£102,500 Driven March 2011
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If you can spot a gap in Aston's line-up, you're doing better than us. Along with the recently announced Virage (which we'll drive later on this month), there's also the Vantage S - planned to plug the gap between the ‘normal' V8 Vantage and the ‘less normal' V12. Gaydon's model line-up is getting tighter than George Osborne's wallet.
So, the coupe Vantage S costs £102,500 - the V8 Sportshift is £93,995 and the V12 is £135,000. The coupe S produces 430bhp and 362lb ft - the V8 has 420bhp and 346lb ft; the V12 gets 510bhp and 420lb ft.
All very neat.
And it works just as neatly on the road. The cosmetic tweaks aren't major, but there are plenty of changes under the skin to help the S get close to the V12 in practice as well as theory.
The biggest alteration is the new seven-speed robotised manual gearbox. This single-clutch unit is now air-cooled, which has saved 16kg, and because it has more ratios, the S sits in the power band more often. At lower speeds, the changes are a tad slow, as the S lurches while it engages the next cog. But at higher engine revs, the 'box snaps between gears quickly and aggressively.
This is a car designed to be driven fast. As such, the steering has been quickened up, and the front brakes are now larger and have a ‘floating disc' design - basically the same set-up used by racing cars. And both the front anti-roll bar and rear springs have been softened off - not what you'd expect from a car that's meant to be more hardcore, but it does help to dial out a bit of the Jag's understeer.
It's all good stuff, and noticeable. The steering is tighter around the dead ahead, and the brakes are much less susceptible to fade. The car actually feels quite soft at the front end now, but it turns in sharply enough and the chassis is well balanced. Be really brave and the back end will move around a bit, but we only found that out on a circuit. If you get to that stage on a road, the police will come a'knockin'.
Of course, this is still an Aston, so you still get leather, optional sports seats (about £2,000) and an optional Bang and Olufsen stereo (£5,000). As such, it's not the most hardcore car out there - the true ‘raw' car fan will still head for a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The S is more of a rival for something like the 911 Turbo. And the addition of the S to the Vantage range means Aston now offers an interesting alternative to the 911 - hardcore enough, without sacrificing luxury.
All very neat.
And it works just as neatly on the road. The cosmetic tweaks aren't major, but there are plenty of changes under the skin to help the S get close to the V12 in practice as well as theory.
The biggest alteration is the new seven-speed robotised manual gearbox. This single-clutch unit is now air-cooled, which has saved 16kg, and because it has more ratios, the S sits in the power band more often. At lower speeds, the changes are a tad slow, as the S lurches while it engages the next cog. But at higher engine revs, the 'box snaps between gears quickly and aggressively.
This is a car designed to be driven fast. As such, the steering has been quickened up, and the front brakes are now larger and have a ‘floating disc' design - basically the same set-up used by racing cars. And both the front anti-roll bar and rear springs have been softened off - not what you'd expect from a car that's meant to be more hardcore, but it does help to dial out a bit of the Jag's understeer.
It's all good stuff, and noticeable. The steering is tighter around the dead ahead, and the brakes are much less susceptible to fade. The car actually feels quite soft at the front end now, but it turns in sharply enough and the chassis is well balanced. Be really brave and the back end will move around a bit, but we only found that out on a circuit. If you get to that stage on a road, the police will come a'knockin'.
Of course, this is still an Aston, so you still get leather, optional sports seats (about £2,000) and an optional Bang and Olufsen stereo (£5,000). As such, it's not the most hardcore car out there - the true ‘raw' car fan will still head for a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The S is more of a rival for something like the 911 Turbo. And the addition of the S to the Vantage range means Aston now offers an interesting alternative to the 911 - hardcore enough, without sacrificing luxury.
