Aston Vantage 6.0 V12 Coupe

What‘s it? Upon the surface the new Aston Martin Vantage V12 would appear to become a double-edged sword. For upon the one hand It‘s undeniably Aston’s wildest and the majority exciting road car in recent history. But on another, it will appear to point an excellent big finger inside the direction from the DBS and say ; “anything you are able to do, I can perform better – as well as for £25, 000 less. ”But whatever internal dilemmas Aston Martin could have created for itself using the 510bhp V12 Vantage, something you need is abundantly clear : this car Isn‘t to the faint hearted. It’s an effective hairy-chested driver’s car, similar in character to the initial V8 Vantage coming from the late ’70s, early ’80s. That is simply also, checking kind of opposition It‘s up against. Step forward Ferrari’s achingly excellent but soon-to-be-replaced F430, Lamborghini’s quite brilliant new Gallardo LP560-4 and, in fact, the Porsche 911 GT2. Turning the regular Aston V8 Vantage straight into the tarmac-shredding V12 Didn‘t take Aston Martin an especially long time – about 12 months from start to complete – and also the processes required to do this are predictable ; shoehorn the wider V12 straight into the engine bay without chopping the chassis around an excessive amount, lower and stiffen the suspension, fit the carbon ceramic brakes coming from the DBS and provide the interior a once over. Yet finished result‘s a car that appears and feels like an entirely natural evolution of what’s gone before. It doesn’t seem in in whatever way like an afterthought. The only real disappointing aspect is just simply the amount it weighs. Though it has lightweight bucket seats and has got the carbon ceramic brake discs coming from the DBS, it weighs a mere 15kg lower than its big brother. The suspension is really a massive 80 per cent stiffer behind (40 per cent in the front ) as the steering, dampers and rear differential have all been similarly uprated. And also to prove how serious a driver’s car Aston Martin believes the Vantage V12 to become, It‘s even fitted track day-spec Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres as standard. And that is great – until you run into a patch of standing water, of which point you’re inside the lap from the gods. What’s it like? If this looks as a serious section of kit from the surface, the theme continues at pace whenever you climb aboard. The very first stuff you become mindful of will be the steering wheel (clad in soft-feel alcantara ) and also the new lightweight seats, which save 18kg during the regular items and feature huge side support. Once you’ve worked out how you can start it– insert the key fob straight into the dash after which hold it there for three seconds while singing the Thai national anthem backwards – the noise that erupts once the V12 catches is really a small amount of an anti-climax. I had expected it to burst into life having a deafening explosion, but instead it delivers a merely quite loud cough of revs after which settles to some surprisingly refined idle. The instant you move away, however, everything begins flowing inside the right direction. The exhaust noise improves three-fold once the engine is under load, and also the ride is instantly firm without being overly ridiculous. Even the gearchange feels lighter, more direct and merely better than It‘s inside the DBS. The Aston doesn’t reveal the entire fury of their new personality until you discover the space, and possess the inclination, to place your foot down and hold it there for a couple of seconds. But whenever you do, and it also doesn’t make a difference which of the very first four gears you happen to become in at that time, the penny drops so quickly you‘ll well never see it again. Inside the confines of the typical English B-road, and that is where we spent much of the particular test, it’s among those rare cars that feels so fast it’s actually a little scary. In third gear, especially, it absolutely fires itself in the horizon with anything greater than 3000revs wound straight into the crank. And when you then press the game button, which transforms the throttle response from oh-yes to oh-my-god inside a heartbeat, the Vantage enters that rarest of arenas during which the acceleration it may generate becomes genuinely uncomfortable. You finish up wondering whether it’s you as well as car that’s in control. And inside a warped type of way that’s a delicious realization. And boy will it stop well, too, because of the ability and response of these huge great carbon ceramic discs. The Aston’s monumental straight line performance could be all but useless if its chassis couldn’t take the warmth, however, but when anything it’s much more impressive with the corners than It‘s through straights. That’s an extraordinary achievement on Aston’s behalf because, as the regular V8 is really a decent enough handler, it’s no rule-breaker. Should I buy one? Thus far the Porsche 911 GT3 has had a whole sub-niche of the marketplace to itself, however the V12 Vantage, though still not simply as focused like the GT3, at last supplies a viable alternative. It’s a surprisingly good attempt from Aston Martin, a car that hits the spot with far greater accuracy compared to the DBS on which it’s based. So yes, if you re able to afford it, go ahead and define your the cheque. You‘ll not be disappointed. Aston Vantage 6. 0 V12 Coupe