AM V8 Vantage - SA Supertest

[st-anger]

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http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/6883/file09665ve.th.jpg (http://img333.imageshack.us/my.php?image=file09665ve.jpg)


NS:

excellent handling behaviour with the stock Bridgestone Potenza RE50 or the optional Pirelli P Zero Corsa, the test car was equipped with the - tuned for max dry grip with high positive rubber amount - Corsa and with that tire the Vantage is 10 seconds faster than with the original RE50, so 8:03min with the Pirelli´s been the best lap...
the Vantage is very neutral in all driving conditions and the brakes are superb, even after more flying laps, the result of many many thousands testing kilometers at the ´ring...


HHR:

...the combination of Pirelli´s Corsa and the Vantage´s suspension setup is again nearly perfect, steering is very direct but not nervous, grip due to diff-lock simply outstanding. the brakes are delivering very very good results on the brakes demanding track, even with the "not so sporty" RE50 it can do a 1:16.7, with the Corsa a 1:14.8...
but again, with both tires the good overall setup of the car provides a extremly good feeling for the car, no over-/understeering at all and simply outstanding handling, the key factor for a good lap time at HHR...


acceleration/braking:

the whole transaxle driveline layout is just right for the Vantage and is a key factor for the very neutral and good handling behaviour as well as traction under hard acceleration, also due to the warm testing conditions the Vantage was .5 sec slower than the stated 5.0sec from AM - up to 200 it takes 18.8 sec and the brakes are good for 11.7m/s² de-acceleration with the Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires...


aerodynamics:

...lift at the front axle is 480N or 48kg at 200km/h - at the rear it´s "only" 13kg the car is getting lighter at that speed - not that good result but the straightline stability is better than on most of the other sportscars, even at the highest speeds, also 200+ km/h autobahn bends are no problem, another benefit of the superb suspension setup.


max. lateral accl.:

with the optional Pirelli tires the Vantage can pull up to 1.3g lateral acceleration without getting nervous so very neutral, with the RE50 the turn-in behaviour suffers a bit as well as the smoothness and lateral performance...


36m slalom:

the Vantage feels very nimble and light due to a excellent steering system, turn-in behaviour is remarkable with the Pirellis, even with TC-off it provides enough grip for fast lanechanges and the driver has to push really hard to bring some nervousness into the handling - so also at the limit the car can be titled as very neutral...
speed advantage for the Pirelli: 4km/h


110m evasion test:

fast lanechanges is no problem with the RE50 and the Corsa, sure with the Pirelli everything is more precise and direct nevertheless the speed difference is quite high comparing the two tire models - 138km/h to 133km/h is quite something...


wet handling:

again the sport-tire/semi slick vs "normal" street tire discussion, in the end the P Zero Corsa is of course a tire that feels "at home" on a dry smooth track but it also shows a definitely acceptable performance under wet conditions...


verdict:

thanks to CEO Betz - former Porsche R&D-chief :wink: - the AM V8 Vantage can be considered as a true sportscar, the outstanding engine but most of all the Betz influenced suspension setup/tires and testing procedure is good for a very good result and finally a big big step forward for british sports cars...






well done... :P

[adamwich]

Thanks a lot st-anger for the scans!

[stmoritzer]

Thanks for the scans, I like this car 8)

[nejcdolinsek]

Wow! Thats a good time the AM V8 got round the 'ring :D

Thanx for the scans :D :D

[Just_me]

Thanks St-anger.

Its amazing to see the difference between R-tires and normaltires. Let's hope Sportauto test the BMW M6 with both R-tires and Normal-tires. Maybe below 8 min with the M6 and R-tires isnt impossible :D

[Just_me]

St-anger any words when M3 Competiton package will be tested?

[Fleischmann]

Excellent...I expected no less from the new AM. I'm glad to see a British interloper finally catch up with the rivals.

[yg60m]

As always, Thanks for the scans and translation st-anger :D That's a great magazine !!

[gucom]

thanks ive been waiting for this :D its faster than i expected on the 'Ring...i like this car even more now :D

[jorge]

Thanks a lot, it´s great to see articles with full tests of the cars :)

[dutchmasterflex]

so AM has a Porsche R&D guy now.. no wonder this generation of AM cars are a shit load better..

[st-anger]

next Supertest´ll feature the Golf V GTI and "unfortunately" not the ///M6....

[1zippo1]

I was waiting for this one. Thanks st-anger.

That's an awesome time it put down on The Ring. I never thought it would beat the Carrera S, I was thinking it would manage a 8min9 or something like that. It seems Aston Martin have really cracked it with this one. In the article they say it has an excellent feel and that the cars handling is well sorted. In the video's that were posted earlier they compared the Carrera S & AMV8 and said the Carrera S was the better handling car. To bad the AMV8 is going to be so expensive... Not that I'll ever be able to afford one :P

[leo_26782]

Thanks for the scan and the translation, it looks like a great car so far :D

I only hope there will be other options for the interior! Look at the colors used: it reminds me of a 20 years old car :? But apart from that, I'd love it to be my next car :)