Inside the 2026 Aston Martin Vantage S: Performance Meets Passion

As you enter the new Aston Martin Vantage S, it immediately becomes clear that this car wants you to have a good time. Not because of the big exhaust at startup, the cocooning layout of the cabin, or the great styling you see before you open the door. No, what distinguishes the Vantage S from other sports cars and super cars like the Porsche 911 and Lamborghini Temerario is that it doesn't have normal comfort or GT drive modes. When you press the chunky start button on the center console, the V8 comes to life and goes into sports mode. This is not a car for those who want to have a subtle time.The regular Vantage has GT, Sport and Sport+ modes (plus wet mode) and it's a very exciting car to drive, but the Vantage S dives things up more than 

I expected. Aston Martin didn't make any major changes here; it's a bit more power, a bit harder chassis, a more accurate front-end. There is a drive. But its drive mode goes to Sport, Sport+, Track (plus wet and personal) and it's basically all you need to know about the Vantage S.The Vantage S has the same power as the AMG-derived twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 we've been using since the advent of this generation of Vantage, but the 2024 car face lift has surpassed even the AMG GT, which uses the same engine, and improved motor performance. The Vantage S gets a slight bump from 656 hp to 671 and the torque remains the same at 590 lb-feet. Usually, the change isn't really noticeable, it's just 60 minutes faster at both 124 mph and 10 mph, taking 3.3 seconds and 10.1 seconds, respectively. However, Aston also adjusted the mapping more specifically for each drive mode and re-adjusted the throttle to be more responsive, making the car definitely more responsive.

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It sounds great when that gas pedal is squeezed even a little, as you want. There are no exhaust hardware changes specific to the S, but Vantage didn't need any help in that department. This car is almost always loud, especially given how the sport is at the baseline. It has a completely different character from the Mercedes-AMG GT68 Pro, which is down the entire horsepower from Aston. (AMG also has lame-o comfort mode.Because of how happy and reactive the engine turns are, it's hard not to drive like an enthusiastic puppy wants to pull a string and run freely in the park.It was only then that the market on the outskirts of the Canyons where you can get together with all the trains that are actually a hip step. 

Regardless of the situation, you can not think of another gas-powered car on this side of the McLaren 750S to accelerate with such vigor. It is quick as hell in the line but definitely not in rear-wheel drive, which is more impressive in what acceleration during and above the range of the tach. For Aston's itunes 8 speed transmission should be S. The big paddle is nice to click and even has its own device that will shift just when you want, with a serious kick in a more intense drive mode.And speaking about the drive mode, the changes made to this are also quite successful. Many cars, even sports cars, don't make a big difference between Sport and Sport+ and Track (or any other name used for similar modes), but if you twist the knurled dial, even though there is no standard Mo GT mode, the sport mode can be gentle enough to drive on town or road journeys without being annoying. 

You can do it. Do you know that the S-specific ducktail spoiler adds 202 pounds of downforce at a top speed of 97mph on the car? Uh, it's negative, but Aston says the spoiler makes the balance of down force more biased towards the front, and better turn-in and glick engineers also attach the rear sub frame to the body instead of using rubber bushings and add hardware to the billstein adaptive damper. We made software and software changes to adjust the camber, casters and toes.Aston describes the Vantage S as having a "thrilling appetite for corners," and that's certainly true. It is sharper and direct, beneficial on the base with better steering weighting and accuracy. It's a freakishly wide car that doesn't have maximum outward visibility, but without the help of something like rear-wheel steering, it's very machine Aston's drive route on its feet. I'm going through some of the tightest and narrowest canyon roads around Malibu, and I'm going through that approach much more eagerly than I would expect. The unique Michelin Pilot Sports S5 rubber car grip and cornering power.

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Despite its lip-roaring attitude, the routine Vantage, is a much finer car to daily drive than had already been the previous home improvement model, and the S to compensate for the added sharpness, the stiffness of the transmission mount is reduced by 10% and the stiffness of the rear spring aids is also reduced for better ride quality at low speeds. The car with a 21-inch wheel-sized 275/35 front and 325/30 back has a bit of a choppy ride, and the Vantage is certainly a tramway, but that's not much worse than the Porsche 911GTS, and the cabin is nice and quiet. As both a grand tourer and an outright sports car, the Vantage S feels more balanced than a standard car.

I could talk about how it looks, how good the interior of the face lift Vantage is, or how Aston's build quality is definitely starting to get better. (We can also talk about how much we don't care about Apple CarPlay Ultra, even if Aston's own infotainment system isn't good. But none of that really matters. What matters with the Vantage S is how it makes you feel. This is not the most accurate sports car, not the most sophisticated or the most dynamic. No, it's much better: instantly put a smile on your face, as if you're pulling a 7G and up into the sky, "top Gun" piper.

Do you have a cat? I have two, and I always enjoy watching one of them get the kind of zoomies their eyes grow huge, they start hunker down and wiggle and blast off into the other room as if hunting ghosts. That's what driving the Vantage S is like. Whether I merge onto the highway, leave the corner or go when the lights turn green, when I hit the gas, the Vantage S lunges forward, the giant rear tires hook up and the quad pipes yell, so I'm soaring towards the next exit, the corner, or the lights.That's why you want an Aston Martin Vantage S instead of any other sports car. And Aston Martin is charging just 55,000 more than a regular Vantage for the pleasure of having those enamel S badges. 

The Vantage S starts at destination 199,500, including the destination (but does not include the "Import cost" tariff fee for tariff 7,400 on the window sticker). It's about 911 grander than both the GTS and the AMG GT63, and the Aston is actually a few thousand cheaper than the GT 63Pro. Sure, you will probably need some options. My plasma blue test car comes with a dozen small parts to pay to feel really alive, like the Bow10, 000 Bowers & Wilkins sound system, carbon10, 800 carbon ceramic brakes, contrast 2, 900 contrast stitching and all 1,900 ventilated seats.