That's why I mentioned the six speed auto on the Jag. Point being it's not even one of the new seven or eight speed autos. Not a good result for Aston at all.

 

Oh, and another bit: The Jag is f'ugly. Really lame looking. Fast & Furious lame. For that money, I'll want a car I'd want to take to dinner and the theater. I'd be embarrassed to get out of that dumb thing.

Point is: that Jag is for a very limited market of pure performance drivers. The V12-S on the other hand has an appeal to people who want fast, fun, AND some graceful beauty while touring in grand style. A pure performance car just doesn't impress me that much.

 

I can't understand why Jaguar went with a torque-converter old school automatic… makes no sense. Jag was considering offering the car with a manual (according to a Jag dealer friend of mine)… too bad it didn't happen. As for the looks, Ive only seen the convertible and its stubby, not elegant, looks awkward to me. I hope the coupe looks better.

 

I agree the XKRS GT is not an attractive car and with only 25 coming to the US it's not like it will affect AM sales. However, it just showed up the V12S with an automatic for a lot less money which is a negative for AM.

AX: Are you talking about the F type?

 

Did the Aston really lose?

Sure it was slower, but a GTR can take both of those cars for half the price. What I heard was the Jag had less drama in the interior, that it was not exciting at lower speeds, that the steering and brakes had less feel, that the Aston was better looking and better sounding with a motor that loved revs.

Full on performance has never been the Aston USP. Aston is about building ROAD CARS that are achinling beautiful, classy and an experience. I have said it before, but for Aston's, how fast you go is not as important as how you go fast.

Should they fix that tranny, YES. But I have the 6speed V12 Vantage and that car makes every road, every trip, every car wash an event. A smart phone tells you the time with far better accuracy than any watch, but a watch is about much more than telling time, an Aston is about much more than track times.

In fact, the Jag as cool as it is, is really just a pretend track car. Those cars are never going to last at the track. The Jag is too heavy, too big, too plush, too tire hungry. A real track car like my Lotus 211 makes a lot of trade offs in order to excell at the track, things that would destroy the liveability of a road car.

On real roads, the Aston seemed to look better, give more of an exciting drive and feel like more of an event. I think Aston should continue making high performance ROAD CARS (performance is definately a big part of the mix). Hell, I would even enjoy a stripped out low volume racer, but they should be about ROAD CARS that make every road feel epic, and every driver alive and involved

I also think they need to start making their cars even more bespoke. In a world with increasing amounts of disposable horse power, bespoke is unique. Make cars that are fast art. Cars that are made in increasingly lower volumes, cars like the CC100 and the Zagato, snd put them in our showrooms.

But for giant Jag that RS GT was really very cool.

 

Well… yes I (was)… never mind.

 

I agree entirely with Black Penguin.

I'm not a fan of the Jag at all. It reminds me of every other mod'd coupe I saw in JDM magazines when I followed that scene several years ago. It's trying too hard to be a performance car when, frankly, it isn't one. I think it looks incredibly tacky and I wouldn't even want to be seen in one.

The V12S, though, is somewhat odd in styling. The black wheels and black lipstick on the awkward yellow paint just don't work for me. The paint itself isn't terrible, it's just an odd choice for an Aston. There are so many better choices that suit the car, why did AM go with this one? It does look much, much better without the lipstick, though. Here's the same paint on a car they had at Gaydon when I was there in July last year:



Not having the black lipstick makes it look a thousand times better.

It's kind of a tangent, but, it really bothers me lol

 

Ok so I drove a V6S and the V8S (edit-jag V8), awesome cars. They feel about the same as a Vantage in the way that they both feel heavier than a Porsche 997 etc which they are. The V8 is bonkers. But for the $ I think I liked the V6S best, it felt sharper and man does it make awesome sounds and is loud too when opened up like the V8, this sounds nothing like a normal V6, more like an exotic wail. Some companies looking at doing flashes and pulley swaps, should be interesting.

Only negative thing imo, no manual, the 8 speed auto is excellent and extremely fast for torque convertor trans, best one around hands down. But the car is literally begging for a manual. A manual trans F-Type S I bet they would have no problem selling, at the dealer by us they get constant calls asking if there is or will be an manual trans offered 24/7, and some have test driven and walked as much as they loved the car b/c no manual. That's what our dealer told us. There were rumors so I hope it end up true.

About the Vantage. I was not a fan originally, I thought the cars felt completely gutless and weak even at high speeds from a roll. After the 08' update they were much much better, on paper numbers don't seem like a lot, but in the real world the cars feel way stronger all around especially down low, and the V8S took it even further. Never been in a V12 but a guy at my gym has a white V12 Vantage that's nice.

edit - should mention the V6s and V8s were F-Types, other was Vantage, pry looked confusing talking about two different V8S lol.

 

I think we all agree a manual should still be an option on both cars as well as other high performance autos. Manufacturers seem to be aiming for the general driving public even with their high performance cars. The problem is that the general driving public is not buying these cars.
My bottom line is I like a dual clutch in some cars, an auto in some and a manual in others. I don't want the single clutch sport shift in any car. With that said I think we have beat this dead horse enough. I hope AM will consider giving us back the manual.

 

I believe the issue is numbers. Over 90% of buyers purchase the "automated" option. Should R&D be invested in 10% or should the focus be on 90%?

I personally don't mind having a sequential but I don't like an automatic. I'm biased but I think the Scuderia F1 system is the best of both worlds and leaves little to no compromise. The F1 Superfast still has a driver's feel and visceral nature that 6 speeds have. The DCT are too good and lose a lot of that feel if that makes sense.

 

With you on the lipstick. It sort of works on the actual race cars, but they're covered in stickers too. So there's that.

Last week was AM factory training day at my local dealer and I happened to stop by to stoke my consumerist fire. The corporate guys brought a Lava Red (but the call it a different color now, see Doublelow7's V8Vs for ref) V12Vs. No lipstick and just glorious looking. While I'm not a fan of raw carbon, I don't mind it so much on so dark a color since it doesn't contrast so much. And the dark wheels looked the business! Damn the whole car was brilliant. If/when I'm in the market for much more Vantage, that's precisely the Vantage I'll want.

I'll go look for a pic...
Here's a nice pic. I guess it did have black lipstick...
http://otocarpicture.com/2014-aston-...s-wallpaper-4/

 

That "lipstick" is just awful, it makes me think of a guy who got rock chips all over his grille area and rattle-canned another color around the border to cover up the damage. Same with the contrast paint on the roof and tail that you can order.

Astons are all about the design line...and those new contrasts interrupt those visual lines and take away from the beauty of the machine. If they want a new look, they should design new body panels, not apply cheap paint tricks.

 

You guys realize the lipstick is a nod towards their race cars....right? I understand why people don't care for it. Some of the 911 GT3RS's had some unsightly lipstick paint. But they are trying to emphasize the sport/race aspect.

 

I think the car looks good. It is an understated nod to the Aston racing heritage. I have been contemplating a vinyl solution to addressing the road rash (that comes from driving appropriately) on the front of my car. N'est-ce pas?
No question the bright orange colors on the race cars takes a big set a cajoles to sport on a daily driver. However, I still haven’t come up with a design that I like more than the diamond black paint. The problem is, even if I repaint it the chips will return and I can’t use a clear-bra for 3-6 months after the re-spray.

 

The lipstick and mirror cover colors are used in racing to help drivers and spotters quickly identify which team car it is. You will usually see cars from the same team with the same livery, but different lipstick and/or mirror colors.