Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Aston Martin V8 Vantage car picture

Review :
Aston Martin builds manly automobiles. From the way the doors thunk when closed to the heft of the steering, the front-engined British sportscars don't carry the same delicate, light feeling you experience in a Ferrari. We think this is a good thing. It's nice that Aston's recent success is a result of excellent design and engineering perfectly in line with the history of the near 100-year-old company, not a carbon copy of the Italian's business case.

In a comparison test between the 2008 Aston Martin DBS and 2008 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in the July 2008 issue of Automobile Magazine, we gave the nod to the car from Maranello but the purity and gruffness of the English car left a lasting impression. But, at $266,350, the top spec Aston is a true exotic. The entry-level car, the V8 Vantage, is gorgeous and sounds fantastic but we've always felt let down by the lack of power provided by the Jaguar-derived 4.3-liter V-8. With the buzz from the DBS experience still fresh in our heads, we hopped on a plane to Germany for a drive in the tweaked for 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage.