[MEDIA]
I remember when Clarkson and a pro driver (can’t remember who now) decided the 575 wouldn’t “age well” and decided the contemporary Aston Vanquish S was the winner, in spite of the 575 outperforming it. Even then, I thought, “Uhhh…are you guys blind or on the Aston payroll?” While this is a fairly brief but solid overview and we don’t really need affirmation, it’s nice to see the positive vibes the 575 is getting. Sometimes, you just know and it takes others a minute to figure it out.
That’s who it was, thanks! No question. His comments regarding the styling and both being “bored with Ferrari” however still have me scratching my head. Comes off as BS. Aston got it right with subsequent generations, IMO.
In fact both openly preferred the 575M before going somewhat patriotic trying to convey the idea that the Aston was more "special" than the Ferrari. In their shoes they could only support Aston's then best effort. I'm probably biased but to me modern Aston Martins are a British version of Mercedes, and that's not a compliment.
Regarding the Vanquish S vs 575 debate, I can speak with some authority about the two as I got to know my dads ‘05 Vanquish S over nearly ten years and now own my 575M. From a performance perspective, the Ferrari wins on pretty much every measure, especially handling. The Aston is a heavy beast and didn’t like having its inertia upset too much. The big 6 liter has to work a fair bit harder launching that massive hunk of hand beaten aluminum and steel down the road. Then there’s that abominable gearbox, which makes the F1 feel like a DCT in comparison. From an owners perspective, the Ferrari wins again as it is much MUCH easier to service (just doing an oil change on the Vanq is a nightmare from hell) and of course far better value residuals. BUT, there are certain ways that Aston has a leg up on the Ferrari. The sound of that V12 is sonorous and sublime; it’s a much nicer note than the muddier and noisier F133. The styling as well is just that bit more special - it was the last hand assembled and manually formed car at the famous Newport Pagnell factory. Despite being the objectively worse car, the Aston’s incredible solidity and comfort going down a road makes it the preferred choice for pure grand touring activity over the Ferrari. While the Ferrari tingles and thrills (as any Italian car should), the Aston relaxed me and put things at ease.
