Text Ted Macauley, James Kevin Mac Goris
Image Getty Images
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Heaven on wheels
Engineers worked their way through 78 prototypes before perfecting the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. It was worth it
If there’s a more satisfying way to spend a crisp autumn Sunday than driving through the English countryside in an Aston Martin to the lushest of Thameside restaurants, we’ve yet to find it.
The restaurant, celebrity favourite The French Horn in the village of Sonning-on-Thames, 30 minutes’ drive from London Heathrow, was a stopover to allow the Aston Martin to bask in the admiration of inbound diners.
And admire it they did. The Aston Martin 4.3-litre V8 Vantage is a thing of beauty and automotive artistry. It’s currently the finest car the company produces, although it will soon be joined by an even classier S model.
For the time being, though, the super-cool Vantage is the car to own. The exquisitely crafted interior, with its body-sculpted leather seats tucked into an archly curvy silhouette that trumpets temptation, is a credit to the design team. At nearly €116,000, it isn’t a car for the masses, but the rewards are many for those fortunate enough to be able to buy into perfection on wheels.
The engineers painstakingly worked their way through 78 prototypes and tested for three million kilometres before they were satisfied they had a product supreme enough to lure buyers to the showrooms. Flamboyant it is not. Rather, it is understated, but with an undeniable presence and kerbside appeal.
And what about performance? It has a flat-out speed, if you’re Autobahn-bound, of around 280km/hour and rockets from a dead stop to 100km/ hour in five seconds. All this is achieved with the maximum of safety.
There are massive Brembo disc brakes plus traction and stability control, giving it the sure-footed balance of a tightrope walker.
We were so hooked, we were tempted to eat our lunch in the car and bask in the envy of the onlookers.
Renault’s hotter hatchback
The French car maker gives small-car owners a sporting chance with the 197 Cup
Renault celebrates 30 years of its hot-hatch heritage with the arrival of the Clio Renaultsport 197 Cup model. This sure-fire winner follows the French manufacturer’s tradition of petite speedsters like the 5 Alpine (Gordini) in 1978, followed by the Alpine Turbo, the 5GT Turbo and then the Clio in its various guises. The 197 Cup, developed hand-in-hand with the race version of the Clio Renaultsport, is a top performer with a special short, quick-shift gear lever.
It’s priced at about €21,000.
Not going Japanese
Force India to stick with Ferrari engines for F1 season
Rumours that Toyota, Formula One’s richest outfit, would supply engines to Force India (formerly Spyker), the newest team, have been discounted. The Japanese manufacturer already powers its own Panasonic-Toyota line-up as well as Williams and has ruled out any support for the Dutch-Indian team.
Main shareholder, billionaire businessman Vijay Mallya, fancied his team’s best chances would have been served by Toyota’s V8 unit. But a Toyota spokesman countered: “Given our manpower and production capacity, supplying just two teams is ideal.”
In the news
Aston Martin’s Chinese new year
Aston Martin, maker of elegant and exciting motors, is surging from strength to strength on the world stage. The supercar is now going on sale in China, with two new showrooms in Beijing and Shanghai scheduled to open this year. The Chinese, reaching unprecedented levels of wealth and anxious to tap into the luxury goods market, have already joined a waiting list for the DBS. Last year, Casino Royale was released in China, the first James Bond movie to be seen here. Aston Martin, featured as 007’s transport, is keen to cash in on its success.
TEST
DRIVE
Mercedes C-Class
The new Mercedes C-Class promises a smoother, more powerful ride than its predecessor. James Kevin Mac Goris uncorks a vintage Margaux, stores it in the bottle holder and puts the saloon of substance through its paces on some of the most challenging country roads that Holland has to offer
There’s a neat little bottle holder that folds out of the rear-seat armrest of the new Mercedes C-Class and, as we discovered on a recent trip to go sailing on a friend’s yacht, it’s a perfect fit for a 1999 Brane-Cantenac, that most flawless of Margaux – or for that matter for any 75cl bottle of Bordeaux.
But the Brane-Cantenac was a perfect fit in more ways than one – our idea was that if we uncorked it in Brussels, then by the time we arrived at the harbourside the famously reticent Margaux would have the time to breathe properly and would also be chambré’d to perfect drinking temperature – and as we were going to actually test the car en route, we were counting on the C-Class superbly engineered suspension and impeccable road manners to ensure that not a drop was spilt.
With four of us in the car, and all our kit in the very ample trunk, we were impressed by the big-car feel of this fairly compact saloon – compact by Mercedes standards anyway. Wider and longer than the car it replaces, the C’s front seats are supremely comfortable. It’s the same story in the rear too – there’s plenty of room for shoulders and knees. The general sense is of something solidly made. Bowling along the highway gives all of the usual good Mercedes feelings – a smooth ride, excellent visibility, interior comfort and a perfectly air conditioned hush allowing us to discreetly discuss other people’s business in confidential tones… but there was something else about the smooth power on tap that has been hitherto absent in smaller Mercedes – the impression that there was always more available. Smooth and relaxed, it’s a majestic overtaker, thanks to the thoroughly convincing shove in the sweet spot between 2,700-3,700rpm.
The last 30km of the trip was country roads – albeit Dutch ones – down to the sea, and that was quite an eye-opener as well. Corners are welcomed by the new C-Class. It keeps roll and pitch nicely under control and all its reactions are well measured and proportionate so you get a good feel for what it’s up to. It’s usefully more agile than the old one. The ride is truly superb too. At low speeds it rolls without complaining over town potholes, and on a heaving, broken country road neither the small shocks nor larger motions bother it in the slightest.
And the Brane-Cantenac…? On arrival we rooted out a quartet of crystal and checked it out. It was just what one would expect of a great classic chauffeur-driven in a Mercedes – perfectly aired, at the perfect temperature and impeccably well mannered.
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