Aston Martin Vantage grows up

A new look, 30 per cent more power, 15 per cent more torque, bespoke interior and a whole new level of attention to detail has moved the 2024 Aston Martin Vantage from entry-level model to a brand pillar in its own right.

That’s the word from Aston Martin director of design Miles Nurnberger, who debuted the car to media and buyers in Melbourne on the eve of this weekend’s 2024 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Long seen as an entry point for the storied British luxury brand, the Vantage has traditionally played second fiddle to Aston’s DB gran turismo models and special-edition cars such as the DBS Superleggera as well as bespoke, limited-edition cars such as the One-77.

Now, with this latest generation set to launch mid-year, the model is a “destination” in its own right, says Nurnberger.

The two-seater is Aston’s Porsche 911 competitor. With its latest generation, the company seeks to push the car’s performance, presence – and, now at a starting price of $410,000 Down Under, no doubt – profit.

“[Vantage] has been an interesting car over the years … because the company’s tried different approaches or it’s been positioned in certain ways,” Nurnberger told carsales.

“Even in the life of that car [last generation], it went through quite a few different positionings. I think this [generation] has moved it away from merely being an entry point into the brand.

“It’s trying to push it to be a standalone destination – a presence in itself. And I think that’s really important for it.

“It was seen as like, here’s this one [DB12] and this one [Vantage] will be below it. And this one is like, no, no, no, I’m as good, but I’m only two seats.”

Nurnberger describes the latest Vantage as “far more confident”.

“The minute you walk up to the front of the car, I think that message starts to be delivered … That it has an inner confidence about what it’s going to go and do,” he said.

“That was somehow not there in the mix before.”

As a new brand pillar should we expect more Vantage variants, then? Nurnberger was tight-lipped about the potential of the new Vantage to spawn more models – a la the Porsche 911 line-up – but offered some hints.

“It’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” he said, when asked if there’s a roadmap of specialist versions ahead.

“We have plans. And I think it’s probably too early to say [too much]. But let’s not talk about this car as a base offering.

“We are not a premium car-maker who’s making 13 flavours of it, but we see that there’s probably a very high price point [opportunity] … [There’s] something special to do with this guy…”