by "sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
Published 11/21/2017 at 10:21
by "sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
Published 11/21/2017 at 10:21
No Tags
STARS: 7
The outgoing Aston Martin V8 Vantage was always one of my favorite high-end cars. There were several reasons for this. First, the red V8 Vantage pictured below was the first exotic car I can really remember ever riding in, and it left a lasting impression on me. Second, as Doug and Tavarish have shown, it is a car which is actually attainable on the used market. The last two reasons have more to do with the car itself.
In my opinion, the V8 Vantage was in the top 5 for both most beautiful and best sounding cars on sale for its entire production run. There was not a single angle from which the old Vantage did not make me weak in the knees. It wasn’t overdone, it didn’t have all sorts of stupid vents and creases and wings (at least not in basic form). It was pure, sleek, dapper, and completely timeless. None of those are words that I would use to describe the new car.
Don’t get me wrong, I find the new car to be very cool, and I still like it. But cool and beautiful are two different, if not mutually exclusive things. Look at that big carbon fiber maw on the new Vantage. Cool? Sure! But from a design perspective, it may be the first time I’ve ever seen a car where the entire grill looks like it was added as an afterthought. This car looks like it was originally designed to have a smooth, unbroken, Tesla-like front, or at least a very small integrated grill slit, and then somebody just sort of came along and glued this big black mass on the front. Then there’s the actual “face” of the car. The complaint with most modern cars, particularly performance cars, is that they look unnecessarily angry. Not this one. The Vantage looks like it is wearing a face of disappointed disbelief, like it took a sip of its martini only to discover that the bartender had, in fact, stirred it.
Moving around to the side, we’ve got creases galore. That one coming from the middle of the fender vent looks especially out of place. Furthermore, the kink in the creases right at the trailing edge of the door makes the car look like it was hit hard from behind and pushed into some immovable object in the front, causing it to bend up. And even from the side, the front still looks weird.
Around back, I like the basic design language of the tail, but that whole rear diffuser/exhaust surround think is, once again, too big and too fussy. Smooth, body-colored bumpers would’ve done fine, thank you. Even if you wanted a carbon fiber rear diffuser, which, fine, you could have one a bit less obnoxious and melted-looking than this. Also, please for the love of God tell me that the word “ASTON MARTIN” written right below the badge is not going to be standard.
Even the interior is overdone while lacking class. Look at it. This doesn’t put me in mind of a tweed jacket or even an expensive tailored suit. It’s what I’d have to imagine a flat brim cap-wearing Ken Block wannabe would come up with if given an unlimited budget to design an interior for a new WRX STI-based supercar.
It’s not like the Vantage is entirely hideous, but it’s not the black tie beauty it used to be. And you know the worst part? Aston Martin already made the perfect new Vantage, exactly how it should’ve looked.
The DB10 was one of my favorite parts of SPECTRE. It took everything I loved about the design language of Aston Martin and made it even more contemporary, channeling the best elements of the old Vantage, the upcoming (at the time) DB11, and the batshit-crazy One-77. Look at it. Even with the slightly odd little headlights, it’s a stunner. This car, right here, is what the new Vantage should’ve been. Instead, the new Vantage has a design that I find finicky and immature, very uncharacteristic of an Aston Martin. Whether it be Craig or Connery, James Bond would look right at home in the DB10. He would look more than a bit silly in the new Vantage. Maybe I’ll change my tune once I see the new baby Aston in person, but for now, I’ll just sit here and pine for the DB10 while shopping for $40,000 ‘07 Vantages on cars.com.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
11/21/2017 at 10:24, STARS: 1
"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
11/21/2017 at 10:26, STARS: 1
Yup. I prefer the DB9 over the DB11, but I at least still find the DB11 to be a beautiful car, in pictures and in person. This? Well, I can’t say how I feel in person yet but I’m not loving the pictures.
"razorbeamteam" (razorbeamteam)
11/21/2017 at 10:26, STARS: 1
I thought the same thing. It looks like it was cross pollinated with a Miata.
"djmt1" (djmt1)
11/21/2017 at 10:29, STARS: 1
As a fan of the 80s and 90s Vantages, this car is right up my street. I like my Astons a bit odd looking.
"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
11/21/2017 at 10:30, STARS: 0
I love the 80's Vantages as well. I’m just not feeling it with this one.
"Zip-McBump" (zip-mcbump)
11/21/2017 at 10:33, STARS: 2
It’s hard to put my finger on, but this is a case where it almost looks too much like an early concept car... it’s missing something. Interior looks nice, though.
"KnowsAboutCars" (knowsaboutcars)
11/21/2017 at 10:33, STARS: 1
I’m not feeling the front end on either one. Otherwise the new Vantage is alright. The DB10 looks kinda off to me overall.
" " (a7rrows)
11/21/2017 at 10:37, STARS: 1
Spot on. Even though, like the DB11, I’m sure it will look a lot nicer in the metal and in a darker colour. This neon green isn’t doing it for me.
The only thing I disliked about the old one was the headlights which I always thought were misshapen and really dated its design in recent years. And somehow this one managed to make them worse. They look like Miata eyes but without any of the character — which is a shame because the headlights on the DB11 are gorgeous.
To me, the back of it suffers from the same problem as the DB11, where the lights seem to be mounted too high and then extended up even higher. This just adds bulk vertically and doesn’t work on a sports car imo. The i8 has the same problem.
"DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back" (karsonkinja)
11/21/2017 at 10:40, STARS: 1
I’m with you here. It definitely looks cool; I like all the aero bits (I like the Civic Type R too so take my opinion as you may) But that massive gaping bucktooth mouth; Seriously why does it stick out??
I think you’re right, the DB10 should have been the base Vantage, and then they could have done an ‘S’ model with all the aero and aggro looks. However I believe the car as it is will sell better and appear in more Instagram shots among the youths-with-money crowd, than the classier and subdued vantage of the past.
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/21/2017 at 10:41, STARS: 3
That’s really a pretty mild take, being that the new car just doesn’t look that good.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/21/2017 at 10:42, STARS: 2
The DB7, DB9, Vantage, Vanquish and Rapide all look like slightly different shapes and sizes of the same car. I found all of them boring.
Aston had to do something different. The DB11 and this new Vantage feel like the folks at Aston were saying,
“We need to take our styling theme and add more... stuff! Yeah, more stuff!”
They have in fact succeeded in adding more stuff. Whether that makes for successful styling is another question.
"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
11/21/2017 at 11:08, STARS: 1
To me, this is essentially the production version of the DB10. I think 90% of it is nice, but that front end is the 10% that’s not so good.
"Milky" (jordanmielke)
11/21/2017 at 11:21, STARS: 2
Counterpoint - it still might be the ~$150k car I would get.
VS
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
11/21/2017 at 12:05, STARS: 1
I love the DB10 and the DB11 was a bit of a let down for me, but I like the new Vantage. Looks more DB10 than the 11 did and it has more of that Aston style I missed with the 11. But that green-yellow color is fucking terrible. Silver is a bit better, but it is odd with the grille having no body under it. But the red from the Carfection video was gorgeous
"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
11/21/2017 at 12:05, STARS: 0
However I believe the car as it is will sell better and appear in more Instagram shots among the youths-with-money crowd, than the classier and subdued vantage of the past.
Spot on.
"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
11/21/2017 at 12:06, STARS: 1
Fair enough
"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
11/21/2017 at 12:08, STARS: 0
This complaint has always bugged me, it’s the same case with Audi as it is with Aston. Yes, all the products looked pretty similar, but I’d rather have a range of extremely attractive but not *quite* distinct enough cars than a bunch of ones that scrap the design trend and wind up uglier just because they had to look different from all the pretty cars.
"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
11/21/2017 at 12:10, STARS: 0
I think I’d take an AMG GT-S (not the R, that thing is really ugly) or an R8/NSX over this to be honest. Or I’d spend a bit more and get a McLaren 570s.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/21/2017 at 12:19, STARS: 1
Audis are uniformly boring/handsome luxury sedans. Astons apply the same philosophy to a segment that should inspire a more emotional reaction. Instead they’re all like nicer Jaguars for twice the price.
"Pistol Whipped Cream" (heynickhere)
11/21/2017 at 13:03, STARS: 1
the front is meh...okay. I love the back though!
"Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies" (jordanwphillips)
11/21/2017 at 13:41, STARS: 0
You are bring too kind, that thing is fucking ugly.
Hot Take: The pre-facelift Vantage V8 was a bit dull looking.
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/21/2017 at 13:53, STARS: 1
I like the updated headline!
"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
11/21/2017 at 16:54, STARS: 0
I’d go R8 or Jag, but that’s just me
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
11/21/2017 at 21:12, STARS: 1
I think its in a weird zone between too futursitic and what they had with the db10. they’ve been so conservative design wise that any change is going to piss off a bunch of fans. similar to the 911. I like the db11, but this not so much.
oddly i love the valkyrie.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
12/06/2017 at 16:06, STARS: 1
Agreed. It looks like a halibut with the unfinished, bottom-feeding grille. But then again, the DB9 is the prettiest modern Aston IMO, perfect proportions (an Aston should look long) and elegant lighting.
"Spasoje" (Spasoje)
12/06/2017 at 18:18, STARS: 1
We’re on the same page for sure. While the new one looks nice (objectively, at least), it doesn’t have the gorgeous, magnetic elegance the outgoing V8V does. The old model is definitely the one I’d choose, and not just because it’s the one that comes with a manual...
"Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz)" (galileo-humpkins)
12/06/2017 at 18:27, STARS: 0
R8 or GT-S (not that you were taking poll).
Edit: Just realized this is a 2 week+ old post. Oh well.