Up until 2009, I was a Porsche guy. But after two 911 Turbo’s, I felt it was time for something different, something more exciting and more exclusive.
This is what I ultimately decided on: my first Aston Martin, a V8 Vantage Roadster (4.7).
Why Aston Martin?
Owning a Lotus Exige for a while got me sold on driving an open car, so I wanted my next car to be a convertible. The obvious choice would be a 911 Turbo Cabriolet, but I never liked how 911’s look with the top down. So I started looking into Aston Martin, because let’s be fair, all Aston convertibles look great with the roof up or down.
My last car being a 480hp 997 Turbo, I focused on the V12 models, the DB9 in particular. I obviously didn’t want to go down in power. But after a test drive with a DB9 Volante, I wasn’t impressed. The suspension was too comfortable, the acceleration too “gradual”, the sound not loud enough. In other words, the DB9 was too much of a GT car to my taste.
The Aston sales guy recommended I tried the V8 Vantage Roadster, the 4.7 liter v8 version with 420hp. I was hesitant… 420 hp? That was 60 down from my 911 Turbo…
However: I just loved it! The sound, the suspension, the sound, the excitement and did I mention the sound? And all that combined with the beauty of the shorter Vantage exterior and the beautiful interior. I was sold on the Vantage.
So this became my new car and my first Aston: a V8 Vantage Roadster, in Tungsten Silver, with a Sahara Tan interior. (and as it turned out, it wouldn’t be my last…)
In the end, I never missed the power of my 480hp 911 Turbo. The 420hp V8 turned out to a be more exciting car, mainly because of the brutal sound.
Okay, I admit, after a few months I fitted it with a Quicksilver exhaust system 🙂 (but even the stock exhaust is great with fuse 22 pulled).
Upgrades
During the two years that I owned this Aston, I had the following upgrades installed:
- Sports pack: to toughen up the suspension. Installed before delivery.
- N400 rims: still one of the nicest rims Aston makes. Installed before delivery.
- Quicksilver exhaust: more noise and a slight more aggressive throttle response.
- Carbon Fibre front splitter: the splitter first seen on the N400 model.
- Carbon Fibre diffuser: also from the N400 model.
- Wider sills: same here, N400 sills.
Here’s some more pics of my Tungsten Silver beauty:
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