I got a ride in a V8 Vantage!!

Sir Stiggington

Sir Stiggington

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To cut a long story short, my uncle's wife's brother has got a V8 Vantage and an R8. So for christmas, my uncle turned up in the V8 Vantage and surprised the shit out of me.

So he took me for a ride, and all I can say is that it is like nothing I have ever experienced. Even at low rpm the engine is silky and it pushes you forward with no effort. Then he dropped a cog and floored it once we hit the highway, and I was speechless. The noise is so incredible that you can feel it tingle your spine, and your hair stands up instantly. It accelerates so fast everything is just a blur, and before we knew it we where up to 220km/h...

I can tell you, there is nothing that prepares you for the ride in one of those things. The shocking thing is that the acceleration doesn't die down, it just keeps coming and it becomes more vivid until you think it's impossible to go faster. And then theexhaust opens up and you keep getting more and more of that speed.

Unfortunately it was raining a bit, so we didn't try to explore the limits of grip...but even with the TC very on, the back would break away on the wet stuff when you hit it in a bend...I'm lucky my uncle has some karting experience....

The best though is looking at the car's reflection in shop windows, and realizing that you're in an Aston. Everybody just looks at you werever you go, and as we hit the loud pedal everybody gets a fright and stops whatever they are doing just to look at the beast that is the V8 Vantage.

I got some good shots of it too...

Anybody that doesn't understand why people would spend so much money on a car should get a ride in one of those things. It redefines everything you thought of going fast.





 
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neat :)
 
THE REAL STIG said:
To cut a long story short, my uncle's wife's brother has got a V8 Vantage and an R8.
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So does that mean you are related to Mopar man.:p

Must have been a great experience, have any more shorts?
 
I think Elmo was skipping geography lessons that day. Nice first pic, shame about the others. I don't need the drunk effects, I'm doing that myself, it's christmas.
 
Nice, now think that the Aston isn't really THAT fast a car. Puts things in perspective eh??
 
thedguy said:
Your Aunt isn't related to Mopar Man is she? Was it in Lancashire? ;)
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the relation of 6 rule is neat,

i mean i know of a guy who owns a Enzo, hes my friends-mothers-boyfriend, never met him, so what does it matter?, but i suppose you can find supercars within 3 relations if your about anybody, and anybody in the world through 6 connections?


on second thought let me continue this, i know my neighbors grandaughters uncle had a Jaguar JX220, and that a co-workers uncle also had a countach and a XJ220, for all i know they were the same guy. Its fun though when trustworthy people who don't know crap about cars uncover to you that the've seen some rather rare and exciting stuff. "Some long and curvy Jaguar with the engine in the middle under some glass" :p
 
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thats awesome!!

As someone mentioned above, seeing as the V8 isnt really THAT fast compared to other supercars, it does put things into perspective.

On the subject of relations, my friends-boyfriends-uncles owns a merc SLR and Conti GT, interesting innit?
 
Yeah. I can't imagine how fast the real supercars are, if this already mindblowing. Let alone an Ariel Atom or an F1 car.

The damn speed limits meant we couldn't really go for it though...
 
Two words - lucky bastard :D
 
My friend's great uncle has a Vanquish S, and I need to meet him. Great story, I would love to get a ride in one of those.
 
I would love to be in your shoes, getting a ride in a V8 Vantage, must've been so exciting. Maybe you will get a go in that R8 soon too. :p
 
Well, I just came back from an afternoon in the R8. My god. Well, I just said you can't imagine the speed of the Vantage. The R8 is faster. When you drive calmly, it's just like any other Audi. I started to doubt it would come close to the Vantage. But then we gave it the beans on the highway, and unlike the Vantage it scares the shit out of you. Not only because the acceleration is more vivid, but because you just don;t expect that kind of grip and power from the car. It feels smooth, but when you hit it, it's electrifyingly quick with it's response, even compared to the Vantage. We went up to 270km/h and although the road was a blur, it felt planted.

When we went out in the country roads, we were amazed at the ease with which it copes with the moist (a bit frozen) and dirty roads. With the ESP on, it will twitch in a corner if you're a bit enthusiastic, but it corrects itself; you don't need an armful of opposite lock like with the Aston. The Aston was difficult to control in the wet, even with the ESP on.

Then we tried to match the claimed 0-100km/h time of 4.6, and expected to be way off, but we matched it with the ESP off.

Another surprising thing is the suspension. When you turn the magnetic damper thing on, it turns from a comfy cruising machine into a gokart. We could feel every bump in the road, and every ripple. It was quite something to be going at 270 with that sports suspension on.

After this amazing experience of being in both cars, I felt I had to make my mind up on which is best. The Aston is slower, the Audi faster. The Aston is more expensive, but it looks better.The Audi is more comfortable, the Aston could be annoying on bad roads. But none of that matters. Although the surprise acceleration of that Audi is something I'll never forget, I've completely fallen for the Aston. And that's mostly because of the noise.

The Audi makes a nice noise. It sounds like a growling beast when you floor it. But when you don't, it sounds like any other Audi. While with the Aston it's like there is a beast lurking beneath. You cannot resist to give it the beans. The noise is so loud, and so savage that every time you are in it you want to floor it. The Audi doesn;t have that.

Then there is the way it looks. The Audi looks great, but the Aston is in a different league. It looks perfect. And the interior of the Aston is nothing but perfect either. The Audi's is very good, but it's just not the same.

The Audi's 4 wheel drive system is the best in the world. It makes it handle better, while still being driftable, and makes the car much more manageable. But again, I prefer the way the Aston always keeps you on the edge, even with the ESP on.

The Audi is the better car. But the Aston is the car for me.











 
I'm genuinly jealous, those two are such great cars.
But judging from the photos, Vantages interior is no match for Audi's spectacluar quality.
 
Very well written! Nice pictures too...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because I find the R8 much nicer.
Reading your experience just made me want an R8 even more! :)
 
static said:
I'm genuinly jealous, those two are such great cars.
But judging from the photos, Vantages interior is no match for Audi's spectacluar quality.
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The Audi's interior is great quality, but it is nowhere near the Aston's...

Crap pictures I took of the interior (reall hard without back seats):





Here's the 0-100 vid:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfu5IyGTH-8[/YOUTUBE]
 
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