2018 Aston Martin Vantage

The Vantage hasn’t seen a major change since the current generation was introduced in 2005. The all new 2018 Vantage sports a flowing silhouette that reveals its James Bond Spectre DB10 lineage, and is claimed to be the sportiest Aston Martin to date.

The new Vantage has a menacing face, with squinting LED headlights, a gaping, mouth-like grille with a prominent splitter below, as well as a sleek profile that culminates in an aggressive rear end with a massive rear diffuser that clues you to the car’s newfound reliance on aerodynamic downforce. Side gills just aft of the front wheel are designed to reduce pressure in the wheel wells, which also reduces lift.

Under the hood is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 sourced from Mercedes-AMG, claiming 503 hp and 505 lb.-ft. of peak torque. That’s capable of pushing the Vantage from zero to 100 km/h in about 3.6 seconds. The front-mounted engine has been placed low and as far rearward as engineers could get it without intruding into the cockpit, contributing to an ideal 50/50 weight distribution. Dry weight is down to 1,530 kilograms, which is almost 200 kilograms lighter than the V12-powered DB11. The engine drives a rear-mounted, eight-speed ZF automatic transmission through a carbon-fibre driveshaft that rides in an alloy torque tube. 

The new Vantage uses a bonded aluminum chassis, which was introduced in the DB11, but 70 per cent of it is constructed with new components. The rear frame is now solidly mounted for increased rear lateral stiffness. Wheelbase is 100 millimetres shorter than the DB11, at 2,704.

The launch colour chosen by Aston Martin is called Lime Essence. Alcantara and leather abound in a lavishly appointed interior. There’s more interior space, especially beneficial for tall drivers, as headroom has been increased notably. 

Since its introduction in 2005, the “Gaydon-era” Vantage has become Aston Martin’s best selling automobile; the improved, sportier next-generation Vantage should be arriving at dealers in mid-2018. Starting price is US$172,495. (driving.ca)

July 2018 Update: The Mercedes-AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 sitting in the Vantage's engine bay has never been paired with a manual gearbox. However, Aston Martin confirms to Car & Drivers that the Vantage will continue to offer manual and automatic transmissions when the next-gen car arrives featuring the AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. (autoblog.com)

2018 Aston Martin Vantage GTE Race Car

The spectacular FIA World Endurance Championship challenger poised to replace the team's most successful competition car of all-time, the multiple Le Mans-winning V8 Vantage GTE.

Built to comply with the FIA's strict GTE class regulations, the new Vantage GTE takes the road car's core design and dynamic capabilities to a whole new level through extensive optimisation of the powertrain, chassis and aerodynamics. Designed and engineered in-house at Aston Martin Racing's headquarters in Banbury.

The body work is based on the road car, but it's more aggressive. It has an even bigger version of the V8 Vantage's massive grille. The hood gets extra vents. The exhaust now exits out the front fenders. And it gets a huge wing and equally monster diffuser. The interior is quite a bit different, though, with the comfy seats and leather trim gone in favor of a roll cage and bare carbon fiber components.

Under the skin, there are some similarities to the regular V8 Vantage. The main connection is the Vantage GTE's engine, which is a version of the same 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged AMG V8 found in the road car. It makes more power than the street version with at least 530 hp. Torque is roughly the same, though. Instead of an eight-speed automatic, the Vantage GTE uses a six-speed sequential manual transmission. Both cars use double-wishbone suspension front and rear, but the GTE gets adjustable anti-roll bars and Ohlins adjustable shocks. The brakes are also upgraded to six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers from Alcon. (ultimatecarpage.com & autoblog.com)

(Photos from autoblog.com)

2019 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Race Car

Aston Martin Racing has revealed its new Vantage GT3 and Vantage GT4 customer racing cars to the public at the 86th 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The new Vantage GT3 is derived from the new Aston Martin Vantage GTE. Powered by the same 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 engine, optimised by Aston Martin Racing. Weighing in dry at 1245kg, the Vantage GT3 produces a boost-variable 535bhp and 700 Nm of torque. Built from a lightweight aluminium chassis.

GT3, is a set of regulations maintained by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for grand tourer racing cars designed for use in various auto racing series throughout the world. Group GT3 allows for a wide variety of car types to be homologated with almost no limit on engine sizes and configurations or chassis construction or layout. GT3 cars must be based on production road car models in mass production. (wikipedia)

2018 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Race Car

The Vantage GT4 car has been built to FIA GT4 regulations making it eligible to compete in FIA European GT4 and FIA GT4 world endurance races. GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams.

The GT4 class cars are the least powerful of the four classes, yet are equalised in order to allow driving skill to become key. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams. 

(Photos from ultimatecarpage.com