Thursday 26 July 2007

Road Test: The Aston Martin V8 Vantage














Road Test: The Aston Martin V8 Vantage


The new Aston V8 Vantage is the baby of the Aston range - but it is also one of its most committed driving machines. Here's why..........

The heat is on. Aston’s super V8 Vantage is here. The sweat is pouring not least from the likes of Porsche, Mercedes, Maserati, and even Jaguar as this new and most serious threat to the Porsche 911, Mercedes 500 SL, Maserati Coupe GT, and Jaguar’s latest XKR makes its mark.

Yet whilst the competition swelter in the Aston generated heat, us car buffs welcome this new and very serious contender to the sports GT sector. Aston’s other model line up, the sensational DB9 and top of the range Vanquish S, have already proven themselves at the top supercar league - for this is ground they have trodden well for many years, but the new V8 Vantage is aimed at the more affordable Sports GT market, and is already breaking ground. This is a new sector for Aston and one that is also likely to attract younger customers to the brand.

It’s all part of Aston Martin’s MD, Dr. Ulrich Bez’ Grand Plan for Aston Martin that began in 2000. The Vantage is the third new model in the range, and the culmination of the first phase of plans for reinvigorating the Aston brand.

First shown as a concept at the International Motor Show in Detroit in 2003, strong public and media acclaim ensured the Green light on production, and customer deliveries began in late 2005.

Quality Assured

If you are new to the Aston brand (and many V8 Vantage buyers will be) we’d highly recommend a tour of Aston’s production factory at Gaydon, where the cars are built. Only then will you fully appreciate the craftsmanship and care that goes into producing an Aston Martin. The Vantage is totally hand built at Gaydon alongside the DB9. Whereas an average car, such as a Ford Fiesta, takes approximately 18.5 hours to build, your Aston Vantage takes a staggering 185 man hours to assemble. The Vantage is clothed in no less than nine coats of paint, (sprayed by hand of course) and your leather comes courtesy of five hides from herds kept in fields with special fences to avoid the hide being damaged or graized. All leather is of course hand stitched by just one person who is responsible for all the leather stitching for your car alone. Once it has completed the assembly process the final badging is omitted from the rear until the car has passed every quality test. You see, every Aston must earn its wings

Styling and Design

Ulrich Bez sums it up nicely when he says “The Vantage features many of the design cues that have become basic DNA for all Aston Martin models…..you should be able to cover the front nose badge and instantly recognise the Vantage as an Aston Martin”.

Yes, visually the Vantage is very obviously classic ‘Aston’, yet it cuts its own style. It is smaller and more compact than the Vanquish and DB9, its long bonnet, minimal front and rear overhangs, combined with a wide track give the car a poised, aggressive, yet undeniably elegant look. Then, almost cheekily, the Vantage offers a level of practicality not normally found in sports cars of this type, with some 10.6 cu ft of luggage space at the rear.

Once seated behind the wheel, the purpose of the Vantage is clear. This is a drivers car. Dials and switchgear are all well placed and unfussed – no more or no less than an owner who puts driving first would wish for. It is a refreshing change to see a quality car step aside from the obsession with in car technical overload for its own sake. What we have here is driver focused functionality, combined with quality and taste.

The quality assurance equation is extended further with the added confidence of knowing all materials used in the car are genuine; wood and aluminium are real, never fake, while signature touches like the glass starter button go down a treat.


Built for Performance

Aston claim that the Vantage has undergone the most extensive test and development programme in the company’s 92-year history.

Seventy-eight prototypes were vigorously tested over more than 1.5 million miles, including over 12,000 miles in the scorching deserts of Dubai, where ambient temperatures hit 48ºc and the bodywork of the cars reached some 87ºc. At the other extreme, cold weather testing was undertaken in Sweden, with temperatures as low as -30ºc.

The high speed testing of the carb was conducted at the Nardo test track in Italy, and extensive trials were also carried out at Nurburgring’s Nordschleife in Germany.

The target for the engineers working on the Vantage project was to focus on lightness, agility and power. The lightness comes from the all aluminium frame weighing only 1570 kgs, and the nimbleness from its dimensions being only 4.38 metres long.

Part three of the equation, the power, is courtesy of a new 380 bhp quad cam 32 valve 4.3 litre, all aluminium V8. You won’t find this engine in any other four wheeled product – hand built in Cologne, it is unique to the Aston brand. Every significant component of the Vantage engine; from the cylinder block to the cylinder heads, crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, camshafts, inlet and exhaust manifolds, lubrication system, and engine management – are all unique to this engine.

On the Road

The only way to find out what this all means is to take the VIP seat behind the wheel. You are, of course, immediatelty surrounded by all the right tools; a traditional six speed manual gearbox (still to many a keen driver’s favourite over steering mounted paddles), a powerful front mounted engine, and rear wheel drive – all wrapped up in one of the sleekest and most seductive car designs on the planet, and finished to a tee by that coveted Aston Martin badge.

But let us turn from enthusiasm and emotion to objective on-the-road testing; for this Vantage, probably more than any high performance model this scribbler has driven for some time, clearly demonstrates the success of Aston’s engineers in achieving the ride and handling objectives set for this car. This is by no means an easy feat, but virtually every engineering objective set for this car is evident in the behaviour of the Vantage on the road.

Take cornering. Some of our B-road test routes, had some fast challenging twists and turns – short undulating straights matched with a series of tight left and right handers. It’s the kind of terrain that challenges the chassis, suspension and balance of a good car; prudence and safety suggests that these roads can only be safely enjoyed if car and driver can achieve a trusting harmony that is earned by competent and predictable ride and handling behaviour. Driven at speed you must have the confidence that the car will switch direction quickly without too much body roll. To do it well, you must be able thread the car quickly to the left and then to the right, with the right foot progressively on and off the throttle to help maintain that overall balance and flow.

The Vantage eagerly responded to the challenge like a duck to water – almost reveling in it – its’ back tyres digging for even more grip on fast tight bends without even a hint of complaint. Even more impressively, the Vantage retained absolute composure when called on to change direction quickly, and it is so well balanced that it sometimes felt like a mid engined rather than a front engined car.

A quick look at the tech spec provided all the answers. The powertrain on the Vantage has a transaxle configuration, the front mid-mounted engine being placed well back, sitting very low in the body, and connected to the transmission – which is at the rear of the car - via a cast aluminium torque tube and carbon fibre prop-shaft –giving the car a 49:51 weight distribution. Ummm…..So that’s why.

From an owners point of view it’s also helpful to know that the system helps to improve engine durability by maintaining lubrication under conditions of extreme cornering and braking.

Cross Country A and B roads are clearly Aston Vantage domain . It’s on roads like these that you will appreciate the ‘seat of the pants’ confidence this car gives you behind the wheel. It’s also a time when you can call on that 380 bhp for swift, safe overtaking manoeuvres. Performance is always strong underfoot; you have to dig deep, but when you do the power delivery is all there, greeting you with raucious aural harmony. Mid range gears (that’s 3,4 and 5) have instant low down torque on tap for quick powerful pick-up from low speeds. Much of this is attributed to the variable inlet camshaft timing, ensuring low-end throttle response, mid-range torque, and seamless power delivery ; the successful achievement of another engineering goal.


The Vantage is a car that works with the driver, giving you what you want in exactly the doses called for. What’s more, it is a car that wants to be driven, and to be most rewarding it demands a committed drive – the surge of power mated to sound really works with you; it’s an aural as well as physical thing – you drive this car with your whole body and your senses, not just your hands and feet.

Yet the Vantage is equally at home when called upon for long-haul day to day commuting. On motorways it sits firm on the road, smooth and stable. The Vantage will be faster than just about anything else around so there really is nothing to prove. Nevertheless take smiles, admiring glances, and thumbs-up approvals for granted for that goes with driving an Aston, period. What’s more, there is forever the odd ego tripping boy racer to contend with. Most cars in front of you simply move out of the way; more of a reaction to that Aston grille in their rear view mirror rather than any particular speed you happen to be doing at the time.







Aston Martin V8 Vantage Specification


ENGINE:
All alloy quad overhead camshaft 32 valve, 4.3 litre V8. Front-mid mounted engine. Rear wheel drive

Maximum Power:
283kW (380 bhp) @ 7000 rpm

Maximum Torque:
410 Nm (302 Ib.ft) @ 5000 rpm

Maximum Speed:
280 km/h (175 mph)

Acceleration:
0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.0 seconds
0-60 mph in 4.8 seconds

Average Fuel Consumption

Insurance Group

EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS:
Length:
4382 mm (172.5 inches)

Width:
1866 mm (73.5 inches)
(excluding mirrors)

2022 mm (79.6 inches)
(including mirrors)

Height:
1255 mm (49.4 inches)

























2 comments:

Dr David Dunkley Gyimah said...

OMG you've been busy since.. wow.. anyways the trailer for the shoot is on viewmagazine.tv

talk soon.. but really nice work

KevinHaggarthy on cars said...

Thanks Bruv - C U soon - K