Aston Martin Vantage | Romantic beauty

(Seville, Spain) To assert its presence in the small circle of exceptional sports cars, Aston Martin has decided to reconnect with the pious images of old-fashioned grand touring. The Vantage preaches this return to basics with conviction.

Without dropping a single drop, the clouds hurry to veil the sun’s rays. It’s 2 p.m. The weather is uncertain and the road is deserted. Even the cyclists, usually numerous, have not left their homes. Seville and its outskirts are sleeping soundly. It’s nap time. And it’s not the murmur of the Aston Martin Vantage’s supercharged V8 that will disturb their sleep.

Revitalized mechanics

This would not have been the case during our visit to the Sierra Morena, a mountainous route south of Rio Tinto. Between two successions of turns, this original Mercedes engine pushes hard. Revitalized by Aston Martin (30% more power and 15% more torque), it expresses itself with complete freedom. To stand out, the English engine manufacturers pulled out all the stops and applied a well-known recipe. They changed the profile of the camshafts, increased the compression ratio, optimized the cooling system and adopted larger turbos. The winged firm now led by Lawrence Stroll has also revisited the mapping and final report of the automatic transmission initially designed by ZF. Although these transformations do not give it the bite of a dual-clutch transmission, this gearbox has the advantage of being easier and less expensive to maintain.

On paper, these improvements impress everyone except the clock. Despite this leap in power, the Vantage isn’t much faster than the previous generation. A pinch of tenths of a second less to complete 0-100 km/h. And a slightly higher top speed. Luckily, consumption remains reasonable, provided you place an egg under the accelerator pedal.

Like the powertrain, the chassis remains seemingly the same. However, it has undergone a major upgrade. The relocation of certain structural elements is accompanied by stronger anchor points. These make it possible to accommodate within them shock absorbers just as finely tuned as are the driving aids and steering.

The sum of these transformations is clearly felt, from the first curve that comes along.

The steering reads the profile of the road more keenly, while the rear axle remains well welded to the bitumen. The Vantage is more predictable than in the past, mainly due to the increased effectiveness of its electronic guardian angels.

But the Vantage also loves to play. By gradually deactivating the traction control system, James Bond’s favorite sports car allows itself to perform spectacular drifts. It’s up to you to determine the angle of the slide. Of course, this – and much more – is best experienced on a track where the Vantage feels completely at home too. Moreover, on the Monteblanco circuit, in the suburbs of Seville, where part of this test was carried out, the Vantage proved to be as safe on a wet track as on a dry track. Only its braking system appeared a little tight.

Easy cohabitation

There are more agile, faster and more technically sophisticated competitors, it’s true. But several of them are poorly suited to road use and no longer embody at all that old-fashioned sportiness, so rewarding for anyone who likes to drive. This is undoubtedly the greatest quality of this English car: it is pleasant to live with on a daily basis and offers sensations without the need to break the Road Safety Code or drive on a track. The Vantage maintains its posture at all times and does not make us experience the relief of the road on uneven surfaces through parasitic lifts in the steering wheel. In addition, it does not hurt your ears on long journeys. We don’t fly every day!