston .

It's a big chunk of change for some mesh, but not terribly expensive compared to some AMR parts, or even standard Aston parts. And the weight loss is well worth the money if you're looking to lighten the car.
The grille I supplied came with a mounting kit. I'm not sure how other vendors are supplying them so I can't speak to that.

steveway said:

why not just change it to the "S" grille as mine

The AMR mesh grille costs ~1400 gbp less than the V12 Vantage S grille and weighs much less, too.

Jon39 said:

Is the real authentic AMR grille available, including the famous pair of yellow lights ?

Now we are talking AMR.

There are two grilles used by Aston Martin Racing on the race cars aside from the grilles from the road cars. That pic shows the one with the rally-style lights. The grille has two mesh sections (one on either side of the rally lights) with a gaping hole in the middle for those lights. The other is the one I have on my grey car:



The lightweight mesh grille from AMR (not Aston Martin Racing) is very similar to the one I have on my grey car, but without the tow strap cutout and with thicker mesh with a different pattern - it should look much better on a road car than the one from Aston Martin Racing.

avinalarf said:

Do they do a similar mesh grill for my 2006 DB9 ?
If not which other options are available,not slatted.

Edited by avinalarf on Wednesday 19th July 13:29

None from AMR, unfortunately. The grille setup on the DBR9 was drastically different than the road car so that wouldn't be an option, either.

[telum01]

A few people asked for weights so I pulled the 8-bar grille off my red car and weighed it. I have a couple slats from a busted grille, so I weighed two of those and deducted them from the 8-bar grille to get the 6-bar grille's weight (thus the *estimate note). I could've sworn I'd weighed the last V12 Vantage S grille that came through, but I can't find the weights or pics anywhere. If I remember correctly, it weighed somewhere around 1 kg.

8 bar grille: 3 lbs 13 oz // 1.73 kg
6 bar grille: 3 lbs // 1.36 kg *estimate
V12VS carbon fiber and mesh grille: 2-2.5 lbs // 1 kg *estimate
AMR mesh grille: 8.5 oz // 0.24 kg

[alan powley]

[raceboy]

Shnozz said:

V8V Pete said:

Is it just me that prefers the slatted grille?

Nope, me too. In fact the same applies to the chrome window surrounds, side vents etc. I even far prefer the original red and black rear lights versus the "lexus lights".

I've modified almost every car I have owned but the V8V is, in my eyes, perfect as it left the factory. I won't be making any mods at all other than the chrome radio buttons I installed and swapping the key fob for the Jag one.

Mines staying 'standard'.......for now.
I might do the stereo buttons and the alarm fob but for now it's limited to removing the plate plinth and popping Fuse 22 out.
With the kit we have at work knocking up a grill wouldn't be the hardest task in the world, I made one for the TVR, probably about £5 worth of steel and a few minutes cutting time on the laser but the honeycomb above and diamond below would make my teeth itch, I'd need to change both or do the top grill in diamond.
And as for weight saving....seriously, it's no Elise, while losing a few Kg's is never a bad thing these things weigh 1,546Kg (V8V figures) to start with, unless you're striping the interior, fitting Perspex windows, and sending the driver to weightwatches it's all just for looks really.

[telum01]

raceboy said:

And as for weight saving....seriously, it's no Elise, while losing a few Kg's is never a bad thing these things weigh 1,546Kg (V8V figures) to start with, unless you're striping the interior, fitting Perspex windows, and sending the driver to weightwatches it's all just for looks really.

I still have full interior, a/c, glass, etc etc, and I've dropped over 80 kg from my grey '07 V8 Vantage. It's a completely different car than my red '07 V8 Vantage and is better in every way. Far more fun to drive, far more responsive, much quicker and feels like the car Aston should have (and could have) built.
Weight loss is an incremental process but it does add up and it does make a difference.

[avinalarf]

telum01 said:

Weight loss is an incremental process but it does add up and it does make a difference.

I should say so.
I've managed to lose 6 lbs over the past few months.
Smaller portions,more vegetables less spuds.
It's commonsense really.
I've also found that the gals pay me even more attention than usual.....all good.