Aston Martin Vantage GT8 2016 Review

Aston Martin Vantage GT8 manual
Road Test

Racing, they say, improves the breed. Well, Aston Martin has lapped plenty of circuits, and as for breeding, Aston’s up there with the very finest.

The bloodline’s long though and the V8 Vantage is ancient in modern terms. It's old enough to have come full circle, its old-school charms exactly that, charming. For a while it was outclassed, its many rivals running away from it, making the V8 Vantage a car you’d buy as much because of its shortcomings as its obvious beauty.

To keep buyers' interest there have been many special-editions; hell, only a month or so ago we drove the V12 Vantage S with a manual transmission, or as it quickly became to be known -- our favourite Aston Martin yet.

That’s changed. Why? Because of the GT8, that’s why. It's another special, of 150 units in case you want one (you're too late, as it’s already sold out), and the GT8 is billed as the most extreme V8 Vantage ever built.

It’s up to 100kg lighter than any Vantage before it and its reason for being is centred around celebrating Aston Martin’s efforts at Le Mans, the 24-hour race that beats all of them.

So think Aston Martin GTE racer, civilised for the road. The GT8 presents a face and backside that screams race car, with overt aerodynamic addenda, bigger brakes and black wheels with centre locking hubs.

All it needs are some numbers and a kill switch popping out of the bonnet and you could rock up at La Sarthe and wring it out down Mulsanne for 24 glorious hours. Probably not, but it looks like you could.

Getting in only builds on that impression, as there are fixed-back lightweight bucket seats and the door cards lose their practicality. They're moulded in lightweight carbon fibre, pulled closed by a rather kinky looking leather strap. The instruments remain unreadable, though hilariously optimistic as well, as the speedometer’s numbers go to 360km/h.

The GT8’s predicted top speed is closer to 300km/h and it could be less given the size of all those wings and vents, but it’s entirely academic, as the GT8 isn’t about top speed.

Nor indeed does the 4.4-second 0-100km/h time matter, as it’s about how it goes about getting there. Firing up the 4.7-litre V8 engine makes that immediately obvious. I’m told this early car is a bit noisier than the final signed off exhaust, but let’s hope that the tone has not been dialled back too much.

It absolutely fills the cabin with a raucous, pitlane-like V8 rumble; you could enjoy the GT8 enormously just sitting in it and blipping the accelerator all day.

The V8’s power is up a touch, 328kW quoted for UK and Europe, though it's likely to be pegged back a bit elsewhere, but as long as it still makes the same noise -- or even an approximation of it -- you’ll not care.

Like the V12 Vantage S we sampled recently, the old-school thrills are elevated by the standard fitment of a manual transmission, though here it’s a six-speed unit as opposed to the V12’s seven.

It’s better for it, too, as the six-speed gearbox's shift is in another league when it comes to precision and weighting. The clutch is light, the bite high though easy to modulate.

That manual might be an anachronism in 2016, and in no way associated with the track-element of the GT8’s make-up, but it’s central to the road car's appeal. There is a paddle-shift option available, but we reckon you’d completely ruin the car by going for it.

With a stick, three pedals and steering wheel in front of you there are gloriously few other distractions. There’s a Sport button for a sharper throttle map and slightly more noisy exhaust (small degrees here, as it’s noisy when it’s meant to be quieter -- gloriously so) and that’s it.

The stability and traction control system can be either switched off or given a more relaxed approach to control in Track Mode, though you’ll be doing well in the dry to have it interrupting your flow, such is the traction and grip on offer from the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tyres.

These aggressively dry and track biased tyres are fitted here to the optional, 19-inch centre-lock magnesium wheels. You’ll need those and a few other bits if you want to reach the 100kg mass reduction that’s possible, as the standard kerb weight is a mere 80kg less at 1530kg.

There are no variable damper settings, Aston saying that the suspension is as it should be, which means re-tuned springs and dampers on the double wishbone set-up. The front springs are 25 per cent stiffer, though the rear is unchanged -- likewise the rear roll bar.

Aston describes its geometry as ‘track focused’ and while that might be the case, it works beautifully on the road, the GT8’s aggressive nature not translating to a difficult or compromised drive; a busy, involving one, yes, but that’s kind of the point. The track width is up by 20mm at the front and 36mm at the rear, covered by bodywork that, at its widest (at the back), is some 54mm wider.

The aero kit is optional, but you’d have to have it, as it's a visual punch in the face, adding some track refugee aggression to the V8 Vantage’s squat, purposeful design. The jutting splitter is far from pedestrian friendly, but if you’re driving this where there are pedestrians then you’re doing it wrong.

We've got three glorious hours in the car around the roads in Britain’s Midlands, in the middle of which is Aston Martin’s HQ. There’s little traffic, and every type of road from horribly cambered and crowned single track to motorways.

Chuck in a bit of agricultural machinery dispersed mud in places, a flash shower for some Pilot Cup troubling moments and those three hours are among the most immersive and enjoyable we’ve ever had in an Aston Martin.

The V8’s always been an excellent unit, its enthusiasm for revs superb, the force it delivers beautifully linear, backed with a noise that’s off-the-scale rousing. The steering, a system so old that it’s still hydraulically assisted, is a delightful reminder that all progress is not good progress, the feel and immediacy it offers in a league above the muted modern electrically assisted set-ups its rivals have all moved to (with the exception of McLaren).

Add the manual transmission into the equation and the GT8’s a car that’s singular in its focus, that being the driver. That it’s fast is an inevitable by-product of such things, but it’s the way the GT8 immerses you in the experience of driving it that’s so alluring, so damned exciting.

The steering’s feel and precision, the engine’s response and the chassis ability to flatter, even in sometimes tough conditions, make this a car that’s among the most engaging we’ve had in a long time.

That includes its V12 Vantage S relation, and even Porsche’s haloed 911 R.

As Aston Martin races to the finish line with the V8 Vantage it’s saved the best until last, which makes it a terrible shame that it’s only making 150 -- and they’re all sold.

2016 Aston Martin Vantage GT8 pricing and specifications:
Price: TBC
Engine: 4735cc quad-cam 32-valve petrol V8
Output: 328kW/490Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: Not tested

Also consider:
>> Porsche 911 R ($455,000 plus ORCs)
>> Mercedes-AMG GT S ($294,610 plus ORCs)
>> Ferrari 488 GTB ($469,988 plus ORCs)