The Week in Cars #5
The new Aston-Martin Vantage hits the streets, and Ford takes the wraps off its new Focus. Chevrolet's Camaro gets a mid-life uglification. New Aston Martin Vantage Aston Martins are a bit like Subway sandwiches. They don't tend to be spot on the first time you try, but with time and careful honing, they grow on you and the final result is fantastic. And, with no 'Comfort' mode and a lazy automatic gearbox, the new Vantage seems like it will follow suit. However, things aren't quite as they seem with this one. Although Astons are typically luxurious and genteel GT cars, the Vantage was launched in a decidedly un-luxurious and un-genteel shade of lime green (the car on the right in the first photo). It also ditches any rubber damping on the mounts for the engine and gearbox, and so, despite resting on a modified DB11 platform, is far more like a sports car in principle. Take the engine, for example. 503bhp and 505lb-ft is exactly the same as the Merc-AMG C6