2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe Review
Despite the enormous appeal of the V-12-engined DB9 and DBS models, Aston Martin’s most complete car has always been the entry-level V8 Vantage, launched in 2005. The car’s squat, purposeful lines are still the best example of the company’s design language today, while its V-8 engine offers one of the best sound tracks ever. Factor in agile handling, decent refinement, and practicality in a compact package, and you’ve got a worthy rival for Porsche’s 911.
However, just because it’s Aston’s most complete car doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Customers and journalists have always moaned that the 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage could do with more power. Steering feel could be sharpened up, too, as could the cabin. So this is the result. The 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantagemay not look any different (apart from new nineteen-inch alloy wheels, Aston has left the visuals alone), but under the skin there are a host of updates aimed at making it the best version yet.
The biggest and most important update is a new engine. It grows from 4.3 liters to 4.7, thanks to an increased bore and stroke, made possible by a move to cylinder liners that are pressed into the aluminum alloy block, allowing a thinner liner on the cast-in design of the old 4.3. “We really are at the limit of how far we can take this engine,” says 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantagechief program engineer Paul Barritt. “This is bigger than it was ever designed to be.” The numbers? Well, power goes up from 380 horsepower to 420 at 7000 rpm, while torque gets a boost from 302 pound-feet to 347 at 5750 rpm.
Both the six-speed manual gearbox and semi-automatic Sportshift transmissions get new clutches and flywheels, reducing weight by about one pound, while the latter also gets revised software to improve its adaptiveness in full automatic mode. (It now holds onto a gear when cornering, for example.) As for the suspension, the front and rear springs have been stiffened by 11 percent and 5 percent respectively, while new Bilstein dampers are standard, brought in to improve ride quality.
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