AM Vantage. The proper one.

Fett said:
far too gauche
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Gauche?



Gauche????






GAUCHE?!?!?!?!?!?



Last time I checked, "gauche" meant something along the lines of 'lacking in grace and social skills'. Well **** me, if a hand-built Aston Martin is in that position then something has gone seriously off-kilter somewhere. And it's not the damned car.

It's the last of the handbuilt 'proper' (I don't agree with that word, but that's the prevailing opinion) AMs. The engine is a masterpiece, the rear suspension not quite a masterpiece (but more than competent, provided that the driver is actually awake) and the interior will stand out as one of the high points in my driving experience no matter what comes along down the line. And the looks, and the way all the Ford-sourced controls somehow don't feel tacky (that might have been me getting carried away, thinking about it), and the way it makes no apologies for how heavy it is.....epic car. Epic, epic, epic.




For the love of all that is holy Fett, buy one.
 
Fett said:
I wasn't expecting kit car or MR2 comparisons :D, that's a new one to me.
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To me it just reminds me of that kind of thing!

Oh we need a body with a big nose to keep it cool, ok check, need some vents on the side check, give the rear a hint of muscle car. All checked.

Now we have these bits left from our 1980s Ford donor car, lets use all the switches and steering wheel :o

Surely it would only have cost them a few grand to make some custom alloy switches and knobs and would have made a huge difference!
 
merlin said:
It'd be like a cheap thrill, but without the cheap bit.
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Or an expensive mistake.



JRS said:
Gauche?



Gauche????






GAUCHE?!?!?!?!?!?



Last time I checked, "gauche" meant something along the lines of 'lacking in grace and social skills'. Well **** me, if a hand-built Aston Martin is in that position then something has gone seriously off-kilter somewhere. And it's not the damned car.
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I can see where she's coming from. Sticking the Vantage in between their current line-up is a bit like a naked and visibly excited Valuev crashing a Victorian tea party.

I'm guessing you've driven one? There are 239 of these, so you are way ahead of me. I have reservations on a few points but so far, nobody has mentioned the criticisms I've been hearing which is interesting.
 
These are cars you buy with the heart and the heart alone.

Who honestly cares what the on-limit handling is like, how many horsepower the engine produces and what the quality of the plastics to the left of the transmission tunnel are like?

'Excellent, I think I'll take the Aston today'.

It's worth it just to be able to utter that line.
 
[TW]Fox;16164394 said:
'Excellent, I think I'll take the Aston today'.

It's worth it just to be able to utter that line.
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Agreed 100%, although it would never be that Aston for me, far too ugly.

I want a DB7 for the same reasons. I know it's not a particularly good car, but I adore them, lust for them, and have wanted one for as long as I have been interested in car ownership... muchlike my lust for a 355.
 
Stunning stunning car. Not sure how much these are but they have always been ahead of the pre-DB9 AMs for me - I think I'd take a DB9/modern Vantage over one now though.
 
Fett said:
I can see where she's coming from. Sticking the Vantage in between their current line-up is a bit like a naked and visibly excited Valuev crashing a Victorian tea party.
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Some might say that it's all the better for that....

Fett said:
I'm guessing you've driven one? There are 239 of these, so you are way ahead of me. I have reservations on a few points but so far, nobody has mentioned the criticisms I've been hearing which is interesting.
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I'm fortunate to have friends with early (allegedly tricky *sigh*) Porsche 356s and 911s, Bentleys (including the project Mulsanne S, and I ought to update that thread given what went on last week....), Jaguar E-Types and one fool wth a Vantage. I'd love to know what the criticisms you've heard are, because I'm afraid I just relished being behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage!
 
[TW]Fox;16164394 said:
These are cars you buy with the heart and the heart alone.

Who honestly cares what the on-limit handling is like, how many horsepower the engine produces and what the quality of the plastics to the left of the transmission tunnel are like?

'Excellent, I think I'll take the Aston today'.

It's worth it just to be able to utter that line.
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I agree but for it to work, it has to be something special like this, not a DB9. I have to admit though in this case, the horsepower is important to me.

JRS said:
Some might say that it's all the better for that....
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Absolutely and part of the appeal to me.Just trying to explain that to her, in comparison with the image AM usually evokes of beautiful cars, it appears a bit brutal and uncouth.

JRS said:
I'm fortunate to have friends with early (allegedly tricky *sigh*) Porsche 356s and 911s, Bentleys (including the project Mulsanne S, and I ought to update that thread given what went on last week....), Jaguar E-Types and one fool wth a Vantage. I'd love to know what the criticisms you've heard are, because I'm afraid I just relished being behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage!
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The criticisms are superficial aesthetic and image issues that crop up from different quarters, I was curious if they matched anything somebody here might bring up.

Your mate still have his?
 
It would be massively appreciated if he could lend an owners voice, either himself or through you...Trying to find a Vantage owner is difficult, as is Vantage specific reliable and informed info that is not being churned out by a salesman. I could ask on PH but this could be better... If he rather remained private, we could do that as well.

If he and you are up for it, I'd be seriously interested in picking his brains on a few subjects :)
 
Amazingly iconic car, with it being so, so much more than the sum of its parts. It's not that pretty, but the aggressive styling (for Aston), opulent interior, pounding engine and prestige make it probably one of the most desirable cars ever made. That exact model is my dads favourite all time car, and it's not hard to see why.
It's amazingly stupid, yet amazingly awesome at the same time. It appears almost accessible as a fun car, yet is still temptingly out of reach financially for almost all the population.

Not sure what else there is to say really, except - I want one!
 
Fett said:
It would be massively appreciated if he could lend an owners voice
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I'll see if I can get hold of him. I know for a fact the bugger left his phone behind, hopefully he'll check his e-mail on an overnight stop somewhere.
 
Just had a look on pistonheads, examples range from £60,000 all the way to £120,000. Is there a major difference between these apart from condition? Or is it the difference between a 'V600' edition and a normal Vantage?
 
Truly awesome car and again one of my dream childhood cars.

So much presence its mad. Remember seeing one in Livingston a few years ago and a trumpet showed up in his DB9 to show off as his was newer. No one went near the DB9 as everyone was admiring the Vantage and drooling over it. Truly beautiful cars in BRG also i think. Cream leather too mmmm

And the noise......

Aston for real men if you ask me, modern ones while gorgeous still are for rich gayers.

And yes i'm gay as would have a new V8 Vantage to sit next of this in my dream garage.
 
I think they are fantastic cars, I've always loved these, they look awesome, really imposing and mean ...a true British muscle car, big, loud, frighteningly powerful and just so obnoxious (not something you can usually say about an Aston Martin) ….love it! ....can a car look any more masculine ...or any more like it might just cave your face in if you look at it the wrong way ? :D

Buy one, just be prepared for it :p
 
Alibaba99 said:
I thought you meant a proper one.

Aston_Martin-V8_Vantage_1977_800x60.jpg
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when you said "proper" vantage. THis is what i thought of too :(
 
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