Aston Martin on Ice: Snow driving the new Vantage

The damsel in distress in any James Bond film is folklore. You know, the typical buxom heroine who falls for 007’s charms as he inevitably plucks her from a disastrous fate.

Today, behind the wheel of one of Bond’s own Aston Martins, the sinewy new Vantage, the gender roles have been unequivocally reversed.

We’re in the snow-lined New Zealand mountains and beside me in the passenger seat is British-born female instructor Tiffany Chittenden, a revered karting champion whose deft touch is helping me fling the 1530kg Aston Martin Vantage around a slalom course as if it was one of Bond’s own subjects. Oh, the irony.

“The secret is to hold the car sideways for a moment longer than you think, and that will allow you to really master the flick back the other way,” says Chittenden as she helps instruct your suitably damsel-esque correspondent through a figure-of-eight exercise.

Channelling Bond, specifically Pierce Brosnan’s snow driving exploits in Die Another Day, is a relative cinch in the new Aston Martin on Ice experience.

Open to current Aston owners, along with prospective customers or simply car nuts, the package is available for $7000 including catering and costs on the ground.

‘The flick’ to which Tiff refers is of the Scandinavian variety, a balance of physics, momentum and timing which, when exercised properly, effortlessly swings the car’s rear-end like a pendulum, setting it up for the next corner.

She and the group of instructors are well-versed in teaching this form of driving, with nearly 150 clients having been through the Aston Martin on Ice program in the past three years.

We soon master the flick before moving onto other exercises, including the black art of drifting, at the spectacular and purpose-built Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground.

With room to move on the proving ground’s 450 hectares, the event is split up into different exercises.

First, it’s basic understeer (front tyres pushing wide through corners) and oversteer (rear wheels sliding wide) testing, before moving into figure-of-eight, slalom and drifting exercises – before linking all the teachings together with a final 1km course.

Tucked away at the facility separate to our snow-flinging exploits, there is some serious testing going on.

International car-makers are testing their platoons of future models in the -6 degree temps at the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground, while the Northern Hemisphere experiences its warmer months.

The conditions at 1500m elevation are surprisingly pleasant, however; we’re seriously rugged up and there isn’t much exposure to the climate when constantly switching between seat-warmed cabins or into the nearby hut for elaborate spreads of food.

The weaponry on hand from Aston Martin on this particular day is diverse, from the drop-top DB11 Volante to its V8-powered and V12-powered coupe siblings.

All are standard cars except for about 200 hand-screwed studs on the treads of each tyre, to aid traction.

Each vehicle has its own charm, but ultimately, it’s the slender new Aston Martin Vantage that everyone wants to get their snow-gloved mitts on.

A 1530kg kerb weight teams nicely with cracking throttle response and unmatched levels of chassis and steering feedback in this company, imbuing the driver with a real sense of connection on the slippery surface.

Officially, the new Aston Martin Vantage features a 50:50 static weight distribution along with revised front suspension geometry and solidly-mounted rear suspension and transaxle in place of the subframe used in the DB11, with which the Vantage shares it modular platform.

“There’s something about this compared with the others,” I mutter to Tiff. “Yeah, you’re not the first person to say that,” she smiles.

There is certainly something about the Vantage. It is easy to place and track as we meander through the course’s cones, eventually stringing together the final 1km section without error.

Timing and patience is everything in ice driving – something we’ve discovered in the past – and when strung together, they speak volumes for the Vantage’s ease of use.

“We’ll get you to bring the speed down in that section please Sam,” comes another voice over the radio as I struggle to contain my excitement in the cool-down area.

We don’t just drive the Vantage on snow either. Aston Martin’s back-up option -- should Mother Nature intervene with ice driving plans -- is to cut laps the Highlands Motorsport Park in nearby Cromwell, some 1300 metres lower. We were fortunate enough to knock over both activities.

The brainchild of millionaire businessman and motor racing tragic Tony Quinn, the circuit’s sprawling facilities are truly top-notch. On this day, we have access to a slightly condensed 4.1km loop that provides ample opportunity to test the Vantage’s dynamic wares.

As Aston Martin’s sportiest, most track-ready series production vehicle to-date, the Vantage is again the pick of the cars on offer, which now include the new DB11 AMR and stonking new DBS Superleggera.

At 4465mm, it is some 80mm longer than its long-serving predecessor, while its wheelbase (2704mm) is 103mm longer again and the car’s width stretches a lot further (1942 v 1866mm).

Despite that, the Vantage has an uncanny ability to shrink-wrap its driver, a feature owed to sharp steering response, excellent body control and intimate on-the-limit handling.

Then there’s the braking power of the car’s optional carbon-ceramic stoppers, which swiftly pull the Vantage up with excellent pedal feel and consistency.

This is all fitting at a place like Highlands, where big walls and even a bridge crossing could have an unnerving effect on the uninitiated.

Another highlight of the Vantage is owed in part to Mercedes-AMG. The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 on offer is sourced from the Affalterbach firm, albeit with some bespoke inlet and exhaust systems from Aston’s own engineers in Gaydon, UK.

The V8’s 375kW/685Nm outputs are supported by terrific throttle response, generous reserves of torque and a penchant for high revs, with peak power reached at 6000rpm.

Aston is claiming a top speed in excess of 310km/h (195mph) and 0-100km/h time of just 3.6sec. Fuel economy is 10.5L/100km.

The Vantage is the first Aston to pair its eight-speed ZF transaxle-style auto with a BMW M-style electronically-controlled limited-slip differential for maximum agility.

The e-diff certainly plays its part by offering stability at high speeds, precision during turn-in and excellent power-down characteristics out of corners.

Credit is due to the Vantage’s rubber here, too: sticky Pirelli P Zero tyres (255/40 front, 295/35 rear) offering prodigious grip in tighter corners and high-speed bends alike.

This trait tends to be accentuated compared with the inferior Bridgestone Potenza rubber fitted to some of the other cars.

An eagerness to escape New Zealand’s chilly conditions sees us spend plenty of time in the Vantage’s sumptuous cabin, both on snow and back in Cromwell.

The hand-crafted layout employs quality materials and switchgear at all the contact points, along with a low-slung driving position and Aston’s trademark dash-mounted PRND gear selector buttons.

Obligatory optional extras are scattered throughout this particular test car, including lashings of carbon-fibre and a tech pack comprising keyless entry, blind-spot monitoring, auto park assist, Mercedes-derived infotainment touchpad, glass switchgear, electronically-adjustable steering column and conventional cruise control.

The cabin falls short of rivals including the savvy Audi R8, with a fussy selection of buttons and switchgear, and a clunky Mercedes-Benz derived infotainment system that is truly showing its age.

The Vantage is otherwise a comfortable and sophisticated affair, even if it misses out on functions including adaptive cruise control and automated emergency braking – important tech even in this segment.

The car is well suited to road driving, too, with a convincing comfort bias in its softest drive setting, and terrific vision (for a supercar) front and rear.

Our only real complaints: road noise (specifically tyre roar) is ever-present on New Zealand’s largely coarse-chip network, and there was an annoying rattle emanating from behind the dashboard centre fascia.

In all, however, the Aston Martin on Ice driving experience leaves you with an indelible impression of the Aston Martin brand and its people. Which is really the whole point.

“We get a lot of prospective buyers who want to know if the Aston Martin brand is the right fit for them,” says Kevin Wall, Aston’s Australian regional manager.

“The Aston Martin on Ice experience is a perfect place to start.”

How much is a 2018 Aston Martin Vantage?
Price: $299,950 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: Twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8
Output: 375kW/685Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.5L/100km
Safety rating: N/A