Ever since the Aston Martin V8 Vantage was shown as a concept in 2003 enthusiasts, sales people and potential customers have been equally anxious for the car to be put into production. This move has come to be this year and the 2005 Frankfurt Show saw the official launch of the new baby Aston with the first lucky customers taking delivery later this year.

The V8 Vantage lines up alongside the Vanquish and DB8 as the third model in the Aston range. It is intended to compete against some major players in the sports car world; names such as the Porsche 911, Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferrari F430 are amongst those on the list of competitors.

At this level the words "entry model" are very relative. The V8 includes all of Aston’s traditional virtues of hand built quality, performance and style. The V8 looks stunning, featuring cues from the familiar Aston Martin look, but much tauter and more compact. Low slung and aggressive yet refined and pretty, pictures don’t do it justice.

Inside, the detailing is as individual and delicious as the exterior suggests. The dashboard in particular is gorgeous with some of the nicest dials and instrument clusters you’ll see anywhere. The materials are selected from the highest quality of leathers and materials finished in a wide range of colours with contemporary metal and wood trims completing the quality feel and appearance one would expect in an Aston Martin.

It goes without saying that the performance is very Aston like as well courtesy of a 4.3-litre V8 producing 380bhp and 302lb.ft of torque. This new unit features a race-derived dry sump lubrication system to provide the engine with all the protection it needs when the driver chooses to exploit the power and Nurburgring honed handling prowess to the full. This handling capability is based on the benefits offered by a near perfect weight distribution of 49:51 front to rear, itself thanks in part to the transaxle configuration, and also the mounting of the engine well back in the chassis.

The V8 was designed with more than just sporting prowess in mind offering spacious and luxurious accommodation for two, including boot space for the obligatory two sets of golf clubs. The Vantage has been designed very much as an everyday supercar, something only the Porsche 911 realised previously. If the V8 Vantage drives as well as it looks then Aston Martin will struggle to build enough cars to satisfy the market’s demand.

Dave Jenkins - 23 Sep 2005