Aston Martin Vantage: Driving the orange beast through Seville

The sun rises over Seville’s bull ring and the guttural roar of a supercar’s engine echoes off its baroque brickwork. Under the circumstances, a bull badge-wearing Lamborghini would be appropriate, but the vehicle I’m burbling along in is the new Aston Martin Vantage; essentially Fernando Alonso’s company car, and he’s known as El Matador around these parts for a reason.

You can easily imagine ‘Nando tarted up in an elaborate traje de luces (suit of lights) with a red flag, taunting the Vantage as it growls. Formula One’s popularity, and that of Aston Martin’s F1 team, means the most requested colour for its road going products is no longer the silver prescribed for James Bond, it’s the Alonso-advertised racing green. I suspect the 2005 and 2006 F1 world champion might specify a more popping hue for his own Vantage, something inspired by his helmet colours perhaps – cosmopolitan yellow, ion blue, or the cosmos orange seen here.

Punchy, fruity and elegant describes the cosmos orange Vantage I drive, which combines raw performance with comfort and precision.

As well as sampling the food, drink and architectural delights of Seville, I was in town to get out of town – to drive Andalusia’s most rewarding roads and to sample the Vantage on track at the Monteblanco circuit, 35 miles to the city’s west. History oozes from Seville’s pores. Some of the best places are found by taking a wrong turn. By all means join the throng of tourists in visiting the world’s largest gothic cathedral, but the day before I was tossed the keys to the Aston I strode out of my hotel – Seville’s Nobu – and made a beeline for the narrowest and most colourful cobbled streets in search of time-worn taverna peddling crisp local sherry.

Casa Vizcaino is one such locale, decorated in blue and white azulejo tiles, dusty sherry and vermouth bottles and framed photos of Mary and the baby Jesus. The crowd spills onto the street, many of them traders and punters fresh from the nearby flea market. Waiters chalk up tabs on the wooden bar top. I also pop by Las Piletas for a swift half of Cruzcampo. Surrounded by bullfighting memorabilia and grainy old matches on the wall-mounted telly. I recommend the oxtail stew if you’re hungry. On this visit, I’m saving my appetite. Before dinner, I wander up to the Moorish Torre del Oro, a 13th century dodecagonal watchtower, and along the Guadalquivir river and orange tree-lined avenues, where rowing eights pass on one side and horses and carts on the other.

Back at the Nobu Hotel, you can guess what’s on the menu; Peruvian-Japanese, very well executed and dominated by famous worldwide signatures such as yellowtail sashimi with thinly-sliced jalapenos, and miso black cod. I’ve always described it as McDonald’s for rich people. They know what they’re going to get, and they don’t even have to think about their order. However, on the hotel’s roof terrace, Aston has recruited some local chefs to prepare an Andalusian feast that’s far more in keeping with our surroundings, including a reconstructed gazpacho soup with fluffy goats’ cheese presented in a tomato made from jelly and, of course, an Olympian paella.

My friend Olly Smith, Saturday Kitchen’s drinks expert, is here to preside over the wine selection. He has come in a shirt that looks exactly like one of those Spanish tiles, and is extremely chuffed to have secured some rather rare Pago de Carrovejas, a tiny winery in the north of Spain that produces a punchy, fruity and elegant Tempranillo, Cab Sauv, Merlot blend.

Punchy, fruity and elegant describes the cosmos orange Vantage I drive the following morning. It combines raw performance with comfort and precision. The roads take in the twisty geography of Huelva, complete with pine forests and red coastal dunes.

The sense of occasion that the Vantage’s rakish exterior promises is no longer let down once you climb inside.

Compact and powered by a front-mounted 4.0 V8 driving the rear wheels, we’re in traditional artisanal Aston territory here; no hybrid gimmickry, no aero witchcraft. This is pure petrol-fed Gaydon rib-eye. It costs £165,000, putting it right between the Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S, and to keep up with the Germans, Aston has set out to improve the Vantage in every area over the outgoing model.

Unlike the more grand-touring DB12, there are no back seats and the dynamic focus is on sport-plus. Which isn’t to say it’s uncomfortable, just pleasingly firm; it’s a wonderful place to sit thanks to its new interior, which takes its cues from the DB12 and the upcoming revamp of the DBX 707. The dark and awkward interior of the previous model has been consigned to the dustbin. The new one is more ergonomic, high-tech and stylish, with some inspiration taken, I’d suggest, from the third-generation Bentley Continental GT, which has been the benchmark for six years now. The sense of occasion that the Vantage’s rakish exterior promises is no longer let down once you climb inside. The new infotainment system, designed in-house, is also a giant leap for Astonkind.

The rear remains very similar to the 2018 Vantage and still looks box-fresh, but the frontal styling is all-new, and takes welcome hints from the very limited edition One-77 that the Vantage’s designer, Marek Reichmann, penned back in 2009. Built to just 77 units, it remains one of the most beautiful Aston Martins of the post-David Brown era (and worth circa £2.25m today).

Power has been increased by 30 per cent, developing a mighty 656bhp via its twin-turbo Mercedes AMG-sourced block. Once considered the baby of the range, the Vantage is now good for 202mph and 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds. I thought the handling-tuned F1 Edition of the previous Vantage was great fun, but could have used another 50bhp. Now it’s got it.

After three or four laps I’m already pushing the limits. Top speed before braking hard for the tight Turn 1 hairpin is 165mph. After eight laps, the brake pedal is starting to get awfully long.

AMG-derived cars tend to be all tyre smoke and ASBO-triggering hooliganism, but the Aston has been to finishing school. It’s got new electronically adjustable Bilstein DTX dampers and a new traction control system with eight settings from mild to wild, an e-differential for the eight-speed automatic transmission that shifts faster than its predecessor, and bespoke Michelins that grip like a furious dobermann.

The 2.7-mile Monteblanco circuit was completed in 2006 and is used for both sports car and superbike testing. Its 18 low to medium speed turns and long straight are ideal to test a super sports car such as this, as opposed to a high-downforce hypercar. Here, I swap my orange car for one in the F1 hue – podium green with yellow accents – mainly to get in the mood.

I have a team of mechanics on each wheel monitoring tyre temps and pressures as I make my pitstops between runs. This is a car that gives you lots of confidence fast. After three or four laps I’m already pushing the limits. Top speed before braking hard for the tight Turn 1 hairpin is 165mph. After eight laps, the brake pedal is starting to get awfully long. But this is a road car, not a racing car, and any enthusiastic driver will find it thrilling on a track day, with masses left in the envelope on A-roads.

The feedback through the steering is sharp and communicative, while the chassis and control systems have stepped up to deal with the extra 53bhp. It’s not a particularly light car, and when you push it hard you’ll feel its 1,605kg heft understeering in the slow corners. In faster corners, the balance is better and the car feels alive.

Overall, it feels sportier than a Ferrari Roma, more playful than a Mercedes AMG GT, classier than a Lamborghini Huracan and more special than a Porsche 911 Turbo. Its ability to catch the eye is matched only by the Lambo.

Back in Seville, I sneak out to a flamenco jam at the Taberna Gonzalo Molina. This hole-in-the-wall venue has been here for centuries, and it’s known as ‘the bar of props’ because its roof is held up by scaffolding poles. The owners have had to fight court orders to keep it open, and it’s inspired a social movement among local artists and regulars to do just that. Somehow, Aston Martin have managed to do the same for the last 111 years, despite more than its fair share of bankruptcies. It’s one of the world’s greatest brands producing gorgeous cars, but it’s always struggled to make the business work, like a flamenco cante of passion and grief.

If anyone can put Aston in the black, Hallmark can, and in the Vantage he’s inherited a product that stands up to the best Porsche, Ferrari and co can offer, and a brand that’s never been bigger thanks in small part to Aston’s F1 matador, Señor Alonso. Olé! Olé!

Now a public limited company chaired by bold and big-spending billionaire Lawrence Stroll, there are no longer any excuses. Aston has recently named its fourth CEO in four years; Adrian Hallmark, previously of Bentley. Hallmark worked magic at the B-marque, making unthinkable operating profits for a British car brand (£504m last year).

If anyone can put Aston in the black, Hallmark can, and in the Vantage he’s inherited a product that stands up to the best Porsche, Ferrari and co can offer, and a brand that’s never been bigger thanks in small part to Aston’s F1 matador, Señor Alonso. Olé! Olé!