Aston Updates Vantage Engine, Sex Appeal
The Aston Vantage is, for many junkies of the petrol, just pure car porn. Or car strip club, if you go to the dealer. Or car hooker, if you hit up an exotic car rental company for a day. It's just so sexy it hurts (I blame the jeans). In any case, Aston has set to update the engine in the V8 Vantage which was, in a commentary on our horsepower times, underpowered compared to competition. The former 4.3 liter engine (which some real goons claimed ran out of puff at times) is enlarged to 4.7 liters. Horsepower jumps from 380 to 420, and torque goes from 302 lb ft to 347 lb ft. Aston also claims there will be modest efficiency gains, since the war on cars is firing on all cylinders. The interior, which Jonny Lieberman told me is unsatisfactory considering the car's price, is also significantly upgraded (we'll bring you pictures the moment they surface). But if the power still isn't enough for you, you'll just have to wait for the V12 Vantage with the honking 12 pot from the DB9. Probably will sound great, but no need to cut into the car's balance like that.
Immensely bored law student. I've also got 3 dogs.
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I don't think the interior will be changed much. Maybe some buttons will be altered or set up in another way, but the center console will remain largely the same if you ask me. Prodrive doesn't really have the means to make the interior design significantly better I think. What they do with the chassis and engine though, that will almost certainly be good. I think these current Astons will be the pinnacle for the brand, getting better and better over time. But when it's time for new models to take over, I'd be surprised if they come up with something new yet still so beautiful and balanced to be a worthy succesor.
I know it's like trying to choose between Kiera Knightly and um...Kiera Knightly, but I'd rather have a DB9. It's even better looking, more comfortable, and it's already got the V12. And if one can afford the Vantage, it's not exactly a stretch to get the full-fat DB9.
Aliens, should they exist, must look at an Aston Martin and a Chrysler Sebring and think they are the product of entirely different species. The world would be a much better place if every car looked as good as a Vantage.