Aston Martin continues to be a great British success story. This month (May 2018) the first of the new Vantage models roll off the UK production line in Gaydon, Warwickshire and start to be delivered to their new owners. The company has an exciting 7-year plan in which 7 new models will be released within 7 years. The new Vantage is the second model from this plan to be released following on last years updated DB11.
The new model will have to be fantastic to keep fans happy because the old Vantage was Aston Martins most successful model. Can the updated model be even better and will it outshine the competition (Mercedes-AMG GT S & Porsche 911)? Aston Martins stated aim with their 7 new models is to deliver distinct cars – ones that are unashamedly excellent at being one thing and rather than being good at everything. There is no doubt that the new Vantage is a serious sports car. It is a strict two-seater and it only comes with sports engine options and suspensions.
Industry reviews have been very positive but all note that the car is pricey – to the tune of £120k so even if it performs better than some of the competition it’s large price tag might reduce its appeal. Note that while you wait for your new Vantage (or the lottery win that will allow you to buy one) you can rent an Aston Martin Vantage for a weekend! Journalists don’t love the new Vantages dashboard or screen but they do like the luxurious leather and seats. It is an exceedingly fast vehicle which is great fun to drive. Luckily it also handles like a dream making it a great track car but also a practical one for the roads, something that Jaguars F-Type SVR failed to deliver. But what will the buying public think? Will they forgive the fussy and inelegant dash because they are too busy having their minds blown by the incredible performance and speed?
At the heart of this will be the success (or failure) of the overall strategy – which is to deliver a diverse range of cars targeting specific customers? We won’t know for a while but Aston Martin shows no sign of watering down their bold ambitions. One of the stars of the Geneva motor show was Aston Martins concept SUV the’Lagonda’. The design of the car is bold and futuristic and it is technologically advanced being a fully electric emission-free vehicle. There was a great deal of interest in this model and we should expect to see it on the roads by 2021. Before that will be the new Vanquish, the hybrid DBX and the fantastical Valkyrie.
It is great to see this British company forging ahead with such an ambitious and exciting strategy. With the likes of BMW and Mercedes producing a range of cars that seem to look and feel more and more similar every year, Aston Martin is really breaking the mould. Their designs are exciting and they are being very bold in retaining so many of the features from their concept cars in their production versions.
