What's the news?
Aston Martin has revealed in full its 2018 Vantage coupe, the eagerly awaited replacement for the company's best-selling model of all time. The two-door sports car is further differentiated from the rest of the Aston Martin line-up by a clear focus on sporting intent in terms of its styling and mechanical make-up. The order book for the new Vantage is open now, though buyers will have to wait until the middle of 2018 for first deliveries.
Exterior
While Aston's designers clearly drew inspiration from special recent models such as James Bond's DB10 and the Aston Martin Vulcan, the Vantage has its own distinct style that sets it apart, with a renewed focus on aerodynamics clearly a driving force behind the look. Indeed, Aston claims that the Vantage generates significant levels of downforce thanks in part to a deep front splitter, side gills that relieve pressure in the front wheel wells, a prominent rear diffuser and an evocatively upswept tail.
And while the net effect is a highly technical and functional looking car, we reckon the Vantage is also a stylish and eye-catching one. That's partly down to the new jewel-like LED headlights up front (above an aggressive new take on the characteristic Aston grille shape) and the distinctive curve of the slender full-width lights at the back. Silver 20-inch alloy wheels are standard, running on Pirelli P Zero tyres. Interestingly, the Vantage is a significant 284mm shorter than the DB11 and even 34mm shorter than the Porsche 911.
Chief Creative Officer of Aston Martin, Marek Reichman, commented: "New Vantage has the most powerful and provocative design language ever seen in a Vantage. A hunter, light in weight and is therefore light in its visual language. It is based on a single line under tension, inspired by the DB10 and the extreme track-only Aston Martin Vulcan, blending the two unique design languages together into a form that is sculpted, dynamic, pure and elemental".
Interior
Rather than employ the cabin of the Aston DB11 wholesale, the Vantage has a unique interior that obviously places more emphasis on its sporting nature. Within that is a proven electronic architecture provided by Daimler, including the infotainment controls and menu layout, but it all has a distinctly Aston Martin look and feel. Upholstery is part Alcantara and part leather as standard, but as ever, there's a vast amount of personalisation available. For example, there are Sport and Sport Plus seats, depending on your preference.
The Vantage is a two-seat coupe so Aston has divided the space behind the seats into two levels to enhance its practicality. And the boot holds 350 litres of luggage.
Mechanicals
Using Aston Martin's latest bonded aluminium chassis, the Vantage has a dry weight of 1,530kg. The Mercedes-AMG engine (a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8) features an Aston-specific oil sump to allow it be mounted lower down in the car, and it's also quite far back, helping give the Vantage a 50:50 weight distribution. Peak outputs are 510hp at 6,000rpm and 685Nm of torque from 2,000- to 5,000rpm and Aston says it makes all the right noises. A carbon fibre driveshaft connects the engine to the rear-mounted eight-speed automatic transmission, a ZF unit. For the first time in an Aston, that features a sophisticated electronically controlled differential. The top speed is quoted as 314km/h, while 0-100km/h takes just 3.6 seconds.
The suspension itself is relatively conventional, with coil springs and anti-roll bars front and rear, a double wishbone design up front and multi-link rear. Adaptive damping with three modes is included, as is very direct electric power assisted steering.
Anything else?
The Vantage name has been part of the Aston Martin story ever since it was used in 1951 on a high-output engine option for the Aston DB2. Aston Martin President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Andy Palmer, said: "It speaks volumes for the outgoing Vantage that it is the single most successful model in Aston Martin's history. Creating a worthy successor has been a challenge to relish and a huge source of motivation. I'm enormously excited by what we've created: a new Vantage that's more explicit in looks and intent, wrapping heart-pounding performance and dazzling dynamics into an everyday usable package. A true sports car with a sharper look and a keener dynamic edge, the new Vantage is the Aston Martin pure driving machine enthusiasts have been waiting for."