WFB:
There are guys who do this for a living. They slink into the leather bucket seats of a $150,000 sports car without the slightest hint of concern. (In March, the Wall Street Journal‘s Dan Neil test drove the McLaren 600LT Spider, valued at $256,500.) But when I step into a 2019 Aston Martin Vantage, all I’ve got is concern: What if I scratch it up? What if this hand-assembled masterpiece ends up in a ditch? What if I embarrass myself like Pete Campbell trying to drive stick in Mad Men? (The Vantage turns out to be an automatic.)
But our friends at the Exclusive Automotive Group in Tyson’s Corner, Va., could not have been nicer during a recent visit. Brand manager Brendon Wright did his best to put me and my Free Beaconcolleague Aaron Harison at ease, explaining all the toggles and switches—there are neither keys nor gear shifter in the Vantage, just buttons.
I assumed Brendan would take each of us out individually, considering there is no backseat. Instead, he let the two of us go out on our own. Of course we could barely contain our excitement, like breaking the fourth wall in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Not that Harison and I equated ourselves to Ferris and Cameron (although yes, I’d be Cameron). We were more akin to the parking attendants who joyride in that 1961 Ferrari 250GT California. You fellas have nothing to worry about—I’m a professional.
An oft-used phrase is “the engine purred.” The Vantage, however, does not purr. It growls. It anxiously wants to go from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds. At an intersection waiting for a green light, I have my chance. I rev the 503-horsepowered 4.0-liter twin turbocharged V8, tapping the pedal ever so lightly. Then the engine shuts down because the lights along Leesburg Pike are interminable, and newer engines these days will cut off to save gas. The red light lasts about four minutes. But at the very instant it turns green, like Carroll Shelby at the 1959 Le Mans, I floor it. Shelby’s Aston Martin DBR1 edged out Ferrari to win the 24-hour endurance race. I edge out a Lexus. It wasn’t even close.
All Aboard
https://postimg.cc/fkL3Y4mb
Carroll Shelby – the God of Street Racing
“what if I embarrass myself driving stick?”
Hahahahahahahahahahaha….. did your skirt match the cars interior?.
have a friend who takes care of another friend’s car collection. I was admiring an AC Bristol bodied Shelby Cobra with 427 motor, and he asked ‘wanna drive it?’ and pointed to the key in the ignition. I thought for a second, then said ‘thanks, but nope.’ Too much for me, if you saw what/how I drive.
I wouldn’t mind having an Aston Martin DB6, though.
I agree with Burr here. This article was written by a woman or a squirrel…. for the love of Pete! Are all the MEN on iotwreport?
WTF?
“Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell
All the woman I know are very comfortable with my “stick”.
If I’m gonna pay that kind of money for a car, I want a virgin. I don’t want to be the eighth guy in line to thrash it. I’m not into getting sloppy seconds on 0-60 trials!
BTW – Word to the wise, if yer gonna buy something like this make sure you dump it before the warranty runs out cuz you ain’t gonna like what it costs to maintain it!
Aston Martins are beautiful cars. A friend owns one. Expensive to maintain for sure!
150K for a car that turns off at the red light?
What happens when you’re in the city and the starter quits, because its running 40-50 times a day?
My F150 has a button on the dash to override this *feature* but I have to use it every time I start the truck, can’t be permanently set.
I call this *feature* a security flaw. And I don’t see how it saves much gas.
Does anybody know if you can have the dealer permanently turn off that feature?
No video?
I got to drive a 63 Chevy Corvette Stingray split rear window coupe once that belonged to a friend when I was in the Navy. Beautiful car with a 427 and 450 horsepower but way too much power for me. I know my limits and that car was a widow maker if driven real fast.