2025 Aston Martin Vantage Debuts

Aston Martin’s Porsche 911 and Mercedes-AMG GT fighting Vantage is about to get some new digs and the performance coupe market is about to heat up on the road and without a doubt, the track.

We start with the road, where the 2025 Vantage is set to be the fastest Vantage ever, and that includes the certifiably off-the-wall V12 version. Aston has turned to forced induction for the new car, providing it with a twin-turbo V8 (developed in partnership with Mercedes-AMG… interesting, that) making 655 horsepower and 590 pound feet of torque (guess we’ll have to wait for the arrival of the inevitable “S” version to crack the 600 lb-ft mark). Those figures denote an increase if 155 hp and 86 lb-ft, marking the largest power jump over the model it’s replacing. That’s a good start, as it means a 0-100 km/h time of about 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 325 km/h, or 202 mph. To get those results, engineers have modified the cam profiles, optimized compression ratios and provided larger turbos. There’s of course improved cooling as well.

To keep all of that grunt in check, Aston has given the Vantage a bonded aluminum structure and have played around with various chassis components – such as the front cross member – in an effort to achieve a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Speaking of that cross member; the Vantage is also 29 per cent stiffer under cornering load than previous. Add more responsive adaptive dampers than previous – which translates to something like 500 per cent increase in bandwidth, which I guess means they can complete 500% more scans of the road below faster – and you have a new baby Aston that should easily take the fight to said 911 or AMG GT coupe.

I’ll have to say that forgetting all the under the skin stiff for a second – but just for a second, because that stuff is what a sports car is all about – it puts the carbon fibre to the Merc and Porsche in terms of styling.

Looking every bit the junior version of the achingly gorgeous DB12 that launched late last year, this new Vantage is guaranteed to turn heads left, right and centre once it hits the road later this year. And I don’t care which road you’re talking about; whether on the French Riviera or in a Detroit suburb, the bright paint shades, the dark 21-inch wheels and oh-so-perfect panel creases will stop traffic. The way the wheels are pushed so far to each corner, meanwhile, is a great indication of just how tightly this new Vantage is bound to handle. It is oh-so-heartstopping a shape as only Aston knows how to do.

Speaking of Aston: they know interiors as well and so it goes that the new Vantage’s interior digs are a cornucopia of jeweled buttons and knobs, carbon fibre and the requisite digitization of stuff like the instrument cluster and central display. The leather is by the master leathersmiths at Bridge and Weir in Britain and the 15-speaker 1,170 watt audio is by Bowers & Wilkins so in addition to top-quality engine and chassis tech, the interior accoutrements aren’t likely to be ignored.

You can bet that every aspect of this new Vantage – as is the case with any Aston – is going to be an event. They just know how to do it right.

Now, about that race car…

Aston Takes to The Track

…well, how about it?

Like the road car, it looks spectacular — still has the curves, but is now just a little bit more wingy and aerodynamic-y. Essentially, it’s the Vantage but taken to the nines; huge cuts just back of the rear wheels, enlarged cooling ducts atop the hood and a massive wing. It’s all almost comically huge, but has been designed to fit within the tight regulations of the carious GT racing championships the world over, from the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, FIA World Endurance Series and both the European and Nurburgring overseas endurance series.

The Vantage GT3 is the first vehicle to come out of the newly founded Aston Martin Performance Technologies (AMPT) division, which is like a hybrid between all the various tech wings of the road car company and the racing division hitherto known as Aston Martin Racing (AMR). That means that the GT3 has plenty in common with the Vantage road car as they’re borne from the same partnership. The result, Aston says, is a race car that’s more easily approachable which means both amateur and professional drivers alike will become more easily accustomed with the new race car. The proof is in the pudding; the racer will be running the same twin-turbo V8 the road car does albeit with less power — 543 hp and 516 lb-ft — to comply with strict race regulations and the same bonded aluminium chassis.

Teams are already signing up; the famed Flying Lizard Motorsports group will be making the jump from the lower GT4 division to GT3, while the Belgian ComToYou and German Walkenhorst Motorsport group will be running the Vantage GT3 next year. Races in Europe, the US, Japan and of course Aston’s home country, England, will all see Vantage GT3 racers on the grid.

Competing a kind of trifecta of reveals from an event that took place at the fames Silverstone GP circuit in the UK is the ne AMR24 F1 racer. It’s goal is to continue the surprising success the brand had at the highest echelon of road racing, where it managed eight podiums in the hands of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Watch for the classic Aston Martin green with Aramco and Boss sponsor decals racers on the track throughout the ’24 F1 season, with both Stroll and Alonso once again at the helm.