Aston Martin V8 Vantage – This British Bulldog barks and bites

Once upon a time there was a car company. It made good cars; very good cars. So good that they made as many as 10 world records in their early years and then went on to dominate the prestigious Le Mans 24 hours race in 1953. This was no mean feat. In fact it was good enough for the world’s most famous spy with the License to kill and the art to lay any female in the world to choose it as his preferred ride. These cars were achingly beautiful and were made with great emotion and passion. All the qualities made the cars from this famous British carmaker called Aston Martin to be the most talked about cars of their times

But there was a catch. This company never made money. It always ran under losses. To add to the firm’s woes its production cars had some very weird habits. They would run (or stall) at will, heat up in a cold winter evening or won’t start in the morning of a bright sunny day as if it was snowing and freezing cold for the pistons to respond to the call of duty. These cars had enviable lineage, and ghastly unreliability. Using these cars as an everyday driving tool meant that one needed to learn a whole bunch of new cuss words if he hated repitition and monotony.

The web of fairytale stories, pretty princesses and white horses is supposed to be built around a solid product, as most marketing gurus will tell you. In Aston’s case, the company thought it could get away with going the other way round. Obviously it was wrong. The brand bombed and the company in 1994 was in such a bad situation that it made just 42 cars for the entire year. Almost half of them didn’t sell.

And that’s why this car is so important. It’s about the resurrection of one the most premium and the oldest automobile brands of proud and (once) mighty Brits. After making losses almost for its entire being, Aston Martin has got itself into making profits and the car in these pictures in the reason why. The company which produced 42 cars in 1994 is producing more than 5000 cars with a price tag of more than $100,000 each and you can’t buy one if you want as there is a waiting period of three years. It’s the result of the success and popularity of this car that Mr James Bond once again wants to be behind the wheel of the Aston-ishing new DBS when he plays around with his foes in his new movie Casino Royale. This revival has been phenomenal, and is one of the most prominent evidence of the British insistence that their days as a motor-manufacturing power are not over yet.

So what’s so special about this car? Is it the fastest, or the most beautiful or the most comfortable? Does it have the most toys to play with? Well, I'm afraid i'll have to answer all these questions with a shamelessly definite NO.

You see it’s like Pele getting onto the football field for a world cup match and managing to keep up with athletes one third his age, twice his size and infinitely more vigor and power. No one wants or expects a goal from him. It’s simply not possible, but just passing the ball around precisely and dribbling it beautifully on a couple of occasions, exhibiting a flash of his legendary past would be far more relished by the audience than, say, Ronaldinho doing a hat-trick.

Aston Martin was an aged Pele till 2002, and it has scored a goal with the new Vantage. It’s but obvious for the crowd to go crazy. The 2006 Porsche 911 Turbo, costing just a couple of grand more will grate, mince, smoke, grill and eat the Vantage up on any given terrain or condition. But what the hell! A 911 is supposed to do that. The fun is when an almost dead brand like Aston Martin, with one leg already in the grave gets up, looks the most profitable car maker in the world straight in its eye, challenges it, and goes down fighting. And trust me; the British contender does give its German counterpart some solid, nose-smashing, jaw-breaking punches before enraging it and getting mauled.

This car has a 4.3-litre engine, producing 380 bhp – good enough to register a 0-100 time of 4.7 seconds. Nothing too impressive of course, for a price tag of $110000, but for god’s sake, performance figures are not what cars are all about. That car looks amazing. Oh that muscular stance, that beautiful amalgamation of intimidating brawny lines and the classic beauty of the Astons of yore. This car is a world body-building champion dressed in the robe of a King – stately, gentle, but not to be messed with.

The Vantage sure knows how to shed that dignity when required though. In fact, it could be the most ferocious animal on the planet if you really are not Mr. Right dressed in a power suit, never willing to go above 50mph. All you need to do to unleash the monster within the Vantage is to take that tacho needle above the 4500rpm mark. All hell will break loose there on. There’s a valve which keeps the beast in this car’s exhaust chained till the 4500 mark, and it lets it go after that. That wail from this car’s pipe would’ve made the dead spring out of their graves to see what they’d just heard, if that sound was just one decibel louder. You could hear the gears being shifted from miles together. You’ll just need to pass a small town at full blast for all the chicks to hear that divine melody and fall in love with the guy in that beautiful British car.

The best part about the new Vantage is that unlike the Astons of relatively recent times, this one’s not just about the looks and the noise. Germans might be known to build the best engineered cars in the world, but the V8 Vantage is a genuine British sports car with pin precise steering and handling that’ll thrill you, exhilerate, excite you with its gadget-free old-world engineering charm. It’s not devastatingly fast, but once you drive it, you know that it’s amazingly nimble, quick and reassuring around the corners. You’ll know that this is perhaps the best Aston Martin ever built and could genuinely challenge its Germans counterparts - teaching them a thing or two while being at it.

What you might also like to know though is Aston Martin, the British car maker has a German CEO called Ulrich Bez nowadays, its engine is built in Cologne, which again happens to be located in Germany, and the plant employs quite a few Germans for technical knowhow. Oh, the amazing new British Vantage...

IF YOU BUY IT

You’re cool because

The machine you’re driving is the truest testimony to humans’ love for automobiles; this brand would’ve been dead otherwise. And there can’t be a cooler thing

Visually this car is as true to Aston’s lineage as a Gallardo is to Lamborghini or an Exige is to Lotus

There isn’t a better sounding machine on the roads

And there are a very few better looking ones

The Vantage is a departure from the notorious Aston Martin quirks, and is a very reliable, refined and quick car to drive

The trademark red power button is still there on all the Astons, and it’s definitely a cool thing

You’re driving James Bond’s favorite car

You’re a fool because

You’re driving a car manufactured by a maker which is owned by an American firm, has a German CEO and engine, and prides itself on being British

911 turbo, the car which the Vantage is pitted against will have it for breakfast on any terrain

People will think that you’re a poseur since you didn’t buy a DB9 or a V12 Vanquish

You don’t understand that a commode is not the best driving machine just because James Bond is driving it

You’re more into style than substance

AND HERE'S A VIDEO, COMPARING THE V8 VANTAGE, THE PORSCHE 911 CARRERA AND THE M6