Aston Martin, a luxury car manufacturer based in Britain, has unveiled the new Vantage. This is a mid-life update for the car that includes styling, interior, and engineering changes, the most notable of which is the increased power of the motor. The DB12 Super Tourer was recently introduced by the brand in India.
The new Aston Martin Vantage has a wider stance thanks to a 30mm increase in width, which contributes to its visual growth. The massive grille on the front end is now 38% larger and provides 29% more airflow to the engine bay. To help the aerodynamics, there are more cooling intakes and a splitter. The Aston Martin Light Signature is introduced with larger fully matrix LED headlamps with LED DRLs. The car now sports larger 21-inch forged alloy wheels and the iconic Aston Martin side strake. The new Vantage also has flush door handles, frameless door mirrors, a wider bumper, and wider wheel arches.
The cabin of the new Vantage has been extensively redesigned, just like that of the Aston Martin DB12. This includes a brand-new 10.25-inch infotainment display with multiple connectivity options thanks to an internal user interface. The physical buttons on the central console and other areas, which are covered in carbon fibre or a variety of custom materials that can be made for each customer, are still part of the brand.
Aston Martin has persisted in using the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine from Mercedes-AMG, which now generates 665 horsepower and 800 Nm of torque. As a result, the V8 Vantage can now perform on par with the V12 Vantage, sprinting from 0 to 100 kmph in 3.5 seconds and reaching a maximum speed of 325 kmph. The engine features larger turbochargers than before along with new cam profiles, improved cooling, and compression ratios. This complements the 8-speed transmission’s calibration, enabling the Vantage to accelerate and shift gears more quickly.
Adaptive dampers, which can alter response speed and control depending on driving modes, are a feature of the new Vantage. The engineers removed the rubber from the steering column to create “non-isolated” steering, which they claim gives a more direct steering feel. Additionally, Aston Martin increased the stiffness under load for the rear of the Vantage by 29%.In India, Aston Martin is selling the DB12, DBX, and DBX 707 in addition to the pre-facelift Vantage, which was priced at Rs 2.95 crore (ex-showroom). This year, the company plans to launch the new Vantage in our country; ex-showroom pricing are anticipated to be in the range of Rs 3 crore.
New touchscreen tech
Mercedes also provided the antiquated media system for the previous Vantage, but the new vehicle uses Aston Martin’s most recent technology from the DB12 (which will also be available for the DBX SUV soon). What3Words navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity, and a linked smartphone app are all available on the 10.25-inch touchscreen.
The audio system comes with an 11-speaker, 390-watt standard or a 15-speaker, 1,170-watt Bowers & Wilkins setup that has been “acoustically engineered” to fit the interior of the vehicle for buyers who wish to upgrade.High-end Bridge of Weir leather has been used to trim the interior of the Vantage. Although it lacks rear seats like a Porsche 911, the 350-liter boot provides enough room for a week’s worth of luggage.
Rubber on the road
How will driving the new Vantage be like, then? With a perfectly balanced front-to-rear weight distribution and a more rigid bonded aluminium body, Aston Martin appears to have mastered the fundamentals. With fluids added, the quoted dry weight of 1,605 kg should weigh a manageable 1,700 kg.The car’s ride quality and agility should improve with the addition of new “intelligent” dampers that can handle more bandwidth. An electronic rear differential, multi-mode stability control, and recalibrated power steering are some of the features that Aston Martin claims enable the Vantage to “adapt from the demands of a challenging alpine road to wide-open race track at the push of a button and twist of a switch.”
While carbon-ceramic disc brakes are an option (saving 27 kg of unsprung mass), cast-iron brakes are the standard. Similar to the DB12, the Vantage is equipped with custom Michelin Pilot Sport 5 S tyres, with front tyre dimensions of 275/35 R21 and rear tyre dimensions of 325/30 R21. Your right foot has a greater influence on how much rubber you leave on the road than the new Active Vehicle Dynamics control system.
GT3 racer revealed
Along with revealing the road car, Aston Martin has also released the first images of the Vantage GT3. It is an evolution of the current Vantage GTE and GT3 racers, with updated suspension, smarter electronics, and a new aerodynamic package that includes a massive swan-neck rear wing.The 2024 Vantage is designed to compete in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS), FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship (IMSA), Fanatec GT World Challenge, European Le Mans Series (ELMS), and Fanatec GT World Challenge. It should also be simpler to drive.
According to Aston Martin, the goal of the upgrades was to make the new GT3 as driveable as possible for both professional and amateur drivers alike by addressing some of the more difficult handling characteristics of the previous model.Tim Pitt is a writer for Automotive Research.