I am about to pull the trigger on a Vantage V12S. I was a Porsche guy ( my DD is a panamera Turbo S) looking for a 911 turboS when the Porsche salesman brought me to there Aston store and had me drive the Vantage V12. I was blown away. I think I am going to pull the trigger on one as there are great lease specials going. I am not sure whether to get the Tungsten silver or Onyx black. I want to keep it as low key as possible in that type of car so I thought the black may be a little more understated as it's harder to notice the carbon fiber air vents on the hood. Any thoughts on which is a better/ more desired color ?

 

Good luck hiding from the crowd, whether black or not. You better off put silencers on....

 

IMHO, tungsten! To me the curves of an Aston Martin disappear with the black. I've got an 04 Vanquish in Silver. It's a great color. In bright sun light it's silver. In indirect light it's grey and at night it's kind of an olive green. It's a BEAUTIFUL paint! Black is, black.

 

If you're looking for low key, black could be good

I have a V8 Vantage S in Nero black, and although I love the seamless transition from the carbon fiber to the body, I will admit that at times it looks a bit washed out when I see the car from the rear.

Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous, sexy, and breathtaking... But the black hides a lot of contrast when it's not in the right light...

 

Silver!!! I actually had paid $5,000 to refresh the black paint on a 928, spent twice a day polishing it to get the dust off... The next year another $5,000 to change it to burnt orange (the cars currently on ebay by another owner trying to get $30k). The silver colors shows the lines better and needs less detail baby sitting.

 

My V8 is Tungsten, I absolutely love the color. It throws many different hues from metallic in the paint. Also, it's easy to care for, and therefore, easy to love! (unlike my 2nd ex-wife)

 

Here's my v8s. Tungsten really does change with the lighting and has a lot of depth.

 

Aston have some of the best paint options out there. Onyx black is great (and no offense to the Onyx owners) but to me it doesn't show off how great the paint is. If you want black, check out Storm Black. It's black with red flakes in the paint and looks pretty mean on a Vantage.

Tungsten is gorgeous. I bought a Tungsten V8VS unseen and when it arrived I couldn't have been happier. The color changes in different light and is gorgeous. It also hides dirt and dust well where Onyx (or any black) is dirty as soon as you turn off the hose from washing it

For reference, I owned an Onyx V8V and a Tungsten V8VS.

 

A big +1
Ron

 

A different opinion:

First, they're both gorgeous. If it's not going to be a daily driver, I'd say Onyx. My Vanquish S and my V8V are both Onyx (not planned that way btw). IMO, nothing looks as spectacular as black when it's clean (which is why I wouldn't choose it for a DD). I agree that black can hide the design details of some cars, but IMO the metallic flake in Onyx renders that a non-issue, and nothing has the mirror-like reflectivity of black.

The metal flakes in Onyx are multi-colored, with silver, blue/purple and maybe gold in it, and this makes it look different in different light. I prefer Onyx to Storm and Nero because the metallic flake in Onyx is more noticeable IMO, ensuring that the curves don't disappear, without ever being "too metallic." Tungsten is very metallic, maybe a little too much for my personal liking. Saying Onyx is just another black is like saying Tungsten is just another silver.

One more thing -- in the unfortunate event that you ever have to repair damage, Tungsten is likely to be harder to match perfectly.

Ultimately, they're both stunning colors -- hard to go wrong.

 

AM offers a vast array of "silver" paint alternatives (50 shades of grey?). I am told, however, tungsten, year after year, is not only Aston's highest volume silver or grey, but their highest volume color overall.

This success, no doubt is aided and abetted by Aston's Fast Track program. Remember though, there are 6 other exterior colors currently on Fast Track, including 2 more silvers. Tungsten is not an easy winner.

Capt Vanquish (above) understands the value of silver in highlighting sheet metal curves. Auto designers (used to call themselves "stylists") use silver most of the time on properties they develop to make appearance surface decisions.

Another real plus of medium value silvers, they are very effective at hiding dirt, grime and my favorite, brake dust.

 

My first vantage was tungsten, i did sp

 

Go on...

 

Can't go wrong with either.

 

I think colors are car-specific. I've had several Mercedes SL's, two of them in black and they look stunning... the black brings out the low sleek looks and hides some of the awkward lines and high boot.

But most Astons don't have the problem of styling blemishes, and so their perfection should be emphasised. And for that, a choice of silver of all shades is the best match, more so because it is also traditionally linked to the model through J. Bond and the DB5, and successive models through the years.

I've rarely seen an Aston color I didn't like, but I personally would choose silver over any darker color.

As for the advantages of cleaning of one color over another, no-one should buy a car based on how it shows the dirt - Astons should always be immaculate no matter what shade they are.