New Metorite Silver V12 Vantage collected today
Well one week ago I made the mistake of asking for a test drive of a V12 vantage after really drooling over one in the showroom 2 weeks earlier when I took my 4.7 V8 Vantage in for its first annual service. Ever since that day I had not been able to stop thinking about it and so I went back to look at it again and to see what difference there really was.
After a bit of initial negotiation to be sure their might be a deal on the table I was interested enough to ask for that test drive. Bad idea!!!! The salesman actually cautioned me against it before saying "I'll warn you, if you test drive it you WILL want to buy one!". "Yeah, yeah" I thought, half expecting to not be all that blown away by the extra 90BHP, but oh dear, he was right! There is far far more to the car than could ever be shown in a few paper stats - the car is just sensational. I was on the brink of buying a 997.2 GT3 one year ago when I switched over to the V8 vantage (due to a long and complex story which ended up in me demanding my deposit back). To me the v12 is the the best of both of these cars all in one without any obvious compromise (ok, except maybe the price). I would previously have given my V8 a very high overall 9.5/10 on the auto greatness scale, but after the test drive I realised that the V12 was worth a good 12/10 - one point for each of those almightly cylinders in that engine!
Regardless it then took me a whole week of sleepless nights to get my head around spending the cash above and beyond my 13mth old 4.7 V8 but late on sunday afternoon I walked in and shook the salesmans hand on what has to be said was a remarkable deal to change on what was my perfect dream spec V12 - to be collected today!
I walked in to the showroom this afternoon still a bit sad and worried at the prospect of loosing what has to be the very best car I have ever owned (my current 4.7 V8), but I was at the same time very very excited about the V12 that I have been lusting over for these last few weeks ever since I first set eyes on it in the showroom.
Full spec is as follows :
Meteroite Silver
Bright finish grille
Obsidian black leather with silver stitching
Half alcantara lightweight seats
Full leather steering wheel
Piano black trim
700W premium hifi
Polished kickplates
Front parking sensors
Garage remote opener
Oh boy, what a day! I had debated very long and hard over the cost (even at what was a great discount) but within a matter of mins all my worries had been blown into dust. The car is sublime, and the performance it is capable of is just insane. It is even better than I had thought it was in the test drive and that was impressive enough to get me to part with more cash than I ever thought I would spend on a car!! The ride is fantastic and is almost as stunning as the engine - the feedback from the chassis is nothing short of what a 997 GT3 offers but yet it is actually more compliant and comfy than my V8 sportpack was - I have no idea how they have managed it. I’m not sure if it is down to the MY10 build quality over the MY09 on my V8 , or if they put more hours into a V12 but it feels even better put together than the V8 did. The lightweight seats are sensational - unless your backside just doesn’t fit in them then they ought to be the seat of choice in a V12V in my opinion and I urge everybody to try them as they add a huge amount to the driving experience by themselves. Everything about this car is improved, but the engine is the truly epic thing that defines this car above all else. Not only is the V12V well worth every penny I paid for it without doubt, but it also most certainly worth the full £140+ asking price too if you cant find a deal on a stock car.
I took my best friend (who is also a massive petrolhead) out on a spirited drive this evening on some local twisty roads and on the way back we had a very sedate cruise and listened to Brian Eno's 'an ending' (the tune from the Top Gear's Clarkson V12 review) - a pure "goose-bumps moment" for both of us. 
Like me, he could not believe the massive difference in performance over my old 4.7 V8 and the way this car is able to switch from a thoroughbred sports car to effortless high quality grand cruiser is just astonishing!
This car is most certainly "the ultimate vantage" and to me it is what an Aston Martin is supposed to be - the perfect harmony of supreme performance, drop dead gorgeous looks, a leviathan soundtrack and the finest quality finish.
Quite simply I am in awe of what I have just been lucky enough to be able to buy. This is it! It cannot get better than this in automotive terms for me - a true nirvana.
Anyway here are a couple of pics I snapped earlier today at the delivery and a couple later from my afternoon trip in the sunshine with my good lady.
Out with the old (my 'old' onyx black 2009 4.7 V8 in the background) and in with the new!
A rather beautiful 458 italia in the background that didn’t even get a look in as I had eyes for only one car 
A couple of pics from a quick stop in the countryside this afternoon.
its an exclusive club the V12 Vantage, enjoy every drive.
) and I may jump the train since the largest Aston Martin dealer in my region is a family friend.
