Hi everyone,

For my 60th birthday a couple weeks ago, I bought a 2021 Vantage Coupe, manual transmission. I was told it was one of the last three manuals to be released. I am thrilled with it!!!

I have owned two V8V's in the past-- an early coupe which I put sport and handling kits on ($$) and an N420 roadster. Both were three-pedal cars. And I loved them both and still kick myself for letting the N420 go. I have also had many Porsches and some Lotuses (Loti?) and all kinds of other stuff over the years--C7 corvette, BMW M roadster, Coyote Mustang GT etc (and motorcycles, mainly Ducati the last 20 years).

Over the last couple years, life had been pretty good to me and I was able to move "up" to used Ferrari's. First a 430 coupe (F1), then a California 30 (DCT), then a 360 Spider (gated) and finally, in 2019, a very nice used 15k mile 458 Spider (DCT). I assumed the 458 would be the end of the line, a destination dream car...which it was in many ways. I don't need to rehash all the 458 virtues here, but they are all pretty much true. She was pretty bullet proof, but even so, cost some money over the couple years...leaky rear shocks, porous casted leaky oil pump, new tires, a by-the-book (or better) maintenance regimen, and some upgrades here and their. I didn't mind spending the dough because I figured I would keep her for life.

However, in my deepest private thoughts, when I was being 10000% honest with myself (and ignoring the market, the buzz, my ego, etc), the truth was I enjoyed driving the gated 360 the most of the four Ferrari's I had owned. Wasn't the fastest, or best handling, but I just felt a sense of connectedness to the history of the car and the "event" of driving...its hard to explain, but I am sure most of you know.

Then the covid used car market went crazy-especially for F-cars. I resisted for a long time. Then, I started thinking about cashing out of the 458 and getting something else I would love and actually putting some money BACK into my (soon to be needed) retirement account.

I went back to one of my most consistent happy places and started looking for three-pedal Vantages, maybe even a V12V.

Prior to about two weeks ago, I was like a lot of folks and had dismissed the New Vantage. I didn't like the front grill and felt that the AMG motor was selling-out and not 'bespoke' enough.

By the way, about 8 months ago I also purchased a unicorn 2007 SLK AMG55 with only 9000 original miles. Since then I have really gotten into the AMG "One-Man, One-Engine" thing and love the motor in that car (for a circa 2007 lump). I also remember that my prior beloved V8V's both had "Aston" motors, which were actually assembled in Cologne Germany and had the whole Jag/

Ford DNA thing in their provenance. So, really how bad a sin could an AMG motor be. Especially if it was handmade, stout and fast?

Anyway, long story long, I went up to my local AM dealer (AM Austin, great guys, BTW) to see if maybe they had a line on any three pedal V8 or V12 Vantages. I had zero intent of considering the new Vantage that day.

First, I was not aware until that day of the new vaned grill. I saw it that day and LOVE IT. Totally finishes the car, connects it to AM history (including Fisker's Vantage) and, as the Big Lebowski would say, "it really ties the room together". It also reminds me of the One-77 which was the drool worthy Halo car when I had my N420.

So with the vaned grill now on my radar, I learned that a) they offered a three-pedal version and b) they were about to STOP offering it.

AND, they (Aston Austin) had (supposedly) one of the last three manual transmission cars to be released (maybe ever). It was pretty hard loaded with options (about $40k worth)---some cool options, and some stuff I might not have chosen if I were spec'ing from scratch. But overall, a GORGEOUS car--- Magnetic Silver and two tone interior in black and red. I LOVE the interior!

So, I stewed for a day or two, watched some reviews, configured the same car on line, etc and eventually pulled the trigger and traded the 458. The dealer is sending me a pretty good sized check and I paid zero sales tax because of the trade in.

The new Vantage is fabulous! It's "only" 500 horsepower, but it pulls like a freight train and 4th gear is sublime. In Sport+ mode, the exhaust note is just right, 'gentlemenly' but with a very nice snarl, pops and growl....not a screamer like the 458, but very satisfying in a mature kind of way.

Yes, the interior controls are a bit busy with some funky ergonomics, but now after driving it for a couple weeks, I know where everything is and how to work it. 360 camera is cool. The center stack looks very cool in my car with the black accents ("jewelry" as Aston calls it). Looks exotic and as far from a Toyota Camry (my idea of a functional appliance car) as one can humanly get.

I read articles with people criticizing the MB sourced infotainment system. Compared to a 2014 458, it is a dream and compared to a 2007 MB SLK---which doesn't even have bluetooth---I feel like I have just entered the space age! I think the system is fine. It connects to my iphone perfectly and I can stream whatever content I want from my phone. Yes, AppleCarPlay would be nice and I am told a factory upgrade is coming.

Shifting: Much has been written about the "dog-leg". After a lifetime of normal H pattern, I did have some muscle memory to overcome, but I am 90% of the way there. The shifting itself is NOT Porsche or BMW quality. Not as notchy and precise, but still super fun :-) and the Aston rev-matching is cool. I have not tried the full throttle upshifts (where the AMshift thing controls the throttle with the peddle buried on the floor)... I may have TOO much muscle memory for that!

Bottom line: The car is freaking gorgeous to my eyes. I cant stop taking cameraphone pics of it. I live the pop of the interior. It goes plenty fast for me and I am excited every time I walk up to it, drive it and walk away--looking backwards, of course. I AM a convertible guy and if the vantage had a three pedal roadster, I would have it in a minute. Yes, there are a LOT of cool, pretty, fast, exotic / semi exotic cars out there. And a case can be made that many of them are "better" then the Vantage in X metric or Y spec. But at the end of the day, with these type of cars, at least for me, it is about how it makes you feel. This car makes me feel great and I have had very few (but a couple) of moments of missing the 458.

I had to put away my Ferrari F1 hat and get an Aston F1 hat :-) I see good things for the team and the car company in the future.

Cheers,

-mark (aka fossilfuel) in Austin

 

congrats! This will become a collector item in the near future. Enjoy in good health.

 

ya, digg'in the red and black interior.

 

Beautiful car!

 

Spectacular! Enjoy

 

I throughly enjoyed your story and thank you for taking the time and effort to share.

Congratulations on your stunning new Chariot and I wish you nothing but safe and memorable adventures.

With your history of exotic ownership, please keep us posted with updates on how you feel the new Vantage compares with your past vehicles.

 

Thanks for the write up Mark. Your car is great! Please keep us updated as you live with it. I have sold an early Vantage and replaced it with an early (986) Boxster and 996 GT3, but find myself missing the vantage. I've never owned a Ferrari and early 360's and 550's have definitely been on my radar as have early V8 and V12 Vantages and other makes. If you have any insight on the Aston vs Ferrari differences I'd appreciate it. I like my cars light and agile, but miss that something the Aston had. I felt like the 4.3 Vantage was a little heavy and relaxed, but may have been faster than I remember. Either way your car is gorgeous! Enjoy in goof health.
Lucas

 

Thanks for the nice comments! I will update the thread as I get more seat time. My wife and I were in the car all day and had a good time in a 'Grand Tour' tour kind of way......but she celebrated a bit too much at a wedding last night and wasn't down with me getting too frisky with the car today to stretch it's legs much, LOL. That said, it was a lovely GT experience for her, and she would not say that of some of my previous cars.

Stay tuned.

--mark (fossilfuel)

 

There is just something so intriguing about seeing a manual in such a modern car. Great job on the purchase!

 

You have a nice Aston and I much enjoyed reading your comments. Enjoy safely.

 

What a beautiful spec! Congrats

 

Congrats! Owner of a 2020 7MT Vantage myself and have loved every moment of it. It's a special car!

 

I was browsing the old threads here and after reading Fossil fuels comments about the new vantage I had to chime in and parrot some of his comments.
Having owned a V12S and a 2015 Vantage GT manual and sold them both, I had been longing for another Aston in my stable for the last few years. There has not been much love given to the new Vantage here on 6 speed since they came out. I must admit I did not find anything that special about them when I first saw one in 2019. So I just let them fall off of my radar and continued to enjoy my other cars. Out of boredom a few months ago, I stopped into my local dealer and test drove one and realized I really liked the car and should give them a harder look. The more I looked hard at the car, the more I started to appreciate the new styling and embrace the Merc motor and tech. After lots of test drives and then finding an AMR manual, I have to agree with the Op . I love the car and it fits nicely in my stable as it can do double duty as my touring car as well as being a back road carver. To me, the car feels more planted than my previous Astons and pulls almost as hard as my V12S with better composure. While the merc motor does not have near the character of the old NA V12, it is a wonderful power plant with great torque. It pulls effortlessly and I am not afraid to run it really hard as I was with my V12.
It will never run circles around my GT3RS and it certainly can't hang with my Mac, but I don't need it to. What I need it to do, it does well. It is engaging to drive, it is smooth, it is quiet when I want it to be and rowdy when I want it be. It also feels special and I am now starting to get comfortable with the dog leg manual.
For now, I just can find anything that I don't like about the car. I have racked up about 400 miles of spirited driving and just completed a 1200 mile high speed tour of West TX and I am now a fan of the new cars. I wish the darn screen would fold down into the dash, but for the most part, I just ignore the silly thing as I am never going to use the nav and I don't need to use it for anything. Mine will just stay off and dark.
I expect this new Vantage to be a more reliable car than my previous ones and hope that it proves me correct as I am going to drive it often and rack up the miles and eat up some tires.

 

Great write ups guys and congrats to the OP. I too would be interested in your thoughts vs other cars you've owned as you get more seat time.

Long live the manuals!!!

 

Way to go.