Nowadays, the majority of supercars are made to massage the customer’s ego, offering a tamed and relaxing experience. But not the Aston V12 Vantage S.
Yesterday’s millionaires would’ve probably killed for a soft clutch pedal, good visibility, and semi-automatic transmission, but has the modern supercar lost its sense of occasion? No, of course not, just glance at the 565 hp and 457 lb-ft (620 Nm) of torque, 5.9-litre V12 Aston Martin Vantage. Does it look like a car for the uninitiated?
Its exhaust system is derived from the one implemented on the One-77 model, it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.7 seconds, it reaches 205 mph (330 km/h), and it can be commissioned with a seven-speed manual with a dogleg 1st gear.
Aston Martin overhauled the entire car with performance in mind, offering everything new suspension settings, new carbon ceramic brakes, and a track mode gizmo. The result is one of the very few analog sports cars of our era, and Matt Farah agrees.
So, the model is less grand tourer and more gran sport. Sure, it has some drawbacks (even though it costs a bit north of $200,000), but the V12 Vantage S is the fastest Aston Martin ever created, and it will remain a collector’s item.