2019 Aston Martin Vantage

For the past 70 years the Vantage name has been synonymous with Aston Martin's greatest sports cars including the William Towns-designed V8 Vantage, spectacular twin-supercharged V600 Le Mans and the much-loved V8 Vantage.  The name was actually first introduced in 1951 on a high-output engine option found on the DB2 and wouldn't formally find its self as a model in its own right until the 1970s. With a total of seven different iterations, I was excited to see what Aston Martin would offer for their latest and greatest thoroughbred sportscar. At first glance I saw the front end of Mazda's latest and greatest thoroughbred sportscar and that confused me; however after spending sometime with the car as well as do my own research (as we all know these days form follows function) it has grown on me immensely.

It's gaping wide front grille not only helps with engine cooling but it also holds an enormous front splitters that guides incoming air into various ducts and inlets and eventually exiting through the rear diffuser. Together with the new body-shaped side gills that bleed air pressure out from the front wheel arches, and the pronounced upswept rear deck lid, the Vantage generates a significant level of downforce. A first for a production Aston Martin.

Now to its engine. After years of deliberation Aston Martin decided to drop their old Ford Block design and go with Mercede's AMG Division as their engine supplier for their newest generations of the DB11, Rapid, Vanquish and Vantage. In fact, the Vantage shares its engine with the Mercedes AMG GT; a 4.0 twin-turbo V8 granting it 503 horsepower and 505 lb-ft of torque, pushing the car to a 195 mph top speed and can get the car from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds. Thanks to its engine position being pushed as far back into the cabin as possible, the car features a perfect 50/50 weight distribution which means the Vantage has all the makings of an epic car. 

What are your thoughts on the new Vantage?