The Aston Martin Vantage’s Controversial Face Actually Serves A Purpose

The front end on the new Aston Martin Vantage isn’t as extravagant as Lexus’ spindle grille, but it’s attracted its fair share of criticism. Some think the it is beautiful, while others aren’t that fond of what they call a fish-like face.

The truth is that Aston Martin’s decision to go with the drastically-styled front end wasn’t just design-based. According to The Drive (via Jalopnik), who spoke with Marek Reichmann, the brand’s chief designer, it was chosen for practical reasons, too.

By ditching the traditional Aston Martin grille, which has been on its cars since 1948, the automaker managed to cut out weight from a crucial part of the vehicle.

“Why put 15 or 20 kilos of weight on the nose of a car, in the worst possible spot?” asked Reichmann.

Aston is touting the new Vantage as a proper sports car and initial reviews seem to back that claim up. By designing a new front end for the Vantage, the automaker shifted the balance and the majority of the weight towards the center while also helping in lowering the center of gravity, two things you want in a high-performance machine.

Besides helping the automaker have a 50-50 weight distribution, the design also serves as a major point of difference between the Vantage and the new DB11. The DB11 is more of a grand tourer, while the Vantage is a sports car and Aston wanted to make that very apparent with the way it looks.

“This is not a DB11,” said Reichmann. “This is our sports car. It’s a hunter, the predator in our pack that’s going to chase down and pass a 911.”

Whatever you think of it, you definitely won’t mistake it for a DB11 – which is a good thing, since the latter is also offered with an AMG-sourced V8, just like the Vantage.