No, i'm not making the times up nor is my suggested times out of line with major publications' findings. There are reviews upon reviews upon reviews stating the 135i as being on par if not faster than the M3. I had the car and know first hand. I thought better of you than to call fellow 6speeders liars.

 

Yes, because no one on this forum had any clue that there was more to life than how fast a car can reach 60 mph. Go troll somewhere else. I wont read nor respond to any of your future replies.

 

V12>V8 it's a more desirable engine not only from a historical standpoint, from the days of early coach building, but also the more exotic, torque minded option. The Aston v12 doesn't run out of steam or fall flat or any of that at 5k RPMs, it keeps going strong and pullin like a frieght train to redline, at least mine does! I've driven a TON of different cars on and off the track, some race cars some factory cars, some student cars etc... I can tell you that if there's an option for a v12 in make/model it's the one to choose anyday of the week and twice on Sunday (not talking modified just comparing powerplant to powerplant from factory). Now all this said forced induction rules all In my opinions.... Nothing like boost !!!

 

Definitely seems to be a hot topic, sure I have no problem sharing my comparisons between Lambo & Aston.

I have had 2 lambos, 2011 550-2 and 2012 570-4 Superlegerra. Both are phenomenal cars and the latter is going to be a keeper for many reasons. I am not going to replace the Superlegerra, I am merely going to add to the collection with another Aston. The 4.3L just didn't have enough meat on the bottom end (even with all the modifications).

I do agree with many of the statements regarding early Gallardos ... they were very rough and unrefined to put it politely at best. The 09+ LP 2nd gen gallardos are a world of a difference from the early Gallardos so you cannot really compare apples & oranges. The newer Gallardos are honestly IMO the best exotic, having driven most everything else out there, nothing has the extreme sensations of the 570-4 (EVEN the Aventador is not as exciting to be honest, not even close, its flashier, but not better).

Of all the cars I have driven ... NOTHING ... I repeat, NOTHING has the character of the Aston Vantage. Its not something that can be put on paper or show up on a spec sheet. On paper none of the Aston's are impressive (but that defies the whole point of owning an Aston in the first place). Aston owners are above that nonsensical "spec-whoring". They don't spout off 0-60 times or care about quarter mile drag racing. The whole purpose of Aston ownership is to transcend such trivial concerns and enjoy driving in its most pure form with the car & driver working in perfect harmony (6spd of course lol). You will never get that from any other car. As Jay Leno said, you drive other cars, you fall in love with an Aston Martin. I know they always say never to revisit your past girlfriends ... I'm sorry but in this car I cannot resist, the desire is simply too great.

To this day it is the only car I yearn for, the only one that still calls for me. No other car has ever done that to me and its not something that can be put into words or written on paper. I already have my supercar/hypercar. I do not need any more speed that close to 600HP, 3.4 to 60 and 11.4 ish to 1/4 is more than enough (if you even care about those specs which I honestly don't).

V12 Suspension: Hands down its better than the V8, granted my 4.3L did not have sport suspension. But even if I did I doubt it would have been this good. It does handle extremely well, but you do feel the extra heft of that huge V12 engine up front. It does hide that heavy nose well but you do feel it in the way it rides over bumps (not necessarily a bad thing, it does feel more planted).

V12 Brakes: Insane ... nothing more lol


I am not saying the V12 is a bad car, believe me ... I want the V12 b/c its still on my bucketlist (still have never owned one). But if I were to do it, I would have to get headers & cats & ECU tune to really complete the car. In that case I don't see why 580+ isn't possible (Aston's own boss admits the car is well capable of 600+ HP).

However, in stock form, a nicely modded V8 will pull significantly harder past 5000rpm, thats why I believe it when they say the V12 is not much faster than the 4.7L at WOT in straight line b/c you take away all the V12s advantages, and remove all the V8s disadvantages so its actually a pretty close fight. Now if you are to compare in-gear pull say 2nd gear from 3k-6krpm ... no comparison V12 wins every time.

Simply put, the 4.7L is a great value for those wanting to get the best of both worlds. I still want the V12 just to say I have owned an Aston V12 (a must in any car enthusiasts lifetime). Perhaps I will get the 4.7L, then eventually upgrade to the V12 as they come down even more. I will say this, the V12 vantage is by far the bargain of the century compared to its bigger brother the DBS which is no where near as athletic or exciting in every way. Still a gorgeous GT, but the DBS a line backer compared the Vantage which is a 100-yard sprinter by comparison.

Ferrari does absolutely zero for me, seriously disappointing. Porsches are great, but flat 6 just does not sound exotic enough for me (plus the no-lift mid corner is just not something I can ever get used to). The Carrera GT is absolutely amazing, but a nightmare to maintain and very very difficult to drive well. Lotus are cool but way too much of a toy to be taken seriously, and the old Esprit V8s are maintenance nightmares as well. The Spykers are uber cool, but after speaking to one of my local exotic shops they said its the most unreliable car ever, and it can take up to 3-6 months just to get parts from the factory (which is always in a perpetual state circling bankruptcy). Pagani is obviously way out of even my budget (only .00001% can afford that, but who knows maybe one day). Maserati is a great GT comparison, but its interior layout is way to confusing, its ferrari priced maintenance without the ferrari looks never made any sense, not to mention its horrendous depreciation which would make even a Mercedes V12 blush. When you really start to narrow the choices down, you start to realize it really is hard to find another car that checks all the right boxes, they are simply few & far between or non-existent.

Of all the cars I have driven, Aston is still the most charismatic ... its not surprise to me that it's Bonds car of choice.

007

 

odd interjection here... just about every person that has approached me to ask about my V8V has asked, "is that a V12?" i love the engine in my V8V, but it's still a little bit of a blah moment to say no, it's a V8.

 

haha, I know, hence my desire to get the top of the range V12. NA V12s are becoming an endangered species these days, so just to say you have one is a special feeling in itself.

 

Who's "they"?

I don't have personal test numbers, but I can tell you the V12 feels noticeably faster than the V8, both from a standing start and in gear.

BTW nice assessment of what makes Astons appealing compared to other marques.

 

@007Vantage, I agree totally with what you have written. I also have an R8 V10 6spd, I would love to hear your comments on that car relative to the latter Gallardos. There is a part of me that still wants one and I would love to know how they differ. Have you driven the V10 R8 much?



@Orlanderlv, not calling you a liar. But I can't seem to find a credible review that comes close to the times you have suggested you got. Even on the 1Addicts forum they seem to list times much closer to all of the magazines. The general consensus is a 4.6-4.7 second time. http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218239

If you say you did that time, I will take it at face value. But I will question it as you appear to be faster in a stock car than all of the magazines. But thats not the point, we weren't here to discuss the BMW, I only brought it up because you used it as a way to say the V12 Vantage was "LAUGHABLE" because your old BMW 135i does a 4.2 sec 0-60. When you say the performance of my car is "LAUGHABLE", I'm going to dig a little into the claimed times of your car. But only as a point of fact, not because it matters, a BMW 135i is a poor substitute for the experience of owning and driving a V12 Vantage, and vice a versa.

Some people, MOST people will not get the Vantage thing. They will try and conform it to the same criteria as other cars. But a lot of us, also have those other cars and we can see the difference. We see why its great to own and drive an Aston (other cars are also amazing, but usually for different reasons), and in the end thats all that really matters.

I would love an even faster, more hardcore Aston Vantage (Zagato V12??), but not if it does so at the expense of the experience.

 

@Black Penguin:

Absolutely, I actually was looking at the R8 V10 6spd before I bought my first Gallardo. I am normally a very reserved guy and I do not like to attract too much attention (which a Lambo does more than any other car hands down). For that reason, I was looking at the R8 V10 6spd. It is a great car and in many ways it is a "Stealth Gallardo". Its great for those who want to buy a Lambo but are afraid of the negative attention/image it may possibly bring about. The exhaust is definitely more refined and understated and sounds more Audi-esque than Lamborghini.

The Audi for some reason (on both the V8 & V10 6spds) has a double shift gate system versus Lamborghinis single gate. I have no idea why they chose this route but it does make the shifts slightly notchier and less smooth than in the lambos. For some reason once the Lambo syncros completely wear in after first 3k miles break in period they become buttery smooth with almost no resistence, they become ideal for super quick shifting and rev-matching downshifts. Also, the lambo steel ball shifter sits much higher than the R8 knubby shifter and is easier to shift and is more of a natural shifting motion IMO.

The R8 V10 is decently heavier than the Lambo v10 (I think roughly 200-250lbs) and is down slightly on power, but I do love the interior, it is very german compared to the Italian flare you get in the Lambo. The main reason I chose Lambo was I got the 2WD gallardo over the 4WD R8 which is a huge difference in weight and driving dynamics. I now am back to 4WD, but a much lighter version (superlegerra). To be completely honest ... I miss the 2WD. There is NOTHING that drives like a 2WD Lambo, its driving nirvana. Its is the true authentic purist Lamborghini Experience from a time when Mr. Lamborghini was still alive. Its no wonder Valentino Balboni commissioned its release, he was 100% right. I will probably pick up another one again soon for the track.

However, Because the Lambo attracts SOOOOO much attention, I have been looking for a more understated GT for going to restaurants and event around town. I don't even drive the Lambo at night b/c it attracts way toooo much attention, you are literally a celebrity everywhere you go. Its actually quite funny to see peoples reactions. The taking photos & questions are fun the first few months, but honestly it really starts to wear on you after a while. I bought my car to drive & enjoy it, not to attract attention and be harassed by questions all the time. I cannot tell you how many times a car in the lane next to me swerved into my lane b/c the driver was trying to drive with one hand and take a picture on his cellphone in the other. People go crazy over these lambos, its a magnet (and alot of times not the way you intend).

The R8 V10 is the closest thing to Lambo ownership you can get without buying a Lambo ... but if you really want to make the jump to Lambo, I recommend the LP550-2 E-gear. The 6-spd is awesome, and I enjoy mine, but I actually miss E-gear more. If I get another one for the track I will probably get a 2WD Bicolore E-gear (they all came as 2wd e-gear in USA). You can pick up a low mileage one in the low 170s now and is honestly the best value exotic on the market IMO. You get superior performance to Ferrari 458 in a car that is a good $50k less in value (if not more). Think of it as Lambo's 458.

Honestly Zagato is cool, but its a museum piece or collectors car, it should not really be driven (must keep mileage low to retain its collector value). If you want to actually drive it and enjoy it, just upgrade the V12 if you want more power. its VERY easy to extract power out of these Astons b/c they are all severely detuned from the factory (lucky us). If you want a slightly more collectible V12, get the Carbon black, its worth the extra touches IMO.

Hope that helps,
007

 

^^^ I'd really like to test drive the Superleggera, or Bicolore 2WD... I heard they were blasts but I've always liked the bigger v12 lambos. I've always loved forced induction on German sports cars so I love my Porsche GT2 beast and VW337 (daily driver), and my DB9 is a perfect GT car in my estimate with a big v12, epic great looks, and sublime sport & touring mix but as with any Aston V12 it's a gas guzler...for the track my BM3 M3 CSL is just right I wish I had more opportunities to drive it, super fun to drive and with competition log book and spares. I'm not super well versed in the Itialian car world but that is my next area of exploration, I've driven, raced, and experienced a few and I love the sense of passion there.

I really want to get an Italian car...as far as Lambos and ferraris my choices to add to the stable is LP670-SV for a bull.... or 458 for a prancing horse... one of my fav late model f-cars still remains the 360 Challenge Stradale, just loved that car!

 

You will sell your other cars and upgrade if you test drive the Lambos (except Aston of course).

Just giving you fair warning ....

 

^^^ haha who knows maybe....I dunno I've not run into a faster and more connected car then my Porsche GT2...that thing is like an extention of the driver, and not much has out paced me with that car on the street or track. My race car is the same way, not in terms of sheer acceleration but it's extremely balanced and incredible fun! I do agree through that some cars are more intense then others, Having the DB9 now I am selling my SL55 AMG Mercedes don't need 2 big engine GT cruisers...the car is insane though, I modded it, making over 600hp and 750 ft-lbs at the rear wheels!

 

The only other car I am looking to get into is the SLS, I am just waiting for someone to make a good lip spoiler for it so the back end does not look so bad. The SLS is also a very unique driving experience especially with the glowing doors. That along with the Aston & Lambo would be the perfect stable of cars IMO.

 

^^^ You should buy my SL55 AMG...it'll obliterate an SLS, sounds like a damn meshershmitt at full bore, and will cost you a fraction of the price.

Just remember if it's got an AMG badge it'll depriciate like a rock...I'm trying to get as close to $45K for my SL55 AMG and that's having dumped $25 grand in mods...on a car that was $150K new no less!

 

@007 Vantage, I WISH Aston had a car in the Vantage range that was as expressive as the Zagato. We can't even get them here in Canada, so its just a dream. A beautiful dream.

I looked at one of the Balboni cars. Very nice and I'm sure it's a blast. Everything I have read suggest its fantastic. I thought I had heard most of the Gallardos sold in California are 2wd cars these days.

I love the R8 as an everyday car, but its lacking the drama the Aston and Lambo offer. That's not Audi's USP. The exhaust is too quiet and frankly the interior is cheap feeling for a car at his price (I think the Lambos are better).

Dynamically they are hard to fault. They are pretty problem free and when you rev them, the V10 is awesome. It's a great daily driver and I take it to the track.

I have been toying with building an RCR GT40 as a project, a track car and a crazy visceral experience. But it would be hard to let the R8 go for that.

The Aston I will keep. It's still my favourite.