Aston Martin V8 Vantage S review

Simply listen.
The Aston Martin V8 Vantage S, very hard to pronounce for market salesmen.
If you're a market salesman you need to upgrade your speech, because this car simply is very chic.
The "S" makes it a little less chic.
It's a real "S" because it's more sporty in every way.
The brakes are bigger, so you can brake more easily, very nice.
The exhaust comes from the V12 Vantage.
That's the same car but with a V12 engine.
But that one is 100.000 Euros more expensive, that´s like the Hulk.
With various air intakes and it has almost lost it "chic-ness".
It´s very cool nonetheless and I wouldn´t complain to drive it, which I did by the way.
This is the V8 but a little bit pumped.
It´s got a nice body kit, which is a little bit more tough.
Rear spoiler, front splitter, carbon diffuser, this car is lighter than the standard V8 Vantage.
Making it just a tad cooler.
And it´s got more down force at high speeds, from 200 km/h (125 mph) you can feel that it's more stable.
Groovy.
That's probably this car's keyword, just groovy.
The sound is simply phenomenal.
Cool, that's maybe a better word.
All the other detail are cool too.
There's a pen that's imbedded into the dashboard and a glass ashtray, this makes me want to smoke a cigar.
All Aston Martins are handmade.
For this type, they ordained 185 hours of British craftsmanship to make this car as neat as possible.
You can see this in all the details, everything fits.
Besides that screw over there.
Which isn't very beautiful.
But I really had to search for something that isn't right with this car.
Under the hood there is a V8 engine, it's got 34 bhp more than the standard version.
0-100 kph (0-62 mph) isn't mentioned in the press release but it's faster than the 4,8s with the standard V8 Vantage.
The top speed crosses the magical line with a top of 305 kph (190 mph).
Very nice.
Another important novelty is the transmission.
It's still a single clutch transmission but it's much faster and you can change gears without having to lift...
... but you can still feel a little dip especially when it's in full automatic.
But it is nice and quick.
The transmission has got seven gears.
The first six are nice and short, you just ram right through.
This makes you wonder whether it'll stop making such a noice.
Which it does when you go to the seventh gear resulting in a low rpm.
You can also disable the sport mode, which cause a few valves in the exhaust to close...
... making the car sound a tad more civilized.
Your mother-in-law will probably appreciate this.
But when you're going to pick up your mates you simply press the sport-button...
... and you shift back to third gear for instance and then....
... you step on the gas, it's so fantastic, very addicting.
It's a good and tough V8.
If you're already driving a V8 Vantage, is it worth the upgrade?
Yes, a little bit faster, lighter and better to look at.
A complete fresh look.
I can keep talking for hours, but you probably rather listen to this.