Elite Traveler July-August 2018

INSPIRE TOP CARS

To ensure sound differentiation from its AMG counterpart, Aston’s engineers tuned the engine silencers and tweaked the pipe lengths

AstonMartin Vantage BEST BORROWED ENGINE APPROPRIATION Call it British decorum; the 2019 Aston Martin Vantage runs the same engine as the Mercedes-AMG GT insofar as its 4.0-liter biturbo V8 specifications are concerned. Thanks to a technical partnership conceived in 2013, Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, supplies infotainment, electronics and engines to the Warwickshire UK-headquartered brand in exchange for a five percent stake. The company-coined “visceral engine roar” rises from amended induction and exhaust systems. Rather than the deeply throaty trill that has become a trademark of Mercedes, Aston opted to massage more midrange purrs than pops from its eight-speed paddle-shifted automatic transmission. (A point of difference: Mercedes manages a seven-speed dual clutch.) Suave and sleek, more Sean Connery than Daniel Craig when it comes to secret agents behind the wheel, the Vantage is both masculine and feminine all at once. Broad haunches and flared fenders meld with softer, less severe tension lines through the exterior. Inside the cockpit, a lower driving position gives the feel of a more immersive experience. The car envelops the driver, taking a page from the brand’s racing annals. Price from $170,000 Engine 4.0-liter biturbo V8 Power 503 hp

Photo Aldo Ferrero