11 minutos de pornografia automóvel para ver em 1080p Full Screen, de preferência com uns bons headphones e o volume bem alto [br]
Se siguen moviendo las cosas en Aston Martin. Tras recibir con los brazos abiertos meses atrás a su nuevo propietario, Investindustrial, y firmar un acuerdo de colaboración técnica con Daimler para recibir motorizaciones de AMG y sistemas eléctricos (que podría acabar en una venta completa), hoy hemos sabido que la firma británica acaba de hacerse con una línea de crédito de 120 millones de euros.
La inyección de liquidez, a refinanciar o pagar en tres años, debería permitir a Aston acelerar en el desarrollo de su nueva gama de modelos, que debería arrancar por un renovado V8 Vantage, y también continuar la exploración del proyecto de SUV para Lagonda.
Recordemos que Aston tiene intención de mantener su plataforma modular VH, convenientemente actualizada, para su nueva generación de modelos, aunque Daimler le ha ofrecido ya la posibilidad de negociar la cesión de otras plataformas, como la de los futuros SL/SLK (una modular de aluminio), y la actual del GL, por si les pudiera interesar.
Los costes derivados de instalar una línea de producción completamente nueva para emplear la base de los citados SL y SLK hacen inviable a corto plazo que Aston abandone su más artesanal sistema de perfiles extruidos de aluminio, pegados y remachados.
El nuevo V8 Vantage tendría que ver la luz comercial en un plazo de dos o tres años.
We take the new Aston Martin V12 Vantage S into the Hatta mountains to see how ‘the most extreme Vantage to date’ handles the twisties.
It’s been a while since crankandpiston.com took an Aston Martin Vantage for a spin, and there are two very good reasons for that. The last time we attempted an epic road trip – in a V8 Vantage S – we were dealt a hammer blow by Mother Nature in the form of a gigantic rainstorm that almost left us stranded in the Hatta mountains. We were not, as you can imagine, particularly keen to chance our arm again.
The other slightly more significant reason was the availability of our latest test model, the all-new V12 Vantage S. The fastest road-going Aston on offer (the exclusive One-77 aside) first dropped onto automotive radar screens last June, and the crankandpiston team has been nagging Aston for a go ever since. Fate proved to be a damnable mistress though, for time and again, word came back from Aston GHQ that the V12 Vantage S was unavailable for ‘maintenance reasons’. Either its new rocket ship was hideously unreliable, or had a tendency of booting its occupants into the wall. Today, having wangled a day with the V12 S, we’re hoping to avoid both – and another rainstorm – on another drive through the Hatta mountains.
Rousing a rather grumpy James Davison – crankandpiston’s lensman for the day – from his weekend plans proved a trickier proposition still, one only accomplished via stats and technical specs:
“So what engine is in it?”
“6.0-litre V12”
“Power?”
“Er, I’ve got the specsheet here, hang on…565bhp…and 457lb ft of torque”
“Performance?”
“Plenty. 330kph top speed and 0-100kph in 3.9 seconds”
“…Interesting…”
Enthusiasm suitably bolstered by performance figures, the next challenge was boosting enthusiasm for the looks.
Whereas on the V8 the GT4-levels of performance were hidden beneath a beautifully elegant Vantage body, Aston designers at the V12 design easel have clearly gone raving mad. Key changes – on top of the new Stratus White paint – include those whopping great air intakes carved into the bonnet in an effort to feed yet more oxygen to the V12 monster. There’s also enormous new 19-inch forged alloy (lightweight) wheels with diamond turned finish and widened wheel arches for added aggression. In an effort to showcase ‘the most extreme Vantage to date’, Aston has clearly pulled no punches, sacrificing no little amount of elegance in the process.
This ‘extreme’ conditioning continues in the cabin too, thanks predominantly to the optional Carbon Fibre Interior Pack – in evidence on the dash, the door pulls, the paddle shifters and even the new black pedals – and the new Q by Aston Martin personalisation service. To create a car that ‘looks almost as thrilling standing still as it is on the move’, Q branch have added luminescent yellow atop the roof, across the Piano Black dash, the bootlid, around the front grille and upholstery stitching, and have still found room to throw in gold detailing on the centre console rotary dials and Aston Martin badges. Even the sports seats have been ditched for lightweight carbon fibre tubs. ‘Extreme’ certainly but a little overwhelming.
Not the greatest of starts then for the V12, and once we’re on the way again, things don’t get any smoother. Reach and rake options on the steering wheel mean that finding a comfortable driving position is relatively straightforward, but there’s only just enough headroom and legroom to house both James and I, six-foot plus apiece as we both are. We’ve also, with the temperature already dipping 30-degrees, discovered our mutual exhaustion with Aston's temperamental air conditioning. Then there’s the carbon fibre seats, supportive though they may be, the limited manoeuvrability of which makes finding a comfortable position a little more difficult. Thanks to stiffened suspension for that on-track feel, the ride is also proving quite stiff, and an hour is about as much as we can take before we need to stretch our muscles.
So far our test drive is proving a little disappointing, and we’re beginning to wonder if we should have heeded fate’s warning. That is until we head a little further into the Hatta mountains, leave traffic and civilisation behind us, and give the V12 a kicking. It kicks back.
The pull from the V12 is just extraordinary, my knuckles gripping to hold onto the steering wheel simply to stop myself from rolling into the boot. 565bhp being thrown to the tarmac via the rear wheels is just ferocious, and offers a glimpse into the raw power at your disposal in a car that weighs a not unimpressive 1615kg. It’s a pull that doesn’t wane at all the higher up the revs you climb, the resultant V12 boom ricocheting about the cabin proving both deafening and an incentive to push harder. This can be accomplished with aplomb thanks to the Aston's magnificent poise through the corners. Good heft at the wheel, grip through the front tyres and tangible connection to the front wheels allow me to point the front end where I want it, all the time, everytime.
There was a fear that all those angry stallions being thrown through the back end would lead to a feisty rear end (a demonstration of which which we are provided with on the slick tarmac when I give the right pedal a bootful). But there isn’t even a hint of give through the rears as I take long sweeping bends and sharp hairpins at pace, the realisation that the performance of the car underneath far outweighs my talents at the wheel almost more terrifying than impressive. There’s no sense of weight either under braking (even if the pedal does feel a little wooden), a low centre of gravity helping to keep the car balanced through the corners and filling me with a greater incentive to push harder. Not too hard, but hard enough that I daren’t take a look at the digital speedometer to see how fast we’re going.
Previous experience with the V8 and THAT seven-speed ZF transmission mean that driving the V12 gently is difficult: change gear as you normally would with paddle shifters, and the drop in revs is met with a very noticeable drop in momentum, the resultant lunge throwing you forward in the seat. Now imagine that for every gear change. For several hours. On the limit though, well into 7/8000rpm territory, 565bhp is ready to bite and the transition from gear to gear is not only rapid but a lot smoother. The pull though is no less aggressive. To really make the V12 Vantage S work, it must be driven on the limit, or at least your personal understanding of such.
And of course therein lies the problem. On the limit, the V12 Vantage S – like the V8 – is beautifully balanced, offers enormous oomph, and allows you to not just take every apex but to muller them and leave each corner quivering with fear. But driving in the real world, especially in the Middle East where corners are a rarity, is rarely 10 tenths, and when you drop the V12 back into cruise territory, it seems to make less sense, in much the same way that a lion’s roar from behind bars doesn’t quite have the same impact. For an everyday driver, superb as the V12 Vantage S is, I’m just not sure it works.
I’d possibly think twice about the luminous yellow roof too.
[TABLE="class: easy-table easy-table-cuscosky"]
[TR]
[TH="align: left"]Aston Martin[/TH]
[TH="align: left"] V12 Vantage S[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Engine:[/TD]
[TD] V12 / 5935cc[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Power:[/TD]
[TD] 565bhp @ 6750rpm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Torque:[/TD]
[TD] 457lb ft @ 5500rpm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Transmission:[/TD]
[TD] 7-speed LDF dual-clutch transmission / all-wheel drive[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Front suspension:[/TD]
[TD] Independent double wishbones incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube dampers[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Rear suspension:[/TD]
[TD] Independent double wishbones with anti-squat and anti-lift geometry, dual-rate coil springs and monotube dampers[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Brakes:[/TD]
[TD] Ventilated carbon ceramic discs / six-piston monobloc calipers 398mm (front) / four-piston monobloc calipers 360mm (rear)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Wheels:[/TD]
[TD] 9J x 19” (front) / 11J x 19” (rear)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tyres:[/TD]
[TD] 255 /35 ZR19 (front) / 295 /30 ZR19 (rear) / Pirelli P Zero Corsa[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Weight (dry)[/TD]
[TD] 1615kg[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]0-100kph:[/TD]
[TD] 3.9sec[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Top speed:[/TD]
[TD] 330kph[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
We take the Aston Martin V8 Vantage S for a spin in the Hatta mountains, and discover how a GT4 racing car built for the road handles life away from the track.
To the casual observer, this appears to be a $138,000 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Said observer would be wrong, since this is actually the $156,000 V8 S. From the outside, there’s little to tell them apart. Peel back the bodywork though and you’ll find that the Vantage’s Sportier, more dynamic accompaniment (Aston Martin have carefully avoided using the word ‘replacement’) is pretty much the same GT4 racing car developed by Aston Martin Racing.
Nope. No joke. Lift the V8 Vantage S lid and you’ll find the same double-wishbone suspension, gearbox and stiffened chassis as its track-going counterpart in an effort to make the S the sportiest Vantage around, minus perhaps the new V12 edition. Gone also is the six-speed gearbox, replaced by a seven-speed Sportshift II transmission that offers closer gear ratios for improved acceleration and shifts up to 20 percent quicker than the outgoing system. Even the rear tyres are wider in an effort to deliver 430bhp and 361lb ft of torque from the 4.7-litre V8 to the road quicker. Said tweaks have clearly had an impact, given the model’s 305kph top speed.
What we have here then is racing car for the road. The big question then: does a racing car for the road actually work?
From the outside, you’d be forgiven for missing this point entirely, tweaks to the exterior proving subtler than the track-hewn accessories might suggest. The Vantage is still a beautiful car, all sweeps, swoops and sleek body contours about the roofline, elongated headlights, and rear spoiler ‘flick’. But with the S comes a lower front bumper and splitter for improved aerodynamics as well as a larger air intake. Tweaks have also been made to the rear diffuser for greater downforce, and our striking red test model stands on pretty slick 19-inch alloys, though 10-spoke lightweight alternatives are also available. Subtle but effective.
In the cabin, you’d be hard pressed to find any track-inspired features at all, the carefully embroidered ‘Vantage S’ monikers on the headrests and floor mats the only giveaways. There’s still sat-nav, cruise control, Bluetooth, beautiful leather upholstery and the various creature comforts expected from an Aston Martin sports coupe. But there are also a few issues. Compared with the beautiful modern looks on the outside, the centre cluster looks and feels a tad dated, despite our test model being a 2013MY model (the indicator and windscreen wiper spindles are a particularly notable culprit, and come dangerously close to feeling cheap). Reach and rake options on the newly installed steering column – another addition to help improve handling – mean finding a comfortable driving position is relatively straightforward, but limited head and legroom make for a very claustrophobic ride. And depending on how thoroughly you’re looking to rag the V8 under the bonnet, you at some point will need to choose between honing and air conditioning, since cool air can turn to warm quite quickly when you push the accelerator hard enough.
Creating wet spots on your shirt though is only one of the V8's capabilities. The noise is breath-taking. Insert the glass key fob into the dash, and the deep boom that emanates from the exhausts will set the hairs on your neck on edge. And that’s just at idle. Hit 3500rpm, and a new, higher pitch bursts forth and ricochets around the cabin. The nifty Bang and Olufsen speakers rising out of the dashboard may as well not bother. They’re completely pummelled by this infectious sound, which just gets better the closer you get to the 7300rpm horsepower peak.
As demonstrated by the ‘standard’ Vantage, response from the Aston Martin 4735cc V8 is mightily impressive, though you may not notice the first few times when discretion is the better part of valour in a brand new $150k sportscar. The throaty unit continues to pull almost impossibly high, showing no signs of lag. Considering peak torque doesn’t kick in until you hit 5000rpm, this really is a unit to grab by the proverbials and administer a thrashing. It’s tempting to do so on our run through the Hatta mountain range, but the reality is that hitting peak horsepower on these winding roads really isn’t an option, the corners appearing too thick and too fast for all 430bhp to be let loose.
Having said that, it’s through the corners that the balance and the handling of the Vantage S comes to the fore. It really is very good, the steering weighted just enough to make us really have to put the effort in. Coupled with the grip from the front tyres, the front end is impressively pointy with not even a glimpse of understeer on this tricky terrain. Keep the throttle nailed through the corners and perfect weight distribution and a low centre of gravity mean clinging to the apex is very do-able in this short wheelbase little monster. Kick the V8 unit hard enough and the rear will begin to get a little twitchy, and while the traction control can sometimes nanny unnecessarily, we recommend getting your full eight hours of sleep beforehand if you decide to switch the DSC off entirely.
It’s all mightily impressive on the twisties, the bigger ventilated brakes proving particularly responsive and not too snatchy. And while a racing car on these roads is what you really want to make the most of them, there are still a few issues. The suspension has been stiffened for more effective road holding, and the ride is pretty hard as a consequence. Visibility can also prove problematic, for although the sweeping windscreen offers plenty, the low roofline, small rear window, enlarged B-pillars and small wing mirrors mean wading through city traffic can be hair raising.
The blue ribbon though goes to the Sportshift II gearbox. The single-clutch system, and I quote from Aston Martin, requires ‘modulating the throttle pedal to achieve the desired type of gear change’: if you’re curious, that translates as ‘lift off the throttle when you upshift if you don’t want to get punted through the windscreen’. At top revs the system is beautifully effective. Lower down though, the lurch as each gear is slotted home is quite incredible, and not exactly comfortable in stop-start city traffic. Smooth(er) changes require a balancing act of throttle off, throttle on when shifting, and after 500km and five hours of driving, I was no closer to taming this particular racing car.
And therein lies my main concern with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage S. It’s beautiful beyond measure and produces a sound I’d happily use everyday as my ringtone. But the balance between racecar and road car is sometimes too aggressive, the ride and gearbox being two notable examples. Taming the S on a track would no doubt provide hours of entertainment, and any Aston Martin execs reading this can happily ask us to prove that. But bring the dial back down from ten tenths, as you would do on the road, and life with the S might cause some considerable heartache, as well as backache.
[TABLE="class: easy-table easy-table-cuscosky"]
[TR]
[TH="align: left"]Aston Martin
[/TH]
[TH="align: left"] V8 Vantage S
[/TH]
[TH][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Engine:[/TD]
[TD] V8 / 4735cc[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Power:[/TD]
[TD] 430bhp @ 7300rpm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Torque:[/TD]
[TD] 361lb ft @ 5000rpm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Transmission:[/TD]
[TD] Rear mid-mounted 'Sportshift II' seven-speed automated manual transmission[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Front suspension:[/TD]
[TD] Independent double wishbones / anti-dive geometry / coil springs / anti-roll bar / monotube dampers[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Rear suspension:[/TD]
[TD] Independent double wishbones / anti-squad and anti-lift geometry / coil springs / anti-roll bar / monotube dampers[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Brakes:[/TD]
[TD] Ventilated and grooved / two-piece floating discs 380mm with six-piston monobloc calipers (front) / steel discs 330mm with four-piston monobloc calipers (rear) / DSC / ABS / electronic brakeforce distribution / emergency brake assist / hydraulic brake assist / positive torque control / hill start assist / traction control[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Wheels:[/TD]
[TD] 8.5J X 19-inch (front) / 10.0J X 19-inch (rear) / V-spoke cast alloy silver painted wheels[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tyres:[/TD]
[TD] 245/40 R19 (front) / 285/35 R19 (rear) / Bridgestone Potenza[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Weight (dry)[/TD]
[TD] 1610kg[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]0-100kph:[/TD]
[TD] 4.6sec[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Top speed:[/TD]
[TD] 305kph[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Aston Martin tiene al alcance de las yemas de sus dedos la solución a muchos de sus problemas. La llegada de Investindustrial, el acuerdo con Daimler y el interés de ésta última por hacerse con parte o la totalidad del accionariado de la firma británica (de la que ya tiene un pedacito) sientan las bases de un futuro en el que los de Crewe pueden establecerse como una auténtica alternativa a Ferrari, pero con flema y diseño británicos.
Pero hasta llegar ahí las van a tener que pasar mal. Muy mal. Resulta que la NHTSA modificó los estándares de protección de vehículos para impactos laterales, incluyendo una prueba de choque contra un poste rígido.
Ésta prueba de coche contra poste rígido, que también se realiza a este lado del charco en EuroNCAP, no tenía validez de cara a las homologaciones hasta ahora, pero a partir del 1 de septiembre de este mismo año, todos los coches comercializados en Estados Unidos bajo el estándar de homologación FMVSS tendrán que superar dicha prueba con una protección satisfactoria para sus pasajeros.
El problema para Aston Martin es que su DB9 y su Vantage suspenden ésta prueba. Y no van a tener reemplazo comercial en dos años, antes de que los nuevos modelos, co-desarrollados con motores AMG y electrónica de Daimler, lleguen al mercado.
Para tratar de circunnavegar el problema, Aston Martin ha solicitado a las autoridades competentes estadounidenses una moratoria en la implementación de éste estándar de seguridad en sus coches, alegando que, por falta de recursos económicos propios debido a la recesión y falta de tiempo material, no han podido cumplir con dichos requerimientos.
Koenigsegg y Lotus han optado por enviar una petición bajo similares argumentos a la NHTSA. Pero, ¿les darán el visto bueno? Pagani ya tuvo que observar cómo sus peticiones caían en saco roto previamente, y algo nos dice que no pintan muy bien las cosas para Aston Martin a estas alturas de película.
De no concederse la moratoria, Aston se quedaría sólo con el Vanquish y el Rapide como modelos en venta en Estados Unidos, un problema importante dada la extrema necesidad de ventas en uno de los principales mercados de deportivos del planeta para la marca británica.
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