Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition

Are Aston Martin’s Upgrades For The Vantage Really The Right Direction For The Flailing Company?

Possibly, this is everything we have been asking for and it is all thanks to the F1 circus, a genius German and some proper back room dealings.

You Want to Know a Secret? This is top-level stuff, so here we go. The big reveal. Hold on to your hats. Aston Martin have joined Formula 1. I know, I know, how do I, a lowly, online motoring journalist, possibly know you ask? Why have you never heard this before I hear you cry!

Ok ok, I’ll stop now, but you get my point. Aston Martin joined the Formula 1 grid for the 2021 season for the first time since the British Grand Prix in 1960.

With the big deal they are making about the heritage and all the rest of it, amazingly they did only enter 6 races and even then, only started 5 of them. Seems to be pushing a bit don’t you think?

Now look, it might sound like we are being a touch harsh to the Gaydon team, but really, we are very excited to have the British company in the sport.

They needed the investment from Lawrence Stroll and as much as many people don’t like it, having his son in the driver’s seat means the money will keep flowing and both sides of the company will continue, and hopefully thrive.

In recent years they have made some possibly questionable decisions but for the long term, bringing in Sebastian Vettel, and now Fernando Alonso, is a brilliant move. Vettel obviously was no longer at the top of his game, but no matter what, he is still a 4-time world champion and that knowledge combined with Aston’s connection to the engineering behemoths of Mercedes can only be a good thing.

The same can be said about Alonso, only he seems to still be just as good as he always was and the improvement that Alpine made with his input is undeniable.

There was more good news as well with Aston Martin being announced as joint safety and medical cars company for Formula 1 along with Mercedes. This must have been a proper backroom deal as Mercedes have held the position solo for more than 20-years.

But again, the Mercedes – Aston deal went further than anyone could possibly imagine with the announcement that Tobias Mores would take up the mantle of Chief Executive of Aston Martin.

This is the man, who when head of AMG, turned the company from a B grade M-Sport rival, to making the C63 and E63 top of their respective class. That sentence alone is impressive enough to give him the job.

He is renowned as a focused and very intelligent man who brings knowledge and German efficiency to a company who desperately need it, however, who also truly understands the importance of a brand like Aston and everything they stand for.

During an interview he stated that his first action was to modernise the factory, clean up the production lines for efficiency and then, finally launch his first car as Chief Executive.

However this all being said, he has since departed and that is a truly worrying thing. He seemed to have a long term vision for the company that was entirely achievable, and going by how he transformed AMG, he certainly had the right background for it. Maybe his hard line approach didn’t sit well with some, but it does seem like a possible mistake by Aston.

However his first car was the Vantage F1 Edition. A rather strange name that sounds like a special edition, but it is simply the top model in the Vantage line-up. Before anyone starts commenting below, the V12 is a limited production run, and therefore doesn’t count.

Think of it as being in the same vein as the 911 GT3, but not quite as hardcore. The name is certainly a little strange but the more you think about it the more you realise how much sense it makes. They have built a car for the F1 circuit that people will see every second Sunday.

Talk about race on Sunday sell on a Monday, this is perfect advertising. First thing’s first, it looks brilliant and also it really doesn’t look that different from the car that you see on the Sundays, and that’s mostly because it isn’t.

There was always something deeply sexy about a Vantage with a rear wing, but other than that it’s jaw-dropping looks, it is an essential part of the machine. Tobias Moors came to the project when Aston was already working on an uprated Vantage but the decision was made that rather than power and straight-line performance, they wanted to concentrate on a track machine and the more you delve into the specs of this car the more you realise how many changes have been made under the skin.

They set a target from the beginning for a Nordschleife lap time of 7 minutes and 30 seconds, some 14 seconds quicker than the base model, however, they also decided that trick tyres and extra power were never going to be part of it, ingenuity only.

This is a brave move considering in the AMG GT R this engine easily develops 577bhp. Power has been increased, but only by 24bhp to 528 and the 685Nm of torque stays the same. The acceleration and top speed numbers according to Aston Martin haven’t changed.

Under the skin however there have been a long list of improvements. In the rear suspension alone, the dampers are up 20% under compression, the springs a 10% stiffer, there are entirely new bump stops and a stiffer rubber top mount. There is a new upper control arm and they have added a lateral damper between the rear subframe and a torque tube to reduce drivetrain movement.

The steering has been pinned for improved feedback and reduced play around the straight ahead. The front suspension is more or less the same with the exception of a 30% increase in low-speed rebound damping and the front undertray has doubled in thickness.

The tyres are 21 inches in diameter for the first time, however they are the same compound as the base model.

There was a decision made early on that it should keep the feel of a GT car in its softest setting while also delivering the lap times that they require when pushed hard. The addition of underbody aero parts along with that gorgeous wing, front splitter and dive planes have increased down force by over 200 kg at the cars 195mph top speed.

This is a huge improvement considering the base model actually generated a small amount of lift at its top end. The gearbox has also been worked on to make it smoother, faster and more reactive to the driver’s inputs particularly on down shifts.

The more you read the more you realise this is a very seriously engineered car and can only hope that it’s on paper ‘basic’ performance stats don’t put people off the £15,600 premium that the F1 Edition commands over the base model.

I am so pleased to see Aston Martin seemingly getting back on its feet with the Valkyrie, Valhalla, DBX707 and this new Vantage. Let’s all hope that this is the beginning of a new era of British engineering from McLaren, Aston and the recently revised Lotus line up.

Yes, the international investment has made it tricky to call them a fully British brand but I don’t believe it matters when the basic feeling of the companies hasn’t changed and they’re producing such magnificent machines.

There won’t be many purely V8 powered Aston Martin’s left, so let’s enjoy what is simply one of the finest all-round cars the company has ever made. Thank you, Tobias, Mercedes and Mr Stroll. Our coolest brand still has some life left in it yet.

Author: Tom Edwards