Destinations: the aristocratic Château de Brissac
27 August 2025
Wine: Bordeaux’s legendary Bernard Magrez
29 August 2025Grand alliance
The latest incarnation of Aston Martin’s Vantage is a driver’s delight; marrying English charm with German performance
I t’s easy to lose track of time. As we get older and, supposedly, wiser, so the events of the past feel, counter-intuitively, more recent than they actually are.
The year 1951 (not the year of my birth, just so you know) saw the UK have two prime ministers: Clement Attlee and Sir Winston Churchill. It was the year of the first nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands and the premiere of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. It was also the first time, according to Aston Martin’s own literature, that they slapped the word Vantage on one of their automobiles.
So what’s the latest iteration of ‘Vantage’ like? Well, firstly, let’s get the niggles out of the way. If you like Alcantara then you’ll be in your element, but for me there was just too much. It was all over everything: from the roof to the dashboard to where the glovebox should have been and even on the back of the visor. Simply everywhere that could have been covered, was.
Then there was the infotainment system which is from Mercedes. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s several cuts above what used to be on offer but it’s still a little cumbersome. There’s also a plethora of ancillary buttons where you really need to learn the geography rather than reach down and use with the intuitiveness you expect as a member of the tech generation.
Then, there’s… Actually, no, that’s it. That’s the full extent of my gripes. Now I get to write about the fun stuff.
Underneath there is an all-new chassis developed from shortening the aluminium body from the DB11 that arrived last year. It’s beautifully engineered and everything is properly bolted together. Anyone who’s owned an Aston Martin in the past would know that hasn’t always been the case and you would be terrified that a wing mirror or some such might fall off when cornering.
Now? Not a bit of it. No longer is it ‘good for an Aston’. It’s good. Period. Most of the rest of the bits underneath are new too, so there’s been no ferreting around in the leftovers’ bin from past models to make this Vantage.
Research and development on the engine has sensibly been outsourced to Mercedes and its AMG department. The V8 5-litre twin turbo that sits here, slightly behind the front axle, is the same unit that powers the Germans’ AMG GT C.
Apparently the British engineers ‘tuned’ it on its arrival on our shores, but there’s no real aural difference to my ears. I didn’t take the Vantage onto a track, but a purported 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 195mph don’t seem like manufacturers’ puff.
Britain and Germany have forged a partnership on the Aston Martin Vantage that marries the best of both nations
Mated to the engine is the eight-speed, trans-axle ZF gearbox. Siting this all the way at the back of the drive shaft with the engine mounted inboard of the front axle means there’s very nearly a 50:50 weight distribution. And it shows. Pull on the solid and reassuring paddle-shifter and turn the squared-off steering wheel and the car moves as if by telepathy.
It weighs in at 1,530kg but changes direction faster than an angry wasp. The steering is light without being fractious and reassuring in its definitiveness.
A lot of this comes from the suspension and the new electronic differential at the back. While Aston hasn’t reused its own leftovers, it hasn’t been shy about raiding the competitors. Historically, Lotus is generally reckoned to have the best handling cars on the market at any given time and, in 2014, Aston Martin hired Matt Becker, one of the firm’s chassis gurus with a view to this car’s arrival. My word he’s got it right. After taking responsibility for many Elise derivatives in his previous position he’s now the chief engineer at Gaydon and is proving his worth.
Differentiating the Vantage from the DB11 was important so, apart from simply shortening the chassis the engine modes are altered too. Starting at ‘Sport’ (well, why not? It is a sports car after all) you flick upwards through ‘Sport+’ and ‘Track’. If you have serious cojones then you can even opt to turn off all stability aids and adaptive dampers, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
I found the best blend, on smoother roads, to be ‘Track’ engine mode married to the ‘Sport+’ suspension setting. The car was at its most responsive and the soundtrack was gorgeous. On most UK roads, though, I’d advise the softest option. Apparently there’s a three-pedal, manual gearbox alternative coming in 2020 which should be fun.
Storage is limited even though the company says you can get two sets of golf clubs in the back. I have no idea why there’s no glovebox, but I refused to let it dim my view of what, essentially, is a wonderful car.
There’s plenty of room in the cabin for, ahem, generously sized adults and the seats are comfortable with good visibility which isn’t always the case in sports cars. The Vantage isn’t a GT car by its own marketing, but it could easily be used as such.
Here we are, then, in 2019, facing the possibility of Britain being left behind on the world market while the discombobulating narrative of our politics does harm to trading relationships and leaves our neighbours scratching their heads in concern and confusion.
There is a pervasive myth of English exceptionalism that is so often not borne out in the real world. Of course it comes from our colonial past and is perpetuated via the rose-tinted spectacles so often donned by the nationalist factions who cannot see that the world is a better place when people collaborate.
And so it has been proven here with Britain and Germany forging a partnership on the Aston Martin Vantage that marries the best of both nations.
At a starting price of £120,900 the entry-level Aston is not a snip and you would definitely want to include some of the options to enjoy it to its ultimate but, if you have that much in your piggy bank then go along for the ride … it’s certainly worth it. It’s amicable and entertaining while also being spine-tinglingly exciting. I loved it.