New 4.7 litre V8 Vantage

[Ian67]

Posted on AMOC yesterday:

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Secret-new-cars/Searc...
http://www.leftlanenews.com/aston-martin-to-debut-...
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/22/updated-aston-m...

The second and third links just refer to what's in the first one.

[LongLiveTazio]

Very tasty - competitive power hike to enhance the sports car credentials, then, and an interior free of borrowed switchgear...

[jus]

Fantastic news!

[Murph7355]

LongLiveTazio said:

Very tasty - competitive power hike to enhance the sports car credentials, then, and an interior free of borrowed switchgear...

Power's not actually mentioned...I'd say they "need" 450bhp if they're going to do this, and not sure their track record to date will see them hit that figure.

As for the interior, I'm really not fond of some of the "bespoke" stuff in the DBS...

Be nice to see what they do though.

[LongLiveTazio]

I reckon more like 420bhp, realistically, though I think 450bhp would be probably bang-on in an ideal world. Shouldn't be slow though, either way!

[Murph7355]

LongLiveTazio said:

I reckon more like 420bhp, realistically, though I think 450bhp would be probably bang-on in an ideal world. Shouldn't be slow though, either way!

In theory they can get close to 420bhp with ECU and exhaust tweaks.

420bhp from a 4.7 litre engine in this day and age is not stretching the envelope. In fact it's not even getting close to filling an envelope!

They need to consider 450 as a minimum and really should be looking at more still to avoid the magazine and pub conversationalists trashing it.

btw, they aren't slow cars with "just" 380bhp. But what they really ought to do is drop its weight by at least 100kg (preferably 200kg!).

Edited by Murph7355 on Saturday 23 February 15:45

[razbox]

Ian67 said:

Posted on AMOC yesterday:

Thanks for posting this.

The Car magazine link also says a new DB9 is being readied for Geneva too!

[bimmmmer]

I just pray, Aston doesn't go nuts changing the pure essence of this car too much.
Not a fan at all of the DBS interior centre console & stupid new key.

[Murph7355]

bimmmmer said:

I just pray, Aston doesn't go nuts changing the pure essence of this car too much.
Not a fan at all of the DBS interior centre console & stupid new key.

[jus]

Yeah I quite like the normal plain starter button... anyhow, guess we'll just have to see! Not rushing to put a deposit down but I'm definitely keen.

[:J:]

Murph7355 said:

bimmmmer said:

I just pray, Aston doesn't go nuts changing the pure essence of this car too much.
Not a fan at all of the DBS interior centre console & stupid new key.

Out of interest, what was it you both found 'stupid' about the key when you used it ?

I can't see the problem ? After all the b1tching and moaning over older and current keys, Aston try to do something unique, and guess what they get.....more b1tching and moaning

The key, the idea, no problem with it, calling it the Emotional Control Unit though ....cringeworthy

[bimmmmer]

I bought an Aston, because I thought it was an elegant sports car - Full Stop.
Don't like the gimmericky of the DBS key.

I would rather see a keyless solution.

[Murph7355]

:J: said:

Out of interest, what was it you both found 'stupid' about the key when you used it ?

Haven't used the one in the DBS.

Have used one in a VW Sharan which sounds very similar in operation, perhaps a tad simpler. And that was daft too.

If you must have a key (and there is no need these days), it's hard to beat the type that has done decent service for decades.

FWIW, I've never been bothered either way about the current one. But while we're talking about it, how hard would it have been to build the fob functionality into the key holder itself, and while at that designing something a little more bespoke...I suspect when they received feedback on the keys, Aston went off at a bizarre tangent.

[Pugsey]

Wise old uncle Pugsey told you about this car months ago - so listen when he says expect a genuine 425 to 430 bhp max from this car. And remember too that if that's a genuine fig. then it will be a bigger increase than it appears to be - given 'doubts' over the real bhp of the current model.

[Murph7355]

Pugsey said:

Wise old uncle Pugsey told you about this car months ago - so listen when he says expect a genuine 425 to 430 bhp max from this car. And remember too that if that's a genuine fig. then it will be a bigger increase than it appears to be - given 'doubts' over the real bhp of the current model.

For the record my doubts have eased with miles. I now just think the car's too fat

A 2nd session on the same road registered 374bhp on the same car (stock exhaust).

Different days, so not 100% conclusive. But it would seem they free up with use (and as Pugsey hacks his cars in after 5mins and 100 miles ...).

[Pugsey]

Murph7355 said:

Pugsey said:

Wise old uncle Pugsey told you about this car months ago - so listen when he says expect a genuine 425 to 430 bhp max from this car. And remember too that if that's a genuine fig. then it will be a bigger increase than it appears to be - given 'doubts' over the real bhp of the current model.

For the record my doubts have eased with miles. I now just think the car's too fat

A 2nd session on the same road registered 374bhp on the same car (stock exhaust).

Different days, so not 100% conclusive. But it would seem they free up with use (and as Pugsey hacks his cars in after 5mins and 100 miles ...).

Ouch! Seriously I tend to agree with you. Plus 50bhp will help and take the car to genuine 997S performance (although that car itself gains 30bhp this Autumn) but it's weight problem is always going to give the Vantage a slightly lethargic 'feel' compared to a lighter car - even if the power to weight ratios are actually the same. Some would say that that's fitting for an Aston but, for this model, I think they are wrong and I'd like to see some weight loss. Finally my M3 absolutely walked away from a friends V8 down our favourite test route the other day and swapping cars proved that it was due to the BM's performance rather than my driving. The M3 did the Aston on pure grunt AND handling - and that's just plain wrong!

Edited by Pugsey on Tuesday 26th February 22:16

[Murph7355]

Pugsey said:

Murph7355 said:

Ouch! ...

Only messing with ya

The throttle set up on the V8 doesn't help either. Too damped. I believe the N400 sorts this.

But it's still a great car. Yes there are plenty faster (and none at present I'd rather have, even after 12mths and 11k miles) but it doesn't really matter in most real world driving IMO. Silly fast is for the track, where none of these excel.

Out of interest, how many miles did your friend's V8 have on it, and how long have they owned it?

[jus]

A set of ITB's (BMW M style) would go a long way to helping the Vantage's lethargic throttle response too...

[Pugsey]

Murph7355 said:

Pugsey said:

Murph7355 said:

Ouch! ...

Only messing with ya

The throttle set up on the V8 doesn't help either. Too damped. I believe the N400 sorts this.

But it's still a great car. Yes there are plenty faster (and none at present I'd rather have, even after 12mths and 11k miles) but it doesn't really matter in most real world driving IMO. Silly fast is for the track, where none of these excel.

Out of interest, how many miles did your friend's V8 have on it, and how long have they owned it?

22,000 miles and he's had it six months. So nice and loose.

I agree re throttle response and re the uninportance of ultimate performance figs too. Which is why I'd like to see the car go on a diet. For my tastes it would be nice if the car felt a little more responsive, supple and 'alive' - things that loss of weight will help far more than another 50bhp. Like you I love the car (and feel sure I will return to one) - which is the only reason that I bother to crticise it in the first place.

PS I don't know why our quote boxes are playing up here btw.

Edited by Pugsey on Wednesday 27th February 08:35

[matc]

They mention in the Car article that the red AMV8 caught with a recent spyshot is registered as a 4.7, but a quick check with HPI shows it's registered as a 4298cc and was scrapped on 16/10/06!!

edited to say I didn't read the whole article, and it clearly states at the bottom that the photo is from the original testing!!

Edited by matc on Wednesday 27th February 11:33