2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Vs 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S Engine Comparison

ROUND 2: 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Vs 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S cont...

The styling and Bond-cool factor alone could probably entice 4000 V8 Vantage customers per year, but just in case buyers demand performance as well, the company went to considerable trouble to engineer the car for 911-grade ride and handling, about which company CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez knows more than a little, having stamped his resume at Porsche three jobs ago. For starters, he shoved the V-8 well back in the nose of the car and mounted the slick-shifting Graziano six-speed tranny back at the rear axle to achieve a curb weight distribution of 49/51 percent front/rear. The shortened DB9 chassis, composed of aluminum extrusions and castings, forms a rigid platform for the control-arm front, multilink rear suspension. Relative to the Carrera S, the Aston's wheelbase is almost 10 inches longer while the bodywork is over three inches shorter. The track is wider by 3.2 inches in front and 1.8 inch in back, giving the V8 Vantage a stable, sure-footed stance, especially on our tester's optional 19-inch wheels and tires ($1595).

That stability was evident on the twisted, hilly roads outside Paso Robles, where the Aston always remained well planted and never put a wheel wrong. The slight rear-weight bias (heightened with a driver and luggage aboard) contributes to the feeling of improved grip during braking, and there's no sensation of big weight transfers happening under acceleration. We could feel the hand of Dr. Bez in the Aston's ride quality, which faithfully matches the Carrera S's (with the adjustable suspension in comfort mode). Sharp impacts are cushioned, while body motions remain controlled. There is, however, a bit more body roll permitted in the Aston, and the steering is heavier off-center, not quite as linear as the 911's. It works okay and doesn't require mid-corner correction, but it never feels anywhere near as natural or communicative as the Porsche's.

2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

In our objective handling tests, the V8 Vantage performed similarly to the base Porsche 911, matching its 0.91g lateral grip and circling the figure-eight course at a nearly identical 25.7 seconds and 0.72g average. The Aston's 7300-rpm rev-limiter may have contributed slightly to that result--the 911s both ran out of third gear just before the end of the straights, while the Aston was able to keep pulling (overall gearing in third is almost identical). The cone spacing in our slalom course favored the wheelbase and natural frequency of the Aston, which slipped through at an average 71.4 mph--a shade quicker than the Carrera S and Z06, though from the helm, test-driver Chirico was hard-pressed to explain the improvement, noting, "Sometimes a car manages to score a number it didn't deserve on paper."

2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

There was nothing spurious about the results on the big track at Laguna Seca, where the 3566-pound Aston finished last, 2.2 seconds slower than the Carrera S (0.4 second behind the base 911) at a 71.8-mph average. It could carry similar speeds into most turns, but it struggled to accelerate as hard at the exits and while climbing the big uphill stretch leading to the famous corkscrew. Chirico also noted the brake- pedal feel inspired less confidence than the 911's and that he noticed a bit of fade toward the end of the session.