Welcome to what has to be one of the sexiest, sleekest, and downright most wanted vehicles of the year. It’s the new, 2018 Aston Martin Vantage.
The design is beautiful, powerful, and exotically exclusive, all in one. From the smoothly shaped bonnet and nose area to the racy side skirts, to the sensual hips and the muscular rear end, it has to be regarded as one of the most appealing production car designs of the year, surely?
A lot of work has gone into creating a body that’s aerodynamically optimised, but also very light. So, as you might expect, the body is made from aluminium for lightness. It helps keep the kerb weight down to an impressive 1530kg.
The weight itself has also be thoroughly thought out, with a transaxle rear-mounted transmission configuration helping to provide a 50:50 weight distribution for awesome handling, with adaptive dampers offering the driver pure control on varied surfaces.
At the heart of it all is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine that generates 375kW and 685Nm. The unit comes from Mercedes-AMG, however, Aston Martin appears to have dialled down the torque; this engine produces 375kW and 700Nm in the latest Mercedes-AMG C 63. Unlike the Merc though the Aston features a ZF eight-speed automatic.
It is of course rear-wheel drive for the ultimate in driving fun, with 0-100km/h coming up in just 3.6 seconds. There’s a top speed of 314km/h to taunt with as well, if you dare.
For the passengers it’s a mix of modern switchgear, carbon fibre, and plenty of cool shapes protruding toward you. Up top on the dash is Aston’s latest touch-screen media interface, while down on the console is a new hand controller system which appears to be borrowed from (or at least inspired by) Mercedes-Benz systems.
The gorgeous new model will go on sale in Australia soon with prices starting from $299,950. Yep, you can put us down for one please. Oh, we first have to buy some lottery tickets. See below for the full specifications.
Aston Martin New Vantage Specification
Body |
– Two-door body style 2+0 seating |
– Extruded bonded aluminium body structure with steel panels |
– LED high and low beam headlamps with integrated direction indicator, daytime running lights, position lamp, lock/unlock graphic theatre |
– Signature full width LED tail lamp with stop tail and dynamic indicator functions |
– Clamshell bonnet |
– Side gill |
Engine |
– All-alloy quad overhead cam, 4.0 litre twin turbo V8 |
– Water-to-Air charge cooling |
– Front mid-mounted engine, rear wheel drive |
– Compression ratio 10.5:1 |
– Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system |
– Electronically controlled exhaust |
– Dual Variable Camshaft Timing |
– Fully CNC machined combustion chambers |
– Maximum power: 510PS / 503BHP / 375kW at 6000rpm |
– Maximum torque: 685Nm from 2000-5000rpm |
– Acceleration: 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in 3.6 seconds / 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds |
– Maximum speed: 195 mph (314 kph) |
European Fuel Economy Figures (estimated figures) |
– C02 245 g/km – Urban: 19.7 mpg – Extra Urban: 34.3 mpg – Combined: 26.8 mpg
– Urban: 14.4 litres/100 km – Extra Urban: 8.2 litres/100 km – Combined 10.5 litres / 100 km |
Transmission |
– Rear mid-mounted ZF eight-speed automatic transmission |
– Alloy torque tube with Carbon Fibre propeller shaft |
– Electronic differential (E-Diff) |
– Final drive ratio 2.93:1 |
Steering |
– Electric power assisted steering rack with 13.09:1 steering ratio |
– Speed-dependent rack and pinion power-assisted steering, 2.4 turns lock-to-lock |
Suspension |
– Front independent double wishbone design coil springs, anti-roll bar |
– Rear multi-link, coil springs, anti-roll bar |
– Adaptive Damping System (ADS) with Skyhook technology modes Sport, Sport + and Track |
Wheels and Tyres |
– 20″ ‘Y’ spoke wheels – Silver |
– Front 20″ Pirelli P Zero 255/40/20 |
– Rear 20″ Pirelli P Zero 295/35/20 |
Brakes |
– Front ventilated two-piece steel brake discs 400 mm diameter |
– Rear ventilated co-cast brake discs 360 mm diameter |
– Electric park brake |
– Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) |
– Anti-lock braking system (ABS) |
– Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) |
– Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) |
– Traction Control (TC) |
– Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA) |
– Positive Torque Control (PTC) |
– Dynamic Torque Vectoring (DTV) |
Dimensions |
– Length – 4465 mm |
– Width (incl Mirror Caps) – 2153 mm |
– Width (excl Mirror Caps) – 1942 mm |
– Height – 1273 mm |
– Wheelbase – 2704 mm |
– Fuel tank capacity – 73 litres |
– Min Dry Weight – 1530 kg (inclusive of lightweight options) |
– Weight Distribution – 50:50 |