Now we're talking!

Glad you approve. You're looking at/drooling over the 2018 Aston Martin Vantage, a brand new sports coupe from the British company that sets out to be more focused on driving dynamics than ever before. You don't need to read the press release to realise that aerodynamics played a large part in this car's design, as there's a low front splitter below the deeply-mounted interpretation of the usual Aston radiator grille, functional side gills, an upswept rear deck and a deep rear diffuser.

The latter looks particularly prominent when picked out in the main body colour (as it is in the Lime Green car in our gallery) and it's complemented by a gorgeously slim rear LED light bar stretching across the width of the car. Up front, there are impossibly small looking LED lamps, too, and a very low nose.

What about the interior?

The previous generation of Astons pretty much all had the same interior, but this time around that's not going to be the case, so the Vantage's cabin is more minimal and sporty in design than the DB11, while retaining the handcrafted feel and wealth of personalisation options, of course. There's a mix of Alcantara and leather for the seats as standard, though buyers can upgrade to full leather and more heavily bolstered Sport Plus versions if desired. All sit 10mm lower than before and Aston says there's a lot more space for the occupants than in the old Vantage. The word 'practical' is even used in the press pack, as there's storage behind the seats, a tailgate opening and a 350-litre luggage volume.

Enough of that, what's under the bonnet?

A thumping V8, of course. If you've been following Aston's fortunes of late, you'll know it's a Mercedes-AMG unit, specifically a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre powerplant putting out 510hp and 685Nm of torque, the latter all the way from 2,000rpm to 5,000rpm. It's mounted low down and quite far back in the chassis, helping achieve a 50:50 weight distribution, and Aston promises us it'll sound as good as buyers expect from the brand. Aston quotes a top speed of 195mph and a 0-62mph time of 3.6 seconds.

Mounted at the rear is a ZF-made eight-speed automatic transmission, and Aston has given the Vantage its own design of paddle shifts to control it. For the first time ever in an Aston Martin, the rear axle features an electronically controlled differential. It can quickly alter the power split between rear wheels all the way from fully open to fully locked, depending on the situation, and interfaces with all the other driving systems, such as Dynamic Stability Control, Dynamic Torque Vectoring and Positive Torque Control.

There will be three driving modes to choose from (Sport, Sport Plus and Track), altering all the sub-systems to suit. That includes the electric power-assisted steering and adaptive damping.

Sounds epic. When does it arrive?

Aston's dealer network will gladly take your order now, starting at £120,900, with first deliveries scheduled before the middle of 2018.

Shane O'Donoghue - 21 Nov 2017