Aston Martin has launched the all-new Vantage in India, with prices starting from Rs 3.99 crore (ex-showroom, India). Globally unveiled just a couple of months ago, Aston’s sports coupe has been extensively restyled on the outside, but even more significant are the updates to the interior; there's a new dashboard and an all-new software platform. Under the hood, the Vantage retains the Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine, but it receives a massive bump in power.
- New Vantage is powered by a 665hp, 4.0-litre V8 engine
- Interior sees a massive step up in tech and quality over outgoing model
- Rivals Bentley Continental GT, Porsche 911
Aston Martin Vantage: exterior design
Visually, the new Vantage is differentiated from its predecessor with a much more aggressive face – there’s a huge grille up front that stretches almost the entire width of the front bumper; there are new intakes at the edges, the bonnet has stronger character lines, and the headlamps are now larger and more rounded, and come with a new three-piece LED DRL signature, bringing about a family look with the DB12. One can even notice some resemblance with the One-77 supercar.
In profile, the air ducts on the fenders have been slightly redesigned, and at the rear, there’s a more aggressive bumper and diffuser setup. The new Vantage is also 30mm wider than before, thereby improving its overall stance, and there are new frameless mirrors and flush electronic door handles.
Aston Martin Vantage: interior and features
On the inside, the Vantage follows the DB12 with a completely new cockpit arrangement that majors on connectivity, engagement and refinement. One of the biggest criticisms of the outgoing Vantage was its dated, Mercedes-sourced software platform and a very cluttered interior layout. This new software interface debuted on the DB12, and has recently also made it to the DBX SUV globally.
The new Vantage ditches all of its Mercedes influence, and adopts a completely new, in-house developed infotainment platform. There’s a new 10.25-inch touchscreen running the bespoke software that connects to a dedicated smartphone app, and also includes features like 3D live mapping, wireless smartphone mirroring and last-mile on-foot navigation.
Despite the focus on digitisation, Aston Martin remains a defender of physical switchgear, so it has retained them for the climate control stack, gear selector, drive control switch as well as the override buttons for the ESP, exhaust, lane assist and parking sensors, among several others. It also gets an all-new steering wheel and a new digital instrument cluster, and there’s a notable step-up in interior quality and fit and finish as well.
Aston Martin Vantage: powertrain, specs
Headlining this round of important updates is a massive power increase for the Mercedes-AMG-derived V8. Still 4.0-litres in capacity and blown by a pair of turbos, output is hiked to 665hp and 800Nm, which makes the standard Vantage as quick as the outgoing V12: it has a 0-100kph time of just 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 325kph. For reference, the previous V8 car produced 510hp and 685Nm, needed half a second more for the 0-100kph sprint, and topped out at 313kph. Power is sent to the rear wheels via an 8-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
The power hikes are the result of an “extensive” tuning programme that has given the motor new cam profiles, tweaked compression ratios, improved cooling (courtesy of a new, lower radiator and two extra auxiliary coolers) and, crucially, bigger turbochargers. Aston Martin claims a perfect 50:50 weight distribution for the Vantage, and it gets adaptive dampers, an electronic rear differential, and 21-inch wheels wrapped on Michelin Pilot S 5 tyres. The new Vantage is claimed to have “punchier” in-gear acceleration and snappier shifts, as well as more distinct characteristics in each of the drive modes.
Aston Martin has not revealed any plans to electrify the Vantage line. However, its V8 already features in Mercedes-AMG’s first plug-in hybrids, including the recently revealed GT 63 S E Performance, which has a similar footprint and silhouette to the Vantage. For its price, the Vantage rivals the likes of the Bentley Continental GT and Porsche 911 in India.
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