When you think of Aston Martin, the image that invariably springs to mind is of the Aston Martin DB5, with the passenger seat ejector switch, protruding guns and revolving number plate which James Bond drove in the 1964 film, Goldfinger . Younger readers will recall the Aston Martin DB10, specifically made for the 2015 Bond movie Spectre, which raced against Jaguar’s concept car, the C-X75.
Racing aficionados, however, will always remember the Aston Martin DBR1 that recorded the historic 1-2 win in the 1959 24-hour Le Mans race against a very strong field that included teams from Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Lotus, and Triumph.
The beautiful and handcrafted 2019 model Aston Martin Vantage in Hyper Red that was in Kochi last month, for the display tour of 11 cities: Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Kochi, Thrissur, Calicut and Mangaluru, sponsored by Total — the lubricant company which, like Aston Martin, has a great motorsports history — bears the lineage of all those iconic Aston Martins that made their mark in films and on the track.
Setting the tone: Aston Martin Vantage
Powered by the acclaimed front mid-mounted 4-litre AMG twin turbo V8 engine, the Vantage develops 503 bhp @ 6000 rpm, can hit 100 kph in 3.6 seconds and achieve a top speed of 314 kph. Brembo brakes with ventilated discs — front 400 mm and rear 360 mm — ensure that this supercar can stop on a dime. With a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution, adjustable suspension that has Sport, Sport+ and Track options, a low centre of gravity — in part the result of designing a shallow sump for the engine — and wide 20” Pirelli tyres, the Vantage grips the road as though on rails.
In spite of its blistering acceleration and pace, it is composed on city roads and emits only a muted bellow from its twin exhausts. Although turbo-charged, the designers have managed to make the Vantage sound like a naturally-aspirated engine, and when on song, its exhaust note would be music to a petrol head’s ears.
The Vantage seems to blur the line between road car and race car. Thanks to the 8-speed automatic gearbox from ZF, it returns good mileage of over 12 kpl on the highway and about 7 kpl in urban conditions. In addition, the Vantage has, for a supercar, a liberal 350 litres of boot space. Essentially a luxury grand tourer, it can be driven comfortably in the city as well as on long cross-country runs.
Of all the sports car manufacturers with a long and distinguished heritage, Aston Martin is today the only one that has remained independent — the others have been swallowed up by conglomerates like Fiat, Volkswagen and Tata. It is hoped that Aston Martin will manage to stay independent, so that its heritage coupled with freedom to act on its own will enable it to continue producing exotic supercars like the Vantage. Bookings are now open for this performance car and first deliveries of the 2019 Vantage will start this month.
Specifications
Aston Martin Vantage in Hyper Red
Front mid-mounted 4-litre AMG twin turbo V8 engine
Brembo brakes with ventilated discs — front 400 mm and rear 360 mm
