TRY saying the following out loud (plummy English accent optional): “Shall we take the Aston?”Replace the last word with another automotive brand and the question sounds somehow less enticing. A quarter of a million dollars is a lot of anyone’s money, but in this case it buys a bona-fide piece of thoroughbred exotica.

Almost exactly a decade since the V8 Vantage went on sale in Australia, its hunkered down supercar aesthetic still turns heads and raises smiles. And early warning of its arrival is guaranteed by the cacophonous, cackling and extremely naughty exhaust note.

Ten years of running changes, with the latest including a Vanquish-style centre stack with up-to-date infotainment system, have provided automotive Botox in an attempt to keep the Vantage relevant as resource-stretched Aston Martin develops the next generation of sportscars with Mercedes-AMG help.

Is it enough? We had a short but spirited fling with the V8 Vantage GT, a wheels-and-stripes package with a nod to Aston-Martin’s racing heritage, to find out.



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