The Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition Is What This Car Should Have Been All Along
Aston Martin’s Vantage is a good way to get around. It looks pretty good, it sounds great, and is capital-F Fast.
But since launch, it’s felt like Aston’s sports car could be a little more. Thanks to a tony race series known as Formula 1, Aston Martin’s found itself not only sponsoring race cars on the grid, but in charge of medical and safety cars as well. The Vantage F1 Edition is the firm’s roadgoing take on the F1 car that keeps things safe.
Its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 comes with 535 hp and 505 lb-ft fed to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Zero to 62 mph happens in 3.6 seconds, and it’ll scratch the ass of 200 mph. The extra power is accompanied by more downforce, a full 441 pounds more than the base car generates at its top speed. That comes courtesy of aggressive new aero: dive planes and a splitter up front, a massive spoiler on the rear deck, and underbody turning vanes. The F1 Edition also comes with a stiffer front end, reworked dampers, increased rear spring rate and lateral stability, steering tuned for improved feeling and response, and even a set of custom 21-inch Pirelli shoes.
Of course, as this is a special edition, there’s a heap of exclusive cosmetics to enjoy: either satin or gloss takes on Aston Martin Racing Green, Lunar White, or Jet Black, with a matching matte grey racing graphic. Inside is a feast of black leather, with optional contrast stitching; the lime green works strangely well. The whole F1 thing means that, of course, there’s a bunch of F1 logos around the car inside and out. Bar the ones on the kickplate, they’re all red—a little jarring when the car itself is in a somber hue, but if someone calls you out on a red fleck on the wing and not the huge spoiler, they’re probably not worth your time. Going for a car with a whacking great spoiler is a choice that everyone will see, so who cares if you’ve got red on you.
A cynic would say this is a bit stickers-and-power-bump, but according to Aston Martin chief engineer Matt Becker, that’s not the case at all. "We didn't want to slap a stripe, bigger wheels, and a wing on it and say 'job done,'" Becker said. "The idea for the car came obviously from the F1 safety car and medical cars. We're not doing this to a DBX, but very much the Vantage… The development of the two cars always fed each other. There were things that we could do to the F1 Safety Car that gave us the idea of more vertical control, more downforce, other changes in the road car."
Tobias Moers, Aston’s new boss, was involved in the car’s creation in a pretty hefty way. The pair discussed what could be changed or added to the base car to create something a little more. "He was a part of the idea, part of the concept, and we discussed what we think we needed to improve," Becker said, "and then we kind of went about making the various changes to the cars to realize those improvements."
The car needed to be a more hardcore proposition, and one that could crack the 'Ring in a certain timeframe. "Tobias also had quite a focus on improving the lap time on the car at the Nürburgring. He had a target in his mind of 07:30.00, which we've done. It hasn't been done by our German colleagues yet formally through a magazine, but we kind of met that brief. But he very much said that you're not allowed to do that by fitting Trofeo Rs or Cup 2s because that's too easy. And also all you end up doing is making a car which, for Aston customers, is not just usable enough, and that's not what we want to do."
The changes are manifold, but start out in familiar fashion. As with the standard car, there are three settings for the drivetrain and dampers: Sport, Sport Plus, and Track. Sport feels good on the road; the motor and eight-speed ZF automatic transmission are perky and smooth enough to help you go at a decent clip, while the suspension isn’t going to jar too much on rough roads. Give it some hustle and the car moves around nicely, its weight shifting enough to make you feel part of the action, but not enough to make you think Becker and company were sleeping on the job.
Up the ante to Sport Plus for a more aggressive power delivery and stiffer dampers. The ride may be a little jarring for all but hardcore drivers, but having the motor and gearbox give you that little bit more is fantastic. While you might want to let the car make its own choices when it comes to gears, the paddle shift is a good time; with a more aggressive setting on board, each time you shift, the car jolts further forward with renewed vigor. What you won’t find in its gearbox are any pops or bangs from the exhaust on a change. This, according to Becker, is because Moers found them a little old school. Here the shifts are about precision rather than showiness.
It’s here the ideal road setup is found: the anger of the powertrain in Sport Plus provides the perfect feel for the car, while keeping the ride in its softest setting means you’re not punished for owning a car with a big spoiler. Track is best left for the track, as the ride becomes deeply unpleasant on anything other than the smoothest road and the power game isn’t elevated enough to enhance the fun at the legal limit.
No matter which mode you go for, the Aston’s V-8 soundtrack is a treat. It fires up with a boom and cruises along with a throaty burble, but give it some gas and the real show starts. It’s the kind of V-8 noise you have in your head when you think of a V-8—a mechanized Hans Zimmer baritone BWAAAAAHHHHHH. But better.
On track the F1 Edition Vantage feels sharper than its less wingéd cousin. With the car set to its baser tunes, the weight transfer that makes it so entertaining on the road becomes more noticeable. Switch the whole shebang over to Track and all of a sudden it’s more serious. Cornering is flatter; weight transfer is dialed way, way down. The work done on the steering becomes apparent as well, as the car darts from input to input with a joyful ease. This thing can seriously hustle. You’d hope so, considering the car that inspired it has to keep F1 cars in check, but this feels less Aston Martin, more angry, but with a finesse you don’t expect from the Vantage.
Optional carbon ceramic brakes make light work of killing speed whether on track or out in the wild. The pedal doesn’t need much heft, and it’s smooth to use. Going fast is easy; stopping, here at least, is just as simple.
Now you may be expecting the Vantage F1 Edition to be some sort of 911 GT3 rival, something to take on that guy on your block with the Porsche shield thigh tattoo, the one who takes a trip to Stuttgart every year to try and slyly lick the museum exhibits. As fun and sharp as it is, it ain’t a GT3 killer. That will surely come out of Gaydon at some point soon, but this is closer to a 911 GTS: useable on the day to day, but set up properly to give you one hell of a track experience.
There’s one big downside here: The interior, despite the F1 badging, is still a mess. From the clunky infotainment setup to the confusing mass of buttons to the utter lack of a glovebox, the interior doesn’t match the slickness of the exterior. To be fair, it’s a hell of an exterior; between the Vantage and the F-Type, the best rear on sale today is a tough one to call. Hopefully all innerspace issues will be resolved in an update somewhere along the line.
One exposed live wire in an otherwise wonderful house aside, this car is useable, frenetic, and exciting. You don’t get out of it with backache or tinnitus. There’s no roll cage to get in the way of your suitcase. The mix of performance, adaptability, and usability is pretty stellar. In fact, it feels like the car the Vantage probably should have been all along.
You Might Also Like
