WHAT IS IT? A rare British sports car at a royal price.
HOW MUCH? Base price, $181,345; as tested, $194,110.
WHAT MAKES IT RUN? 5.9-liter V-12 (510 horsepower); 6-speed manual gearbox.
IS IT THIRSTY? So much that the government slaps on a $3,000 gas-guzzler penalty. The E.P.A. rating is 11 m.p.g. in town and 17 on the highway.
So you think you’re a supercar? With a puny 400 horsepower, you’re not. Not to sound crass, but that’s stock Corvette territory. I’ve driven Mustangs with more grunt.
If you expect to lure an exotic-car lover over the six-figure fence — where money really does grow on trees — you’ll need 500 horses, minimum. Audi got that memo with its R8, a $118,000, 420-horsepower sports car that was awfully good, until a 525-horsepower V-10 version made it seem awfully tame. The R8’s first-class upgrade also costs $33,000 extra, enough to buy one of those 412-horse Mustangs.
Aston Martin has crunched similar numbers with its two-seat V-8 Vantage. The baby Aston — yes, it’s one spoiled baby — has been the smallest and least expensive car in the lineup, priced around $122,000 with a 420-horsepower 4.7-liter V-8. Now the V-12 Vantage adds a 510-horsepower wallop, transforming this British beauty into a supercar with a bark to match its bite.
Since the Aston Martin name carries more upper-class clout than Audi’s (and because only 200 V-12 Vantages will be shipped to the United States through 2012), the company will charge $60,000 extra for its cylinder-enhanced version.
The Aston certainly has the looks, luxury and pedigree to get away with highway robbery. More surprisingly, the Vantage gains enough performance under its lovely skin to make itself a defensible alternative to supercars from Ferrari, Porsche and others.
Stuffed into this short-wheelbase sports car like a fat kielbasa in an undersize bun, the V-12 gives the Vantage a wonderfully boisterous, tail-happy attitude; it’s something of a Cobra for billionaires. Every push of the throttle summons an upper-crust rasp and roar, and owners can decide how much of the $60,000 premium is for the sound alone. Pushing a Sport button opens an exhaust bypass to announce the Aston’s superiority even at low revs, while sharpening the throttle response.
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