It’s heartening to see probably the best Aston Martin line-up ever now on sale. And that’s with the Valhalla still to hit the road. Whether customers are after the ultimate super SUV, a charming sports GT, a musclebound V8 sports car or a V12 continent crusher, Aston has all bases covered. In some style, too. And while it’s been easy to fixate on the new interiors and more capable chassis of late (easily done, because they’re significant improvements), the role of the AMG turbo V8 shouldn’t be underestimated in the renaissance either.
Even after almost a decade of Aston Martin use, the hot-v continues to deliver. It made for the best-driving DB11, for starters, and remains central to the appeal of a DB12 also. Drive the DBX707 and you’d swear the engine was made for that car, not a Mercedes, so perfect is the harmony between engine and vehicle. The Vantage couldn’t want for a better V8, either - nobody talks about the baby Aston feeling a little light on torque these days…
Now that superb V8 is available in an Aston Martin for £65,000, as this Vantage demonstrates. It’s a whole lot easier to overlook flaws and gripes at usefully less than half price after 40,000 miles. Let’s not forget, either (though it became trendy to contradict the opinion) that the 2018 Vantage was a properly good product. Perhaps it lacked the outright deftness of a 911 or an R8, or the tactility of the car that preceded it, yet it was also so much faster and more capable than any Vantage before it. After some moaning in the beginning, too, the design has aged nicely.
Certainly, you’d feel pretty content turning up anywhere in this example, having paid Alpine A110 money for it. Back in 2018 more than £20,000 was spent on options, which would have meant a price in excess of £140k, and it assuredly still looks like a six-figure hot rod. Perhaps some of the interior fixtures and fitting might frustrate (and best really like red leather) but, again, that all feels far less problematic at tens of thousands less.
This three-owner car presents smartly; time hasn’t done the cabin any favours, sure - but the optional 20-inch wheels look great, as does the Volcano Red paint, and there are seven main dealer services in the history. It’s never even had an MOT advisory in five tests, and has been in regular use over the past few months by the looks of it.
Tempting, right? Even if the old V8 Vantage has suggested that these ones still have a little way to fall, paying not much more than £60k for this sound, speed and sense of occasion feels like a good deal. Or the DB11 with the same engine costs a similar amount. And we know now, if we didn’t already back then, that the 4.0-litre engine is capable of a good deal more than 510hp; while you’re sorting out the pea shooter exhaust for something more appropriate, perhaps those turbos could be turned up a tad as well…
SPECIFICATION | ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE
Engine: 3,982cc, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 510@6,000-6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 505@2,000-5,000rpm
0-62mph: 3.6sec
Top speed: 195mph
MPG: 26.9
CO2: 245g/km
Year registered: 2018
Recorded mileage: 40,000
Price new: £120,900 (before options)
Yours for: £64,895
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