Is this car too fast? We try to tame a British beast

2025 Aston Martin Vantage at Sydney Motorsport Park

What makes a good sports car? Is it power? Sharp handling? Or neck-snapping speed?

In truth, any one of those elements is enough to make a fast car, but to make a good sports car great, you need all of those elements and you need them in balance.

The new Aston Martin Vantage certainly has power, sharp handling and neck-snapping power… but the balance just feels a little off. I say this because the British brand has given this new model a major performance upgrade, extracting more power and a lot more torque – an impressive extra 104kW and 115Nm, respectively. That means the AMG-sourced 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that lurks under the beautiful long Vantage bonnet makes a whopping 489kW and 800Nm, which is more power and the same torque as the Porsche 911 Turbo S.

But therein lies the problem… Aston Martin may have made the Vantage a little too powerful, at least to make it a truly great sports car that can go toe-to-toe with the 911. That’s because with so much torque, even the Vantage’s huge, specially-design Michelin tyres struggle to keep up. Aston Martin gave us the chance to drive the Vantage at Sydney Motorsport Park and instead of coming away in awe, I was left questioning my driving ability and pondering ‘can you have too much of a good thing?’

Literally every time I tried to squeeze on the accelerator out of any corner the rear tyres were ready to light up, start smoking and send me sideways. Even in fourth gear, the immense amount of torque the new Vantage possessed was simply too much for the tyres and chassis to handle, leading to mid-corner moments of uncertainty.

Make no mistake, I am fully aware of my driving limitations, I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’d give Max and Lewis a run for their money around Albert Park. But I have driven dozens of serious performance cars – Ferraris, Porsches, McLarens, Lamborghinis and Audis – on track (many at SMP) and never had such a hard time coming to grips with a car before.
In some regards, I love that the Vantage is a more aggressive and more challenging machine to tame than any other modern day sports car. But, at the same time, it’s an intimidating beast that will take a meaningful amount of seat time to feel comfortable in.

It features a nine-stage traction control system, and as I found out, even at setting five, it will allow the back end to slide in a drift that the late, great Ken Block would have been proud of – and if you’re not as talent as Block (as I discovered) you can even spin out with the traction control on its middle setting. That’s a pretty confronting situation to find yourself in, because I’ve never come close to spinning out a Porsche, McLaren, Lamborghini, etc.

And that’s the Catch-22 for Aston Martin – will buyers find the ferocious nature of the Vantage appealing or intimidating? Certainly, my recommendation would be to give owners as many laps as possible in a Vantage on a track, because even by the end of my second 15 minute stint I was feeling more comfortable and confident (albeit with the TC wound back up). That alone separates it from the Porsche 911 (it’s most obvious market rival) as the German machine instills confidence in you from the very first lap, even the Turbo S with its 800Nm never feels as intimidating and aggressive as the Vantage.

Which ultimately feels like the key selling point for the Aston Martin – the Vantage is most definitely not a 911. The Porsche is the obvious, dare I say, ‘easy’ choice to make when you’re looking for a luxury sports car. But for those willing to take chances, the Vantage will be a rewarding challenge.