True, the Vantage is a big kitty. Built atop a 106.0-inch wheelbase, it measures 183.7 inches in overall length and straddles the road with 74.7 inches of width-all bigger than the none-too-slight-DB7 by a fair margin. With its muscled flanks, huge wheels, and broad face (0.35 Cd), the Vantage packs a potent visual punch. "By contrast, the DB7 looks rather girly," Dover admits. However, thanks to its lightweight construction, the Vantage is about 400 pounds lighter than its production counterpart.
The opportunity to drive this multi-million-dollar concept is a memory maker. Though we're limited to speeds under 50 mph on a tree-lined two-lane meandering though a Florida state preserve, it's still possible to get a halfway decent feel for the validity of the concept. From a looks standpoint, Callum's bodyshaping flat works. All day long, we've witnessed people of every age and income level stop in their tracks and rock on their heels to watch the Vantage drive past. From a comfort standpoint, it's almost there. The race-shaped buckets may be a bit too firm and form-fitting for the typically older Aston buyer, but they're covered with absolutely the creamiest Connolly hides we've ever caressed; it makes you wonder if Aston has a man whose sole job is to fondle all the cows in the pen and pick only the softest.
Everywhere you look, the sights and smells of the cockpit exude pure hedonism, but with purposeful high-tech overtones. The gauges are traditional in design and easy to read; however, they lack important readouts for oil pressure and oil temp. The controls are well placed, but the air conditioning's not working, and although it's only 85 degrees outside, the blast furnace of engine heat baking into the tight cockpit makes it feel like I'm driving a convection oven. A $2 million convection oven, that is.
Unlike most concept cars, this one actually starts and runs under its own power, but it's immediately obvious that the one-off four-cam 48-valve V-12 built from Ford, Cosworth, and Aston collaborations is not in a prime state of tune. At idle, the whole car shakes a bit, and the exhaust is quite loud. Definitely not proper British manners. Power delivery is accompanied by a raspy series of lurches and the dulcet tones of the driveshaft whacking against the inside of the transmission tunnel. (But, as Bob Dover keeps pointing out, this car was only designed to drive onto the show stand.) The gearbox is a Borg-Warner T56 six-speed (a la Camaro or Viper), but fitted with Magnetti Marelli's automatic paddle shift system (a la Ferrari 355 F1). Callum designed the steering-column-mounted paddles to be about twice as large as those used on the Ferrari, which greatly aids shifting when in corners or attempting to parallel park (the latter isn't easy, due to the car's oil-tanker-size turning radius.)
Photo session complete, our drive is over. And while it's obvious this particular car is far from sorted out mechanically, the design, the flavor, and the purpose of the concept are spot-on perfect. It's strongly rumored that Aston's execs will make the go/no-go decision of bringing the Vantage to production by October. Pricing hasn't even been hinted at, but it'd probably be close to parity with Ferrari's $230,000 456GT.
And they'll sell every one they can build.