Agreed, but I would argue that the 911 is unique, a sports car icon, maybe even the definitive sports car. As such, it is not so much a case of getting away with constantly reworking and tweaking, but more of an imperative.

I don't think Aston can claim to be in the same situation. There are decades of high profile racing and road history, pedigree, and a large, fanatically loyal customer base to back the 911. Aston might wish to pretend they have a similarly illustrious past, but it can't come close to Porsche's.

 

I'm not so sure. What makes an icon? Standing the test of time mainly. Sure, the 911 is an icon today, but when did that happen along the 50 years of its production? I submit that their strategy of making minor improvements worked before the car became an icon.

I think that if it works for Porsche, it can work for Aston, even if it is for other reasons. For Porsche it worked because of its great performance. It could work for Aston for, say, its aesthetics or driver experience. Also, as long as people continue buying, there's not much motivation for Aston to change too radically.

 

Mmm - trouble is, people aren't buying, if you believe the numbers in the Autocar article. You might say this is inevitable due to the economy, but the article points out that some other marques have fared better.

 

Well, that is the true test. I didn't know that sale were slumping, but once that's the case, the argument for shaking things up does become much stronger.

 

See here is the thing, with the 911 I am tempted to at some point, replace my GT2 with a GT2 RS... although my GT2 has less drivers aids and is more of a true driver's car then the current GT2 RS, the RS has more power and torque and is still limited numbers and very gratifying to drive, there is a difference there.

but with my DB9, I don't feel a strong urge to replace it with another Aston varient, maybe a DBS but it's so close dunno that the driving experience or aesthetic difference would warrant that swap. The power gains are nominal, the engines are the same 6L v12, my current car looks every bit as good, and the interiors are not worlds apart. For what Astons are known for, i.e rarity and great looks each of them has that in spades, everything from the Vantage to the Vanquish and DB they all look stunning. One could argue that once you get an entry level v8 vantage, unless you want to go to a v12 engine there really is no reason to swap out.

 

Good points sunir. I suppose improved performance provides a strong incentive to upgrade, but there's not much that's improved with the Aston to give you that itch, the one exception being moving from the V8 to the V12.

 

Which leads us back to the Evolution of the Survival of the Fittest: Performance

 

. . . and leads me back to the notion that Aston doesn't need to provide cutting edge performance to survive. I still think that Aston just needs to stay in the game, i.e., not fall too far behind. Aesthetics and cachet count, but they are only part of the equation. The same can be said for performance, at least when we're talking about a road car.

 

I hear ya guys and there is IMO a sense of auto-darwinism that Plastiq talks about...yes the looks evolve a bit, and yes the interior changes a bit but these are like moving from feathers to skin in evolutionary sense...whereas going from 500ish hp to 650ish hp is like when man finally was able to stand and walk on 2 feet, when we became bi-pedal that was a leap and represented epic gigantic surge forward in evolutionary terms.... that is what Aston needs a leap forward!!!

 

I don't think the Vantage needs 650 bhp. I would, however, like the top Vantage model (or DB9) to have power in the mid to upper 500s though. That's were the SLS AMG is, which seems to fall within the same sports/GT category. To do that, however, Aston would need to take the Vanquish into the 600s, which it should have been from the start.

 

Nonsense.

Everything needs 650HP.

 

^^^

Good point, but why stop there?

 

And now we're on the same page...

Until tires and roads are made better, and all Priuses are decommissioned, I think it's a good arbitrary limit.

 

The difference between the 911 platform and Aston is; Porsche keep the basic look of the 911 from year to year, but they make VERY meaningful changes to the car. Each new platform moves the game forward (for better or worse).

The 911 is a real threat because it is obvious to anyone paying attention that the 911 platform is becoming a part of the GT/touring end of the Porsche line up. It looks like a two door Panamera for good reason.

The Boxster S, the up coming Cayman S, the new 961 and 918 all share an aesthetic that is far more sporting than the 911. These are the true sports cars of the Porsche line up. Flatter sides and lights.

Aston needs that level of performance within its line up. DBS and Vanquish on one side, Vantage on the other.

But most importantly it needs to not restyle, it needs to actually move the gamer forward.

 

And yet many of the people on this site moved from a 911 to an Aston and comment how much more "special" the Aston is compared to their old (sold) 911. This brings me back once again to the idea that Aston does not need to match the performance of many of these other performance cars out there because Aston brings something else to the table that people want. They just need to ensure that they don't fall too far back as to overcome those positives.