New vs used Aston Martin Vantage: What are the top 4 differences?
The Vantage nameplate has graced multiple generations of sports cars for more than 40 years by now. Most of the cars bearing this name offered something special in the performance- and engineering departments, and the new one continues that tradition. Let’s look under the skin to investigate the top four differences between a new Aston Martin Vantage and a used (older-generation) model.
Aston Martin’s modern-day products have a strong slant towards storming performance, wrapped in stylish aluminium, composite materials and leather. But, not very long ago, they offered a hand-built beast with a 6.3-litre V8, outfitted with not one, but two superchargers. It was called the Aston Martin Vantage, and it was absolutely savage in its day. In fact, it’s still savage today – 27 years later.
We’re only now getting to the point where sports coupés frequently pass the 400 kW mark, so just imagine how wild the 1993-2000 Vantage, which launched with 410 kW and 745 Nm, must have been back then. That model’s successor arrived in 2005, and changed tack somewhat, pivoting from a massive brute to a smaller, lighter and more high-tech two-seater.
The need for speed
It wasn’t long before Aston Martin slotted a lot more power under that sleek bonnet, though: they created the V12 Vantage, with a 5.9-litre delivering 380 kW to the rear wheels, making it quicker than even its brutal older namesake. The fourth-generation Vantage (on sale since 2018) is thus far devoid of a V12 engine, but we wouldn’t put it past Aston Martin to eventually drop their new 5.2-litre twin-turbo into the engine bay – they’ve done that kind of thing before, see...
Not that the current Vantage V8 is lacking in the power department, mind you – and its new, out-sourced engine is proven in other applications to produce as much power as the 5.2-litre V12, so there’s still a lot of potential for ever-hotter V8 spin-offs. But, apart from the absence of a V12, what else is different between the old Vantage and the latest one?
Related: Find out more about the latest Aston Martin Vantage in our 2018 launch report.
1. Outsourced engine, unique transmission
It’s common knowledge by now that the new Vantage employs Mercedes-AMG’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, and that fact is no reason for complaint at all. For use in the Vantage, it’s tuned to produce 375 kW and 685 Nm – not far off from its application in the Mercedes-AMG GT S, then, and capable of a lot more... so how about a Vantage S with 430-ish kW, Aston Martin?
As it stands at the moment, the Vantage coupé hits 100 km/h in a claimed 3.6 seconds and storms onwards to a top speed of 314 km/h. Part of the credit for this staunch performance has to go to the 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox, mounted between the rear wheels and sending the power into an electronically-controlled torque-vectoring differential.
Related: Five extras you should fit on a new Aston Martin Vantage.
2. Upgraded electronics
In-car electronics is another area where the new Vantage greatly improves on its predecessor, because the use of Mercedes’ electronic architecture forms part of Aston Martin’s component-outsourcing deal with Mercedes-AMG.
This brings the latter’s COMAND infotainment/control system to the new Vantage, along with the slick menus and crisp graphics you’d usually find in cars bearing the three-pointed star. It would also be interesting to see if this electronics-sharing deal will eventually extend to the future adoption of the latest MBUX user interface.
Related: The top 6 safety features in the Aston Martin Vantage.
3. Spaceframe developments
Like the third-generation car, the latest Aston Martin Vantage employs an aluminium spaceframe construction for optimised rigidity and reduced weight. However, for the new car (and first revealed in the 2016 DB11), Aston Martin re-developed the bonded- and riveted architecture with a greater emphasis on stampings (rather than extrusions) for the constituent parts of its structure.
The aim here was twofold: to further reduce weight, and to free up cabin space – it’s still a two-seater, but now with more space for feet, hips and heads. And, because it weighs about 100 kg less than its predecessor, the new car is also bound be more agile than the previous Vantage, especially when compared to the V12 derivatives.
Related: Top 3 things you need to know about the Aston Martin DB11.
4. Even its roof is much quicker than before
As with the older Vantage, the new model is now also available as roadster with a folding soft-top. It launched in February 2020 with a rather unusual performance claim – Aston Martin claims that the new Vantage roadster has the fastest automatic roof system in the business. The previous-generation had a pretty fast-acting roof mechanism in its day, taking only 18 seconds to raise or lower, and working up to 48 km/h.
Such “performance” figures would do any convertible-builder proud, even today. But the new Vantage slices that time down by almost two-thirds: the new car takes 6.7 seconds to open, and 6.8 seconds to close, and it works up to 50 km/h now. So, if having the fastest soft-top around is important, Aston Martin has something they’d really like to show you...
