When Aston Martin first said they were going to produce a ‘baby’ model to become their cheapest car in the range, many purists thought they had lost their minds. They said very idea of a cheaper Aston Martin model would devalue the brand and go against everything the prestigious marque and its illustrious heritage stood for. For Aston Martin however, a company who have never been a profitable car manufacturer and have gone bust and been re-taken over more than most, it was the chance to appeal to a new demographic. The typical Aston Martin buyer was seen as a noble pipe smoking elderly gentleman decked in tweed who probably has at least one other classic model from the company in the garage, if not more. Not exactly the type of frequent buyers to break sales figure records any time soon. They had seen how Bentley had appealed to a younger market with their Continental GT, and were selling more models than ever, and wanted a piece of that market.
When Aston showed off their concept for the new Vantage in 2003 they proved that doubters had no need to worry about their design intentions. The perfectly formed 2 seat sports car they produced had all the style and luxury of their larger cars in abundance, as well as the same impeccable standard of build quality and interior opulence that the brand are famed for. The two seat layout created a sporting focus to the car, moving away from the luxury GT cruisers that they had produced and what a decision it was. The Vantage has been a staple of the Aston Martin line-up ever since and the company refuses to let go of their best selling model just yet. After 13 year since the concept was revealed, 11 years of production including many special models and even managing to squeeze their famous V12 engine under the bonnet in the V12 Vantage, the recipe for sporting success is only just getting started.
Last year Aston Martin produced the fearsome GT3 (changed to GT12 after Porsche complained); a limited run 100 example track focussed version of their V12 Vantage. The car sold out in an instant despite the quarter of a million pound price tag, 3 times the price of a standard Vantage. This year Aston has decided that their V8 Vantage deserves the same race thoroughbred treatment and has released the limited edition GT8. The limited run has been stretched to 150 examples and the price tag reduced to just double the price of the basic car. The price tag will matter little to die hard Aston Martin fans and those looking for that blend of refined quality and motorsport heritage, just as the queue of buyers for the sold out GT12 showed too.
The key inspiration to this limited run Vantage GT8 is a return to good old fashioned motorsport principles; only a slight increase in power from the naturally aspirated V8 but a whole host of weight saving methods for that precise racing handling. Based on the Aston Martin Racing World Endurance Championship car, the GT8 saves over 100kg compared to the regular V8 Vantage and gains 10BHP to give it 440BHP in total. Racing inspired highlights such as the wider carbon fibre body panels, acrylic plastic windows replacing the heavy glass and lightweight magnesium wheels count for the majority of the weight loss, creating a nimble featherweight car to make the most of that raucous V8 engine. Not that you’ll notice any of these changes when you see the GT8 with its racing inspired livery and aerodynamic additions.
The Aston Martin Vantage has always been a beautiful looking car. The short dimensions and stubby overhangs to the front and rear give the baby Aston perfect sportscar proportions. Exaggerated wheel arches and a wide stance add to the muscular appeal of the car, contrasting the svelte curvaceous lines to the rest of the Aston range. With the GT8 the best parts of the car’s design and styling are highlighted further, adorned with an abundance of carbon fibre and aerodynamic additions. As well as the body panels being replaced by carbon fibre, the wheel arches are larger and extended giving an even more purposeful and menacing stance. At the front, the curvaceous face of the car has been underlined by a carbon fibre splitter, finished in luminous yellow just in case you didn’t see it. Bracing struts in the front grille are finished in the same luminous highlight, yet the car doesn’t feature the prominent ‘lipstick’ featured on their racing cars and offered on previous limited edition models, but a more subtle recessed version gracing the inner edge of the famous Aston Martin shaped grille. Large carbon fibre side skirts and wing mirrors receive the same highlight treatment, as well as a go-faster stripe accentuating the crease of the door styling. Aston have said that the contrasting highlighting of the car, a feature of their current range of race cars, are limited to a certain number of examples due to the amount of time and visits to the paint shop the detailing takes to apply to each car. A process that has to be done post-assembly rather than prior to assembly in case the panels don’t line up perfectly with the car. Another example of the nothing less than perfect attention to detail that the company applies to their cars.
At the rear of the car the race inspired wing-like spoiler combines with the front splitter to maximise the downforce for the car. Both aerodynamic aids have to be specified together in order to not upset the balance of the car, a sign of the lengths that Aston have gone to in order to create a focussed track machine. The end plates of the spoiler of course feature the same luminous highlight treatment, as does the majority of the boot lid taken from the V12 Vantage, with the larger sculpted built in spoiler. A large carbon rear diffuser eats into the bottom of the bumper and finishes off the race car look to the back of the car, completing the total aerodynamic package on offer.
The Vantage GT8 is a sign of Aston Martin’s wild side, a moment of madness and a chance for them to let their hair down and show what they can really do when they are given an opportunity. Their success on the track is a contrast to the refined luxury world they manufacturer for the road and the GT8 is a chance to merge their two separate worlds together. In most instances the limited edition GT8 and GT12 shouldn’t make sense. Creating such beautiful supercars oozing style and sophistication and endless luxury shouldn’t blend well with aerodynamic inspired engineering and design tweaks, but oddly it does, and works very well indeed. Aston Martin are consistently listed as one of the coolest brands in the world and based on this evidence they can’t seem to do much wrong. Using a car that has been on sale for over a decade, which still looks achingly stunning in the flesh, and refreshing it to create something out of character yet inspiringly iconic, is a testament to the success of the design of the original Vantage. The long queue of buyers wanting to part with their cash in order to secure their cars shows that there’s still life left in the old Vantage yet.
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