Gorgeously Aggressive There’s no denying that the Vantage is a thing of absolute beauty, as wonderful to behold as Concorde or Natalie Portman. And with the S, Aston have made subtle yet aggressive changes to enhance the design. There are new bonnet blades available in gloss black or carbon fibre, with hand-made “S” badges on the fenders with red glass enamel set in dark chrome or gloss. Read More Aston Martin Vantage AMV24 Edition: A Tribute to Victory at Spa-Francorchamps There’s also a more pronounced front splitter both via the front airdam and venturi vanes, alongside optional 21-inch satin black Y-spoke wheels that come with red detailing and bronze-painted callipers. Overall, these design changes make the Vantage both more aggressive while still maintaining that gorgeous stance that all Astons have in common. Inside, the standard ‘Accelerate’ interior combines Alcantara and leather with satin carbon fibre inlays. The seats feature embroidered ‘S’ logos, each stitched with over 2,500 threads, alongside optional embossed Aston Martin wings in the headrests. An anodised red or silver drive-mode rotary dial adds visual drama, matched to seatbelts and interior stitching. The optional Inspire Sport package offers semi-aniline leather and exclusive chevron quilting. Overall, whilst still beautiful, the S’s changes slightly soil the standard Vantage’s beauty. Subtly Enhanced Performance Like the standard car, the S uses the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo AMG-derived V8, only now Horsepower has risen from 656 to 671 horsepower. Torque remains the same at around 590 lb-ft but it is available at a lower rev range. So whilst the top speed of 202mph is nothing to shout home about, the S does sprint from 0-62mph in a sprightlier 3.3 seconds compared to 3.5. Plus with the new modified Akrapovic exhaust, the S sounds throatier and louder. Of course, power is nothing without a Chassis to help. The Standard Vantage is already a fine handling car but Aston have made subtle changes to the S to make it even sharper. They’ve re-tuned the Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers for greater front-end feel and improved response and reduced vibration in the mount stiffness in the transmission by 10% which also enhances the grip. Read More 2025 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: The Most Desirable Car on Sale The new styling upgrades also enhance the car’s aerodynamics with 111 kg of downforce being produced, 44 kg more than the standard Vantage. Combined with the camber, toe, and caster settings, and putting the car in its track-setting and this S makes the already barnstorming Vantage even more of a serious driver’s weapon. It’s no GT3, but to be better than a car as fine-handling as the standard Vantage is fair praise. Unveil at Goodwood, Price and Rivals Aston will unveil the new Vantage S at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and it will cost from around $235,000. It’s fairly ironic though that Aston decided to upgrade the Vantage to its S status around the same time Ferrari launched the Amalfi, essentially the facelifted Roma. The big question is, which of the two is superior? We at F1rstMotors promise a comprehensive comparison test in the near future. Until then, one can safely say that the Vantage S is quite the car. Is it worth more than the standard Vantage, Probably not. But it is certainly a more potent and altogether sharper car than the standard Vantage. And that certainly is something worth praising. F1rstMotors Facts and FiguresManufacturerAston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLCModelVantage SYear of Release2026Engine4.0l Twin-Turbo V8Horsepower671 horsepowerTorque590 lb–ft0–62mph (100km/h)3.3 secondsTop Speed202mph (325 km/h)Weight1,605kg (1.6 tonnes)Power to Weight418 hp per tonneGearbox8–speed ZF AutomaticDriven WheelsRear-Wheel-DriveRivalsFerrari Amalfi Source: Aston Martin
