Aston Martin VANTAGE 2018

Aston Martin is pitching its new-generation Vantage to a younger customer group, helped by a radical redesign that gives the coupe greater differentiation compared with current models.

Aston Martin Vantage

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer called the latest Vantage "the greatest car I've been involved with in my 38 years in the automotive industry."

The restyling will help the Vantage become the automaker's best-seller with annual sales approaching 3,500 despite a hefty price increase over the old model, Palmer predicted at a pre-launch event held at the automaker's headquarters here on Monday. The Vantage is Aston's entry car aimed at sports cars such as top-end Porsche 911s.

One of the new design's most dramatic features compared with the more elegant DB11 is the "shark nose"grille with a protruding surround and a mesh covering that can be swapped out for different versions depending on the taste of the customer. It will be offered with new colors such as a striking yellow-green Lime Essence shade.

The new Vantage has a 510-hp version of the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 engine used by the DB11 V-8 and supplied by Daimler’s AMG performance arm. It has a top speed of 195 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, Aston Martin said. The front-mounted engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission supplied by ZF and fitted to the rear of the car. A manual gearbox from Graziano will be offered as an option in about 12 months, Palmer said.

The Vantage was launched in 2005 when Ford Motor owned Aston Martin. Prices will start at 120,900 pounds in its U.K. home market, 154,000 euros in Germany and at $149,995 in the U.S., which is expected to be the largest market. The U.K. price represents a jump of 22 percent over the current model.

The car is built on a version of the bonded and riveted aluminum chassis that underpins the DB11, but 70 percent of the components are different, the company said. It has no active aerodynamics such as a lifting rear spoiler but is one of the few Aston Martins to create positive downforce at the rear thanks to its built-in tail spoiler and rear diffuser. The two axles have been placed as far apart as possible to help with the handling in a car that measures just 175.6 inches long, 11.2 inches shorter than a DB11 and 1.3 inches shorter than a Porsche 911.

Porsche benchmark

The Vantage was benchmarked against higher powered versions of the 911, one of the key rivals Aston is targeting. Aston’s "proxy" customer for the car, a 38-year-old Frankfurt based banker called Marcus, currently drives a 911. The company also hopes to attract customers moving up from the Jaguar F-type, a similarly muscularly front-engined/rear-wheel-drive sports car that sells for less.

Aston Martin said it has amassed many orders for the car after seven weeks of private viewings in the U.K., Europe, China and the U.S. It didn’t give a final figure, but in the U.K., 80 percent of the 470 prospective or current customers who saw the redesigned car placed an order, a source said.

Production of the Vantage will begin at Aston Martin's factory in Gaydon, central England, in the first quarter of next year with deliveries starting later in spring. The car is the second of seven new or redesigned vehicles Aston has promised in seven years under its "Second Century" business plan, which started with the DB11. Following the Vantage will be a retooled high-end Vanquish sports car to be unveiled next year and the DBX SUV arriving in 2019. A midengine sports car will follow in 2020, with two sedans targeting Bentley and Rolls-Royce customers arriving after that.

_{First published on autonews.com | Image courtesy by Aston Martin}