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Parenn911 · #**1961** 09-21-2010, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackTalon

Sounds awesome!

So, you gonna build one in your garage this winter?!?

LMAO Talon FTW!

realroadrage · #**1962** 09-22-2010, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vicegrip

Aston Martin Vantage V-12. Spotted directly under my butt.
Clarkson was dead on this car is as close to perfect as you can get in a street car. the power is there for the taking as much as you like when you like how you like with no effort or mashinations. The gas pedal and the motor are one. There is no lag or wait or build it is just there when you want and is not when you don't. The in car sound is almost silent other than a sweet exhust note from the back. No motor or trans whine or vibrations. You have to stay busy with the gear shift or you will hit the rev limiter. You have to retune yourself to this car. The box is silky, the clutch is smooth and crisp. The power just keeps coming as you roll on the gas and row up through the gears. It feels like a ford GT off the line for someone that is near deaf and can't hear all the machinery that is growling and howling all around you. No machine grumbling just stuffedback in your seat without worry of a finicky clutch, notchy box or the rear end breaking loose. The shorter wheelbase of the Vantage over it's big brothers is a pluse I think. The car is near 50/50 balance and feels it. Lift off the gas a bit in a corner and the car slows without an end heading off in uncharted directions. Unlike the sound which is isolated you can feel the car. You can feel the steering and wheel grip. You feel the right parts without the bitterness of a hard susp. Good booze kind of feel, nice bite, complex but smooth with no bad aftertaste, leaving you wanting another sip. The brakes are hand of god good and the car stops like a well set up 911.
The V 12 version is 300 pounds more than the V 8 version but it is better in many ways. I can't put a finger on why or what but it feels like it handles better than the V-8. Power sure, it is north of 500 HP and the power curve is is straight up and take a left at the top of the graph over and goes on until you say uncle.
Somehow all that is good in driving pleasure came together in one place. The Ford GT is still my pick for balls out Hhold my beer and watch this" just nuts fun with vicious power and brakes but is a rumbling box of bolts. The 360 and 420 types give me the feeling that will need 2 hours of shoptime and a crowbar to the wallet for every 10 min of drive time. The V-12 Vantage flips your stomach but does so with clean crisp class that could be lived with as a daily driver. As to looks it is a bit more agressive than I might want for an Aston daily driver. I forgave the CF trimed hood holes after I lifted the hood. The V-12 looks like that had to sand some paint off here and ther to make it fit. It fits like the two were made for each other but there is no air under the hood, it is all motor.

I have had the good fortune to be in the right place and know the right people and have( very gently and within all local laws) driven a good few that are in the "well out of my price range and still sent the kids to the 13th grade" level. This is the first one I wanted to keep. Aston Martin has done something that Porsche will never do they took the best motor thay ever made and stuck it in the best platform they ever made. Bar none, it is the best car I have driven. So far.

But, did you like it?