Review of the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage

One of the motoring world's worst kept secrets was finally released to a slack jawed press at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. That Aston Martin were working on a smaller, more affordable car to slot into their range below the DB9 was well known, but pictures do not do this car justice. Even finished in a rather unflattering shade of bright yellow, the car looked knee-weakeningly stunning.

The yellow was a deliberate choice, emphasising the V8 Vantage's younger and more extrovert appeal compared to the more restrained and elegant DB9 and Vanquish models. In size, it's not too far off a Porsche 911 and shares the German car's pugnacious stance. Porsche and Aston Martin have a bit of history and the development of the V8 Vantage overlapped considerably with that of the 997 series 911. One of the reasons that Aston Martin first showed a prototype version of the V8 so early, at the 2002 Detroit Show in fact, was because sales of the DB9 were dwindling and they needed to grab advance orders that could otherwise have gone to Weissach.

With a production target of between 2,500 and 3,000 V8 Vantage models per year, split between the £83,000 coupe version we examine here and a £91,000 Roadster drop top, Aston Martin look in rude health. The move to a purpose-built factory at Gaydon has enabled the company to abandon many of the less productive practices of the old Bloxham plant without sacrificing quality. Factor in strong sales of DB9 and Vanquish models and the company is looking at a yearly production capacity of close to 5,000 cars which is astounding when compared to the 42 cars that rolled through the factory gates in 1991. That will make Aston Martin a bigger producer than Ferrari. Impressive stuff.

"The V8 engine is unique to Aston Martin," said Jeremy Main, Product Development Director of Aston Martin. "We share expertise within the PAG organisation but this design is totally new and not a shared engine. Every significant part of it is unique, from the specification of the cylinder block to the cylinder heads, crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, camshafts, inlet and exhaust manifolds, lubrication system and engine management."

The key to the V8 Vantage is the modular VH platform it rides on. It's a mixture of extruded, stamped and die-cast aluminium, bonded together into an extremely light yet rigid superstructure. The exterior panels are a combination of aluminium, steel and advanced composites designed to keep weight down to 1,570kg which is about the same as a BMW M3. With a 380bhp engine under the bonnet, performance is certainly class competitive, hitting 60mph in 4.8 seconds and accelerating to a top speed of 175mph. Those figures put it in the same sort of ballpark as a Porsche Carrera S, if not a Turbo.

The V8 Vantage's dynamic excellence should be taken for granted. I was privy to early testing of the car at Germany's infamous Nurburgring race track and can attest to the fact that it will corner with genuine verve, its speed through the Pflanzgarten series of corners rivalling those of a Lamborghini Gallardo used as a control vehicle. In fact, test vehicles have racked up over 1,500,000 miles, not only at the 'Ring but also in extreme hot temperatures in Dubai, cold weather in Sweden and continuous high-speed running at the Nardo bowl in Italy.

With a relatively large 4.3-litre eight cylinder engine up front, weight distribution was a priority for Aston Martin's engineers. A transmission at the rear of the car helps generate a 49:51 weight distribution front and rear, the engine being what is fashionably termed 'front-mid mounted' or in layman's terms, with its centre of gravity set behind the line of the front axle. All of this helps the Vantage V8 corner nimbly, and predictably. A dry sump also allows the engine to sit very low in the chassis, lowering the car's centre of gravity to help stability. During periods of extreme cornering, acceleration and braking, this system also helps to maintain an uninterrupted flow of oil to crucial engine components. The quad cam 32-valve engine itself is hand assembled in Cologne alongside the powerplants for the Vanquish S and DB9.

"The V8 engine is unique to Aston Martin," said Jeremy Main, Product Development Director of Aston Martin. "We share expertise within the PAG organisation but this design is totally new and not a shared engine. Every significant part of it is unique, from the specification of the cylinder block to the cylinder heads, crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, camshafts, inlet and exhaust manifolds, lubrication system and engine management."

The V8 Vantage is offered with the choice of a six-speed manual transmission or the Sportshift set-up - a paddle-shifting sequential system - for a £3,000 premium. The manual 'box will probably remain the choice of enthusiast drivers, the close ratio setup and light, positive action promising the sort of tactility that has long been the preserve of Porsche and BMW drivers.

Interiors have never been an Aston Martin problem and the V8 Vantage's cabin is one of their best efforts to date. Much of the architecture and components are common with the DB9. Taking the decision to ditch vestigial rear seats and optimise space for driver and passenger means that there's enough head and leg room for six-footers, while the width of the cabin and the broad transmission tunnel will make banging elbows a distant memory. The Geneva show car was finished in a black leather and coarse black fabric trim which was a world away from the buttery smooth finishes of the DB9 and Vanquish lines. With yellow stitched detailing, a stubby gear lever and drilled pedals, the V8 Vantage's driving position looks purposeful, a word that crops up again and again in any description of the car.

Although the basic body silhouette is instantly recognisable as an Aston Martin, the V8 Vantage is over a foot shorter than a DB9 and 60mm lower slung. Put the two cars side by side and the DB9 is revealed as the GT car it is, while the Vantage sits foursquare, the big rear wheel arch bulges lending it a pugnacious muscularity. The 'baby' Aston Martin has already attracted a whole slew of buyers. It's still the hottest ticket in town.