Aston Martin V8 Vantage S is the latest edition of the gorgeous British sportscar which fills the gap, well sort of, between the high performance V12 Vantage and the regular V8. The design of the Vantage S is inspired by the GT4 Racing version but it only has 10 more horsepower than the current V8 model.

Of course in comparison to the first edition of the V8 Vantage which had 380 hp and was famous for not being fast, the new model is improved remarkably! The Vantage S has 430 bhp (436 PS / 321 kW) at 7300 rpm and torque of 490 Nm (361 lb.ft) at 5000 rpm. It comes with an all new gearbox.

The Sportshift™ II transmission specifically designed for the Vantage S from the ground up with seven short ratio gears to deliver the most engaging and intense driver involvement. The car is also 30 kg lighter than the standard version, 24 of which is due to the new gearbox. With these tweaks the Vantage must have become the car it should have been three years ago, a beautiful, agile and fast Aston.

Dynamic revisions are central to the Vantage S, with a quickened steering rack ratio of 15:1 compared to 17:1 on the standard car and a larger diameter front brake disc with new six-piston front brake calipers. New springs and dampers, and wider rear wheels also contribute to chassis revisions. A new dynamic stability control (DSC) system specifically tuned to the Vantage S along with a new brake module providing features such as Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA) which provides assistance in emergency braking situations, and Hill Start Assist (HSA). Bespoke tyres have been developed with Bridgestone to optimise road holding enhancing dynamic feel.

The car is available as both coupe and cabrio variants, and has a few noticeable styling differences over the V8 model. It has a revised lower front bumper finished in perfectly-aligned carbon fibre houses a larger air intake feeding the engine and front brakes. The splitter combined with the extended deck lid ‘flip’ work in harmony to provide increased down force at speed. New 19 inch ‘V’ spoke wheel styles are available as standard, while an optional 10-spoke lightweight forged wheel option, reduces unsprung mass further. A new rear bumper and side sills optically widen the car.

Specification

Body:

• Two-seat, two-door coupe or soft-cover convertible top body style
• Extruded bonded aluminium VH body structure
• Aluminium, magnesium alloy, composite and steel body
• Extruded aluminium door side-impact beams
• Halogen projector headlamps (main beam)
• High Intensity Discharge headlamps (dipped beam)
• LED rear lamps
• Clear rear lamps
• Carbon fibre front splitter and rear diffuser

Engine:

• All-alloy quad overhead camshaft, 32-valve 4735 cc V8
• Front mid-mounted engine, rear-wheel drive
• Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active bypass valves
• Compression ratio 11.3:1
• Maximum Power 321 kW (430 bhp / 436 PS) at 7300 rpm
• Maximum Torque 490 Nm (361 lb.ft) at 5000 rpm
• Acceleration 0-60 mph tbc; 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) tbc
• Maximum Speed 189 mph (305 km/h)

Transmission:

• Rear mid-mounted ‘Sportshift II’ 7-speed single clutch automated manual transmission
• Alloy torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft
• Limited slip differential
• Final Drive Ratio 4.182:1

Steering:

• Rack and pinion, Servotronic speed-sensitive power-assisted steering, 2.6 turns lock-to-lock
• Column tilt and reach adjustment.

Wheels & tyres

• 19” V-Sspoke cast alloy silver painted wheels with diamond turned finish
• Front8.5J x 19” Bridgestone Potenza RE050 245/40 R19
• Rear 10.0J x 19” Bridgestone Potenza RE050 285/35 R19

Suspension:

• Front Independent double wishbones incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube dampers
• Rear Independent double wishbones with anti- squat and anti-lift geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube dampers

Brakes:

• Front Ventilated and grooved two-piece floating discs, 380mm diameter with six piston calipers
• Rear Ventilated and grooved steel discs, 330mm diameter with four piston calipers
• Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)
• Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
• Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
• Emergency Brake Assist (EBA)
• Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA)
• Positive Torque Control (PTC)
• Hill Start Assist (HSA)
• Traction Control

Interior:

• Full grain leather interior
• Weave Alloy facia trim
• Iridium Silver centre console outer finish and Graphite inner finish
• Leather-trimmed sports steering wheel
• Embroidered ‘Vantage S’ seat logo
• Embroidered ‘Vantage S’ carpet logo
• Electrically operated Sports seats with side airbags
• Dual-stage driver and passenger front airbags
• Heated rear screen
• Automatic temperature control
• Organic Electroluminescent (OEL) displays
• Trip computer
• Cruise control
• Bluetooth telephone preparation¹
• Glass ECU
• LED map lamps
• Rear parking sensors
• Powerfold exterior heated mirrors
• Tyre-pressure monitoring
• Alarm and immobiliser
• Remote-controlled central door locking and boot release
• Tracking device (UK only)³
• Anodised black ‘S’ theme tread plates

In Car Entertainment:

• 160 W Aston Martin audio system with six-CD autochanger
• Integrated Apple iPod^® connector⁴
• USB connector with Waveform Audio Format (WAF), Windows Media Player (WMA) and MPEG (MP3) audio file compatibility

Exterior Options:

• V-Spoke cast alloy graphite painted wheels with diamond turned finish
• 10-Spoke forged alloy silver painted wheels with diamond turned finish
• 10-Spoke forged alloy graphite painted wheels with diamond turned finish
• Bright finish grille
• Carbon fibre side strakes
• Magnum Silver bonnet and side stake meshes
• Alternative brake caliper finish – black, red, silver
• Front parking sensors
• Delete ‘Vantage S’ model badging
• Delete protective tape

Interior Options:

• Lightweight seats with six-way electrical adjustment (does not include side airbags; not available in USA or Canada)¹
• Memory front seats and exterior mirrors (three positions)
• Heated seats (included as standard with Lightweight seats)
• ISOFIX and fixed height passenger seat (Sports seats only)
• Alternative facia trim finishes – Prism Alloy, Piano Black, Piano Black Interior Pack
• Alcantara trimmed steering wheel
• Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror
• Auto dimming interior rear view mirror with garage door opener¹
• Hard Disk Drive (HDD) satellite navigation system^1,2
• 700 W Aston Martin Premium Audio system with Dolby® Pro Logic II®
• 1000 W Bang & Olufsen BeoSound audio system with ICEpower^®technology
• Satellite radio system (USA and Canada only)
• Alarm upgrade (volumetric and tilt sensor)
• Tracking device^1,3
• Second glass ECU
• Delete embroidered ‘Vantage S’ seat logo
• Delete embroidered ‘Vantage S’ carpet logo
• Personalised sill plaques
• Wind deflector (Roadster only)
• First aid kit
• Ashtray and cigar lighter
• Boot mounted umbrella

Dimensions:

• Length 4385 mm (172.6”)
• Width (excluding mirrors) 1865 mm (73.5”)
• Width (including mirrors) 2025 mm (80.0”)
• Height (Coupe) 1260 mm (49.6”)
• Height (Roadster) 1270 mm (50.0”)
• Wheelbase 2600 mm (102.5”)
• Front Track 1570 mm (62.0”)
• Rear Track 1590 mm (62.6”)
• Turning Circle 11.38 m (37.3 ft) (kerb to kerb)
• Boot Capacity (Coupe) 300 litres (10.6 cu ft)
• Boot Capacity (Roadster) 144 litres (5.0 cu ft)
• Fuel Capacity 80 litres (17.6 UK gal/21.1 US gal)
• Kerb Weight (Coupe) 1610 kg (3549 lb)
• Kerb Weight (Roadster) 1690 kg (3726 lb)

Fuel Consumption⁵ litres/100 km (mpg):

• Urban 19.2 (14.7)
• Extra-urban 9.3 (30.4)
• Combined 12.9 (21.9)

Gas Mileage (North America only)

• City 14 mpg
• Highway 21 mpg

CO₂ Emissions⁵

• 299 g/km

¹Not available in all markets

²Includes Traffic Messaging Channel (TMC) in Continental Europe

³Complies with UK Thatcham Category 5 requirements. Excludes subscription. Standard in UK

⁴iPod^® is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the US and other countries

⁵Data not applicable to North American market