New Aston Martin Vantage follows hot on the heels of the DB12 Volante, which was launched in Singapore by Wearnes Automotive a week ago
Singapore - With million dollar prices bandied about, a sportscar isn't judged solely by its performance and looks any longer, but also resale.
Some marques find a natural secondary market, while others require a little more work to move used, much less brand new.
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This means the war among the ADs isn't just fought on the new car forecourt or in terms of after-sales or extended warranty packages, but also in terms of used-car residuals and trade-in values.
With a price-tag that starts from $1,068,000 before COE and options, the new Vantage boasts a revised front and rear, as well as more incisive dynamics, with its twin-turbo'd 4.0-litre punching out a rousing 665hp and 800Nm.
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Its price and performance mean it sits snugly between the 911 Turbo S (650hp/800Nm) at $1,151,788 (before COE and options) and the 911 Turbo (580hp/750Nm) at $980,688 (before COE and options).
If you're talking Prancing Horse, Ferrari's scintillating and very sweetly-balanced front-engined, rear-drive Roma Coupe (620hp/760Nm) weighs-in at $1,093,814 before COE and options.
The Vantage is cast from the familiar Aston Martin mold and is the archetypal front-engined, rear-drive sportscar, with a powerful bonnet and dynamic rear aesthetics that accentuate its performance credentials.
Thankfully, it isn't all show and no go, because Aston Martin has endowed it with Active Vehicle Dynamics, Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers, an E-Diff, as well as AML-specific Michelin Pilot S 5 tyres.
Like the DB12, the Vantage sees service of the fabulous touchscreen UI, with a reasonably intuitive UX.
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Like its big brother, the DB12, the Vantage's cabin is a nice mix of hand-worked craftsmanship, quality materials and the concessions to digitalisation.
Compared to the minimalist interiors of other brands, the Vantage's centre console is nicely populated with physical controls, although some have said it has too many buttons.
However, we should qualify that we haven't had the chance to fiddle around with them when the car is on the move, so it might prove to be more intuitive than it looks.
