Wearing a rather stylish Aston Martin bomber jacket – in racing green, naturally – Fernando Alonso comes on screen at the Circuito Monteblanco race track in Spain and smiles an impish grin. “This car is a lot of fun, enjoy the drive.” He’s not wrong.
The car that the two-time Formula One world champion is referring to is the new Vantage from Aston Martin, which has a jaw-dropping 30 per cent more power than the outgoing model, a 50:50 weight distribution, and a top speed of 325km/h.
Alonso, who recently extended his Aston Martin contract through 2026, was speaking to Esquire Middle East at the first test drive of the Vantage. As you would, we listened intently to the Spanish driver before putting on our helmet and climbing into the carbon fibre race seat of the extraordinary looking Vantage.
As the 4.0 litre V8 Twin Turbo engine woke from its slumber, ready to deliver 656 horsepower and propel us from standstill to 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds, there was a palpable sense of excitement… and a frisson of fear. We took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel of the Vantage as the track controller came on the radio and asked if each driver was ready – like calling a school register, but in a school where every pupil is driving a AED 1 million supercar.
With the Spanish springtime sun shining brightly, we crawled out of the pit lane and accelerated, producing a surge in speed so dramatic it literally made us giggle. Slamming on the brakes to enter the first bend, we suddenly had a newfound respect for Alonso and his colleagues. What looks so easy when watching an F1 race on TV is a complicated, brain-melting performance of precision, hand-eye coordination, timing, concentration and bravery. After three laps the track controller instructed us to enter the pit lane and we exited the car feeling exhilarated and exhausted.
Aston Martin’s director of product and strategy, Alex Long, is waiting for us with a coffee – as if our bodies and brains needed any more stimulation from caffeine. “There’s power and performance obviously, but I think there’s a sense of occasion when you drive it,” he says of the Vantage. It’s a good description that captures the essence of the car. Whereas some high performance sports cars can intimidate the driver, the Vantage is a more welcoming proposition.
“The Vantage provides a natural amount of driver engagement,” Long continues. “The smooth steering makes the driver feel they are in control of the car, not the other way around. Even at low speeds, there’s a sense of emotional connection.”
James Owen is senior manager of vehicle engineering operations at Aston Martin and echoes his colleague. “We tried to make the new Vantage feel like an agile car that puts the driver first,” he says.
Driver controls have been tweaked in the new Vantage and moved to an ergonomically designed central console. Aston Martin engineers believe this will remove distraction from the steering wheel where the controls previously lived. Settings can be changed by using the knurled metal rotary control that dominates the console and feels good to touch. A new infotainment system with an ultra responsive 10.25” high resolution touchscreen has been added. Continuing his theme of driver engagement, Long adds, “Cars with increased tech can disconnect the driver and we want to enhance driver focus.”
Having read all that, you might think the 2024 Vantage has gone all touchy feely, but don’t be fooled, the Vantage still has an enormously powerful presence. The front end looks markedly different from its predecessor, thanks to a re-contoured grille aperture that is 38 per cent larger. A wider body, a new quad performance exhaust, larger turbos, and centrally mounted bonnet vents are evidence that the Vantage has been in the gym and glugging protein shakes. Remember, this is a car that Fernando Alonso enjoyed driving, and he wouldn’t be happy behind the wheel of a machine that was meek and mild.
As we leave the chicanes and straights of Circuito Monteblanco and prepare to cruise around the beautiful rural roads of Andalusia near Seville, Alex Long has a final word. Looking at the effortlessly charismatic Vantage, he smiles and says, “This car breathes with the road.”