Aston Martin's Vantage: Is this is smartest 'Affordable' Car now?

The latest Aston Martin Vantage, which will debut near a week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, begins proximately $150,000 car offers 500 horsepower and a top speed near 200 mph.

Aston Martin may charm of 1960s cool, of Sean Connery in a fine suit, of the iconic DB5. That’s why the job of every new Aston car over the past five decades has been to deliver that heritage—but also to build on it, to pull it into the modern-day. The most advanced wheel to take on the task is Aston’s entry-level sports car. And based on first impressions, this new Vantage, with 503 horsepower, a 195 mile per hour top speed, enhanced aerodynamics, and renewed styling, has drawn it off.

The current car, which will show next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show and start around $150,000, sits below the company’s bigger and pricier DB11 and Overcome touring coupes, and will be powered by a four-liter twin-turbo V8 that produces 505 pound-feet of torque, quite to go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds.

The most visible reforms center on the car’s styling. Aston's designers reduced the front and rear overhangs to give it a more powerful stand, softened out the hood, combined more obvious side vents that reduce off dramatically into the door panels, and capped it off with new headlights and taillights to give the car a unique impression whether coming. Inside, the driver sits almost half an inch lower in the car thanks to a raised waistline—a design feature that also helps create more interior space and an immersive feel, the designers say.

Performance improvements start with that new engine, which sits lower and farther back than its predecessor. That lowers the center of gravity—a boon for stability—and splits the car’s weight evenly from front to back, for better balance while cornering. The V8 mates to a rear-mounted 8-speed automatic device. Electronic assists will include stability control and torque vectoring, as well as an electric power steering system that adjusts its input according to the car’s speed. Aston redesigned the Vantage’s lightweight protected-aluminum framework to enhance balance, rigidity, and overall strength.

One mechanical trick any super spy would be happy to have is the Vantage's electronic rear differential, a first for Aston Martin. This new method uses the car’s electronic assurance system to control power distribution to each of the rear wheels only. It can modulate power as necessary with millisecond timing, going from fully open to 100 percent locked, so the car's computer can put power exactly where it's needed, enhancing both straight-line stability and cornering.

Beyond that, you can expect the full complement of infotainment, safety, and interior amenities—enhanced audio, great leather, carbon fiber trim, and so on—plus new paint and 20-inch wheel options. Aston demands to start shipping the new car to the US by the first half of next year—then get back to the next step in its ever-evolving heritage.

Aston Martin's Vantage: Is this is smartest 'Affordable' Car now?