2011 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S Roadster Review

[ahmed_7erzon]

There are worse ways to spend a Saturday evening. It’s sunny, about 25 degrees Celsius in the heart of Montreal, and I’m about to be handed the key to a spanking-new Aston Martin droptop. Yes, life can be so cruel sometimes.


A night on the town is just part of the exotic-car ownership experience. One could purchase a car like this hand-built Vantage S to draw attention to themselves more than anything else; other criteria like exclusivity, explosive performance and opulent luxury are relegated to the back burner if all you want is for passers-by to notice you. In this car, they will notice you.

Me? Screw the attention, I’ll take it just for the engine. Every time I crack open the throttle on this megabucks beast, shivers race down my spine, goosebumps on my arms pierce through my shirt and I can’t stop giggling. Driving through a tunnel with the top down increases the intoxication.

Under the hood of the Vantage S thumps a 32-valve, 4.7-litre V8 that ragingly roars more or less above 4,000 rpm, or pretty much all the time when the Sport mode is activated. It develops 430 horsepower (at 7,300 revs thank you) and 361 pound-feet of torque of which three-quarters is available from 1,500 rpm, resulting in wild but controlled launches. Figure a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of about 4.7 seconds.

While cruising topless (the car, not me) downtown, you’ll get immediate feedback from pedestrians who are mesmerized by the car’s sheer beauty and presence. Pointing fingers, yells, whistling and swearing, we heard them all, especially when you acknowledge their pleas for an aural taste of the mellifluous V8. Now, we’re not show-offs, but we can’t help sharing the wealth a little bit.

Our brief drive is providing us with few opportunities to test the car’s handling, but highway entrances and exits presented some 270-degree ramps to play with; as it should, the Vantage S clings to the tarmac like paparazzi to Lindsay Lohan.

The car’s steering rack offers the right amount of power assist at both parallel-parking and open-road speeds. As for the brakes, the trash-can-cover-sized discs get squeezed by six-piston callipers up front and four-piston pinchers out back; mashing the stop pedal is as effective as hitting a brick wall.

Obviously, the car’s cockpit caresses its occupants in exquisite luxury. Everything you see is the real deal; anything that looks like metal is, anything that looks like wood is, and everything that looks like cowhide, well, is. Someone at the Gaydon factory got trigger-happy with red contrast stitching and the overall result is extraordinary. To start the engine, you slide the $2,000(!) glass-trimmed keyfob into its appropriate slot on the top of the centre stack and push on it. Our tester includes Aston’s new 7-speed automated manual gearbox, exclusive to the Vantage S, although it uses a single clutch instead of a trendy double-clutch setup. No conventional gear selector here, as it’s all controlled by shift buttons located around the engine starter slot. So, what’s the difference between a normal V8 Vantage and this Vantage S? Besides an extra 10 horsepower, you also get new wheels, distinct aerodynamic cues, unique interior trimmings, a shorter final-drive ratio, a sportier suspension, more responsive steering and upgraded brakes with floating front discs. In short, its aggressiveness level climbs a couple of notches. Alas, nothing in life is perfect. One thing of the V8 Vantage S we didn’t fall in love with is the sequential gearbox. Operating it with the buttons feels artificial, and while rowing on its own, each gear change at part throttle provokes some jerkiness; the driver can cure it by using the shift paddles and lifting off the gas pedal slightly during gear changes, but we expect better behaviour in a car of this price. We assume Aston will tweak the new transmission over time and improve its smoothness, but for now, it’s the only one offered in the S model. The Vantage coupe offers 300 litres of cargo space, but the Roadster must manage with only 144; a golf bag won’t fit, but a couple of soft bags for a weekend getaway will. Ok, how much for this sexy beast? In Canadian currency, the V8 Vantage S Coupe lists for $159,000, while the Roadster we’re driving starts at $174,300 before you add extras such as the 1,000-watt, Bang & Olufsen surround sound system, the piano black interior pack and the carbon fibre rear diffuser. For a similar price, you could also check out a 500-hp Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, which is quicker than the Aston, but it isn’t as exclusive and doesn’t attract nearly as much attention. The Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG is a serious rival too, with its wicked 518-hp engine and power-folding hardtop, but the result will be the same as with the Porsche. A 440-hp Maserati GranTurismo Convertible and a 525-hp Audi R8 5.2 Spyder are also competitors worth mentioning. I don’t know about you, but if I was considering the purchase of an exotic sports car like this, I would like one that isn’t too common on summer city streets. Match that with an adrenaline-pumping engine and an impeccably-crafted cockpit, and you’ve got an addictive, thrilling machine such as this Vantage S.