Aston Martin has totally delivered with the stunning new V8 Vantage. Thankyou DB11, you were just a sideshow but hello V8 Vantage and welcome to the supercar jungle. The Vantage’s styling is partly inspired by the Aston Martin Vulcan but clearly, the V8 Vantage relies on the never built DB10 Concept. The V8 Vantage isn’t just a bold styling expression fit for the 21st Century. It is built on the same platform as the DB11, however, Aston says 70 percent of the bonded aluminum structure is new. And those stunning looks also have a practical day to day functionality. The front and rear diffuser arches are so formed to aid aerodynamic under-car stability while inadvertently serving as styling accents. The side gills “bleed” air pressure which is channeled from out of the front wheel arches to the rear, acting as a kind of aero-wing, thus creating significant levels of downforce. Powering the Vantage is a custom built V8 with parts supplied by Mercedes Benz, let’s be kind and say Aston are given the equivalent of “Lego” by Mercedes and they then go-create an engine in their own imagination. The end result is 4.0-litre Twin-Turbo V8 which sits as low as possible to give a low center of gravity in order to aid balance and stability. Aston says the new V8 Vantage has a 50:50 handling balance. That “Lego” V8 Twin Turbo churns out over 505bhp and a massive 685bhp of fury. Aston claims a top speed of 195mph and a 0-60mph time of just 3.5 seconds. No fancy dual clutch transmission it’s a good old fashioned 8-speed ZF. But the V8 Vantage will be the first Aston to feature a fancy rear E-Diff. What is an E-Diff? let’s just say it allows you to have analog fun governed by the digital thought process. Bit of oversteer and powerslides, in other words. Unfortunately, the V8 Vantage also features an electronic steering which is kind-of-like replacing the old system with a bowl of porridge. However, Dynamic Torque Vectoring, Dynamic Stability Control, Adaptive Damping systems mean Aston is now effectively doing the engineering equivalent of using Twitter and or Snapchat. Aston Martin is also about the luxury and the interior is a place of luxury, however, a full leather interior is an optional extra. The standard interior is a mix of leather and Alcantara trim. Aston also offers a personalization service, to stop prospective owners taking their new Aston to a backstreet “pimp my ride” garage in Ilford Essex run by a bloke with too many tattoos and questionable ethics. The V8 Vantage is priced to retail at £120,000 with deliveries set to commence in Q2 2018, that sounds like a lot to most people, and it is, but it’s an absolute bargain supercar of the decade if you ask us.