AMV8: Going to be a hit or just fizzle? Are you ordering one?

K. will watch and report.

 

as much as i like the car my bet would be on fizzle. it's underpowered and not sure it will be able to sway as many of the 911 crowd as they had hoped.

i think it's a looker though, nice interior as well but i wouldn't pay that kind of money for it.

 

Lots of people buy these cars for image and "sportiness" rather than outright power. Most porches are not bought by serious drivers, In fact most 430's are bought by stockbroker flippers. So the amv8 will sell on looks and image very well, its performance isnt lame either, just not great.

For a real entusiast I would question how well it would hold up to really hard driving. A f430 will, and a 997 definatly will. How many track days would an aston survive.

But then in a few years aston may come up with a real performance v8, something with like 500hp, that will be really interesting.

Also why dont they have the nice interior like the db9 as it is the v8 interior could pass for a 300zx.

Would make a really great daily driver though.

So it'l sell great for a few years, and if aston is serious they can really develop the car.

Ferrari has a problem comming, their cars are unobtanium new unless you are prepared to go down on the dealer. There is so much sclock marketing of the "brand" that the image is transforming to something else. Most importantly Aston will be making great cars, lotus will have a new contender in the esprit, lambo is getting serious, and even the new acura nsx with v10 looks promising. Even Mclaren may be entering the fray, and they have racing provenance just as powerful as ferrari. These days I sometime feel like I drive a ferrari in spite of the image portrayed by many owners and the company, not because of it. Lets face it the members of this board most of whom are real car nut ferrari entusiasts are not representative of the "new ferrari image"

I wonder where this will leave ferrari 10 years from now.

 

The post '96 Virages were called V8 Coupes. The stock engine had about 350hp and the Vantages had twin superchargers and had up to 550hp/550ftlbs.Then came the V600 with 600/600. Aston New England and Autosports have gotten them into the U.S. but don't ask the cost! Actually Autosports had the price listed on their site. They come in as show/display. I've got a '92 with MUCH less power and really like it. The new V8- why isn't it a DB8?- is stunning, but a bit too dear for the power they're claiming. One problem with the name 'Vantage ' is that used to denote the uprated versions. Probably be a V8 Vantage'S' in the future. If you are interested in AM's the best sites are amoc-na.org and astonmartins.com
Autosports has a great rep and my car was sold to the PO by them.

 

Or, if there's enough market, tuners might step in with turbo or SC kits. I'd think a TT could kick it up near 500hp without killing the engine. I think it would only be viable though if the cars depreciate to $75k (where I think they'll be in under 2 years), and the TT conversion was under $25k. $100k for a TT version, against a comparable used 997TT, might be a deal.


However, they shot themselves in the foot breaking the $100k barrier and went from 997S to TT price range... with barely S performance.

 

And it has a Harrier in it.

 

Probably the same place they were 10 years ago (pre 360 Modena days), when dealers had new V8s on the showroom floor and you may have been able to get a buck or two off the price...

 

Great - thanks for the info, I hadn't realized those nuances. The twin S/C car is what I'm after. Those things looked like they were the size of a pair of municipal wastebins!

--Dan

 

I think the AM goes after a crowd that wants a sporting car that is also extremely luxurious so they arent into Ferraris, Lambos, or Porsches

I dont think the performance lack will faze them as thats not what they're buying the car for.

That said if you have 380 hp to start w + a real mid engine w the lowest sitting engine of all the AMs you can easily pump it up over 400 hp w just a K&N & an exhaust

Maybe a few years down the road I'll find a trashed DB8 & make a track car out of it After all its got all the basics right

 

I also have an AMV8 on order.
like many people, I have zero interest in owning a Porsche, so a direct comparison is meaningless to me. Oh, wait.... some magazine says that a Pcar is 0.1 s faster around Nurburgring, I'm gonna bail and buy a Porsche.

I am also not worrying about having "only" 380 BHP. That sure seems to be enough in my F355. Oh, wait.... a Mercedes auto bulkmobile has 500, I'm gonna bail and buy a Mercedes.

The car is positioned brilliantly in the marketplace, even if it did not come in quite as "cheaply" as they wanted. I don't think there are many people who won't dig for the extra 5-10 percent and settle for a common-as-dirt Pcar. There are a lot who won't dig out the extra 90-100K for a Ferrari. Lets see, if there is no Porsche or sports sedans, then there is a huge sportscar gap between the vette and the F430/Gallardo.

I recognize that it has some ergonomic faults, but all sportscars do. It is a stunningly beautiful 2-seater with excellent performance and an awesome sound (at least over 4K). I also approve of their attitude - up and coming company trying to make a great car - which is further exemplified by providing only manual transmissions. I can hardly wait until delivery.

 

congratulations to those with the new AMV8 on order. Has to be one of the finesst looking sports GT's ever built.

Its stunningly beautiful and for those with the free funds to make the purchase happen? All I can say is "way to go"

The aston Martin exudes an air of excellence that transcents a tenth of a second faster in performance ...etc..

The Porsche 911 is a great sports car icon as well. Just not in the same realm of excellence as the Aston Martin AMV8 even if the 911 is slightly quicker.

BTW..my neighbor has a Lamborghini Gallardo, a ferrari, and an Aston Martin DB7? and the other day we were talking about his cars....and I asked him which was his favorite...and if he could just have one of these cars which would he choose.

He smiled and said the Aston Martin without a doubt. He said it certainly wasn't the fastest...nor the best handling but without a doubt the personal favorite of the bunch.

I am not sure I agree that the Aston Martin would be my choice over the Italian exotics he owns but it would be close.

 

I don't see it as a clear cut hp/$ decision. This car offers more than just performance, and now that the Z06 has arrived, nothing else makes sense if all you look at is power and price. But we know better than that, right?

It is $20k more than a 911, however Porsche will build roughly 40,000 911s this year. Isn't the style and exclusivity worth it? Surely for many on the wait list it is.

 

Porsche sells 40,000 911's? That sounds like a few 911's per year?

Are you sure thats the right number? Wow... I never in a million years thought Porsche sold that many 911's...

 

In 2004, Porsche produced 23,704 911's world-wide, from their annual report.

 

I'll back off the 40k figure. However the number does fluctuate from year to year, they were over 30k examples in 01. 2004 would be an off year will a new model due in 05 as many buyers may have been waiting for the 997. But even at 20k+ I think the point still stands.

 

Thanks guys for the information.

911's a very good seller. A great car but the Aston Martin AMV8 should be a winner in this segment. Not at 911 sales levels but then it doesn't have to ..

 

My favorite Bond movie I do believe. Dalton is the man.

As far as the car goes...it took a pretty good beating against the new 911 in the Top Gear test, but was pretty equal to the M6 from what I remember. However I believe it looks better, both inside and out, than either the 911 or the M6. The engine sounds amazing. The fact that the car is a mini-GT that can be heard from two miles away is just inspiring. If it gets it's feature in the new Bond film like it is supposed to then I think sales will skyrocket.

Do you think an 'S' version is a possibility?

- Chris

 

the msrp is 29k more than the carrera s coupe.....porsche is on pace to sell just over 20k 911s this year...most carreras are selling at or close to list with very little dealer inventory in stock a year and a half after its release....porsche is by far the most profitable sports car brand in the world with the highest profit margins in the industry...its stock has gone up 5000% in the past 5 years, while aston martin has been bleeding big time cash from ford...aston martin hopes to sell 3000 amvs a year...i dont think porsche is worried about the amv.....also keep in mind astons martins poor reliability record vs porsches...if i wanted a daily drive i can beat on , the carrera s, with its 2 year service interval and 100000 mile tune up interval would be my choice....also, in person, i though the amv looked a little small and could have used the longer elegant look of the db9.........