Aston Martin Vantage.
Mechanical details of the car are shrouded in secrecy although the speculation is that it’s based on a V-12 Vantage, one thing is almost certain is that it will have Zagato’s signature double bubble roofline.
Aston Martin’s chief executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez, said: “Now is the right time for a new Aston Martin Zagato and in combining our design intelligence I think we can create something fitting of the iconic DB4GT Zagato that has gone before and since established itself as one of the most famous Aston Martins of all time.”
Time to disrupt the sleeping leaves
Wrapping one’s fingers around the Alcantara steering wheel of the V12 Vantage reminds a person that being the fastest isn’t always the most enjoyable thing to do in an sporting automobile. Sure, performance has its place, and the Vantage has far more than most. But what it really has is Sunday morning.
It’s that time at early sunrise when everyone is elsewhere. The roads are littered with leaves undisturbed from having fallen the night before. It’s a time to go out and enjoy something vivacious and loud. To disrupt the sleeping leaves.
The 2011 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S driven in Spain on the Ascari circuit.
There is a near-NASCAR V-8 rumble out the back as you rocket down the kinked straight, letting the S upshift on its own at 7000 rpm.
Peeking, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage S
Still at 4.7 liters, the V-8’s power is upped from 420 to 430 bhp and 346 lb.-ft. of torque to 361, thanks to changes to the intake tract and the spark timing.
Aston didn’t have an official 0–60 time, but it is likely sub-4.5 seconds with a claimed top speed of 189 mph.
The Aston Martin V12 Vantage is not supposed to be the world’s best-performing sports car. It is supposed to be a sporting coupe that gives great performance, but also something else.
Wrapping one’s fingers around the Alcantara steering wheel of the V12 Vantage reminds a person that being the fastest isn’t always the most enjoyable thing to do in an sporting automobile. Sure, performance has its place, and the Vantage has far more than most. But what it really has is Sunday morning.
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Shaun Bailey, Road & Track editor (Source: roadandtrack.com) |
