When you think of one of the stand-out luxury sports carmakers in the automotive industry, a top name has to be Aston Martin. The brand has had quite a rocky history, but even with all of their setbacks, they were still able to manufacture some of the most lustful sports cars and luxury cars in the world, and they continue to do that to this day. Perhaps one of their most well-known efforts comes from back in the 1970s with the original V8 Vantage.
Most people hailed the V8 Vantage as the first ever British supercar, as it swept the floor with the competition, achieving a top speed of 170 mph, which was a truly insane number for the 70s. Over the years, we've seen various iterations of the Vantage, and the current one is definitely a major player in the world of sports cars.
2022 Aston Martin Vantage
- V12 now on the Roadster
- Available manual transmission
- RWD
- Make: Array
- Model: Vantage
- Segment: Array
- Engine/Motor: 4.0-Liter Twin-Turbo V8 / 5.2-Liter Twin-Turbo V12
- Horsepower: 503-690 HP
- Torque: 361-555 LB-FT
- Drivetrain: RWD
- Transmission: 7-Speed Manual / 8-Speed Automatic
- MSRP: From $146,986
- 0-60 MPH: 3.5 seconds
- Gorgeous looks
- Composed, but fun to drive
- Decent value
- V12 is entirely sold out
- Not all that luxurious for an Aston
- Manual only available on the coupe
2023 Vantage Overview
The 2023 Aston Martin Vantage is Aston's entrant into the shrinking, but still very competitive luxury sports car segment. The current generation Vantage debuted back in 2017 as a 2018 model, and it's a modernized, revamped take on the V8 Vantage from the 2000s, which in itself was a pretty successful model for the brand. The new Vantage moved on to Aston's newest underpinnings, entirely new powertrains, and of course, new styling. The styling mostly takes inspiration from the DB10 prototype, which Aston specifically made for the James Bond movie Spectre.
At first, the front end featured a pretty substantial grille. It was the familiar Aston Martin shape, except that it extended all the way to the bottom-most part of the front bumper, which didn't go over well with most people. The general shape remains familiar, and the rear end features a light bar, as well as the option of either dual or quad exhausts. The Vantage also retains the iconic Aston door handles, as well as the swan-wing doors, which open at a slight upward angle to clear low curbs. The new-for-2023 V12 Vantage gets a wider body, new and more aggressive aero, and some unique wheel designs as well. As ever, the 2023 Vantage is available as either a coupe or the Roadster, and 2023 also marks the last ever time we will see the V12 under the hood of a Vantage, as Aston Martin shifts its focus towards electrification. Its main competitor is the Porsche 911, along with the Mercedes-AMG GT (and the SL), and the C8 Chevy Corvette.
2023 Vantage Powertrains And Drivetrains
The 2023 Vantage is available with two powertrains, one of them debuting for this model year. The base model uses a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, which is essentially an AMG powertrain, but with Aston Martin's unique tuning. It develops 503 hp and 505 lb-ft of torque, which are some pretty solid, balanced figures. This engine sends its power to the rear wheels through either an eight-speed automatic transmission, or a seven-speed manual transmission. Yes, a proper manual, with three pedals. The manual first debuted on the Vantage AMR, and now it's available on the regular version as well, but only the coupe. If you opt for the Roadster, you're stuck with the automatic.
The other powertrain Aston offers, which is debuting for 2023, is the 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12, which they also made in collaboration with AMG. We first saw this engine on the DB11 and the subsequent DBS Superleggera, and in the Vantage, it makes a colossal 690 hp and 555 lb-ft of torque. It's still RWD, and obviously, you can only have it with the eight-speed automatic transmission. We use the words "you can have it" loosely, as the V12 Vantage's limited production run is only 333 units, and Aston made it as a sendoff to the V12 engine. Both the Roadster and the coupe variants are all sold out.
2023 Vantage Comfort And Quality
On the inside, the Vantage is a luxury sports car through and through. It also adopts Aston Martin's most recent interior design strategy, with the new squarer steering wheel design, the digital gauge cluster, and an earlier version of Mercedes-Benz's infotainment system, which comes as part of the powertrain collaboration. It is a little cluttered, but at least physical buttons and switches control pretty much all the functions, and it's all covered in a nice layer of leather and expensive materials. What's more, being an Aston Martin, you have tons of options to choose from to make it truly your own. The Vantage seats only two passengers, and its cargo area boasts a decent, but still modest 10 cubic feet of space.
2023 Vantage Pricing And Launch
The 2023 Aston Martin Vantage is available to order as of October 2022. Once again, the V12 order books are closed, so that leaves the F1 Edition and the regular V8, in both coupe and convertible forms. Prices start at $146,986 for a base V8 Coupe. The Roadster, meanwhile, is about $11,500 more expensive, at $158,186. At the top of the lineup, the most expensive V12 Vantage starts at just over $301,286. These prices can change a fair bit, as you have to inquire to get a proper price quote from Aston, and there's tons of customization options on offer. If you're after a slightly calmer, but gorgeous alternative to the Porsche 911, you can't go wrong with the Vantage.