OK, Andy Palmer said our DB9's and Vantages appealed to 56 and 58 year olds and that he wanted to appeal to the young crowd. Last week I participated in Light Up the Night which attracts a much younger crowd than my 68 years - like 1/3rd my age. Up front there was a few Lambo's and Ferrari's that paid a premium to be up front. I was relegated to the far back corner, of which there was an MGB with a Nissan engine (nicely done), and a SVR F-Type (new). I left early because I did not feel well. So guess who won best Exotic? Yep, the old style geezer V12S Vantage I own!! Mr. Palmer, I suggest you use a new market analyst consulting firm, because if you evolved the Vantage (like Porsche evolves the 911) there would not be over 300 of the newer Vantages sitting unsold.

 

That's awesome you won!

And I agree, his analyst/designers got the market wrong.

With the current selection of Aston Martin's, they totally left us out. The new Vantage is too boy racer, and not as beautiful as the previous generation. The DB11 still kept the classic front grill, but loses points on its side profile and floating roof. The DBS seems right, but there are so many other cars (or combinations of multiple cars) one can buy at that price.

I just feel that they got the old v8 and v12 Vantage right as a gentleman's sports car, that feels special to drive, sounds amazing and can be appreciated while even parked. I too wish they evolved the old Vantage as opposed to the current radical redesign of the current one.

 

Very interesting thought but do they think there's enough 28 years old buyers that can afford a 130k plus car? There's a reason why their demographic was 56-58 year old men. They are the one's who can afford the car. I keep telling myself the new car (Vantage) will grow on me and I'll eventually like, but at that price point it has to be love at first sight. They look good in my rear view mirror though as they struggle to keep up with my VAP tuned Vantage V8S.

 

It's just sad. Aston has taken on this new design language and turned away their current customers.

For newer cars, I catch myself appreciating the new Lexus coupes and Mid-engine corvettes. They seemed to pick up where Aston left off, design-wise.

 

Nice! I should have brought mine to duke it out with you .

 

Totally agree, some people have refined classic taste and don't feel the need to be an instagram ****** showing off... palmer basically removed the soul of the company to sell cars in China... pretty pathetic if you ask me

and 58 year olds for the most part are the ones that can afford to buy these cars new... millenials don't have any fricking money left over!

I mean would you buy a car that looked like the V600 with a 500hp twin turbo V8 in it? and a nice upgraded interior? I know i'd consider it, rather than the catfish or whatever the hell they did to the new vantage

and don't get my wrong the new vantage drives soooo nice compared to the prior generation, but it really isn't that attractive which is its biggest flaw

 

There's hope for the current designs to have the elements of the older line up. Bright work and metal slats would go a long long way. I'd expect to see them on the within the next couple of years.

The DB11 is not so departed as the Vantage is. When considering the styling of their super cars, the Vantage is actually a good trickle down design.

 

I think there is a place for new sporty looking vantage and classic looking GT DB11. When I was replacing my F type R, I cross shopped 911, AMG GT, R8 v10, and NSX. To be honest, I find the new vantage the most striking one. It might not be the fastest one, but it's AMG engine can be easily tuned. Even without tuning, I think sub 4 sec is fast enough, even if you bring it to the track. I did test drive the DB11, it felt heavy and not nearly as engaging as the new vantage. I would not have looked at the Aston Martin brand if they have kept the outgoing vantage. To me, the old aston martin is like maserati, sexy but not competitive within the market. The new vantage is what got me into the brand, and I couldn't be happier. For all the naysayers about its controversial grills/ front, all my friends love the look in person, and they are between the age of 20 and 60. Again, I think the outgoing vantage is a beautiful car, but for a small car brand like AM to move forward and capture more share of the market, they need to take chances and be aggressive. And with the new DBX coming, AM might have a chance to be the next Porsche, and I think it's a good overall direction for the brand.

 

What color is your new Vantage?

And congrats to OP🙂

 

Ultramarine black

 

Congrats!
The age demographic of Vantage owners is directly related to the affordability.

When I saw the unveil of the Vantage, I was ~25. The car was my dream from that point on.

 

To make a point on the styling of the new Astons. I had a V8Vantage and a DB 11 guess what one I still have. I really tried to like the DB 11. I didn’t particularly like the styling of the DB 11. The quality has gone down and the metallic paint was blotchy. It is now more of a mass produced car and less of a hand built car. It did drive nice and it was fast but I guess these old eyes(71) like the last generation of Aston better.