Aston has even binned the rubber bushings for the rear subframe, bolting it directly to the body to make the Vantage S feel more direct. The suspension’s camber, toe and caster have also been fine tuned, supposedly to sharpen responses and improve front-end grip.
Lift the long, low bonnet and you are not bathed in golden light as if you’re staring into the famous briefcase from Pulp Fiction. You don’t even get to gaze upon a piece of mechanical artwork. Instead, you’re greeted with hard plastic, tubing and bracing, but hidden beneath is a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 made by AMG and enhanced by Aston.
The Vantage had already jumped from 503bhp to 656bhp during its mid-life makeover, but the boffins at Gaydon have managed to squeeze out an extra 15bhp for the S, along with a deep mechanical growl and a titanic 800Nm of torque to hurl you forward.
Add to that some recalibrating of the powertrain, a new throttle map and refined launch control system, and the Vantage S blasts from 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds – one-tenth faster than the regular model, if not quite as ferocious as the 911 Turbo S, which does the same sprint in 2.5 seconds.
But enough talk of suspension and stats. Lower yourself into the driver’s seat and close the swan door, and the red light from the glass-covered start button calls to you. Press it and the V8 rumbles into life; it’s not so loud to attract warnings of anti-social behaviour from the parish council, but it’s more than sufficient to make its presence known. It’s also guaranteed to generate plenty of giddy excitement from your passenger.
