The Grand Tour

*THE GRAND TOUR* Season 03 Episode 09 Title: "Aston, Astronauts and Angelina's Children"

- Hello! - Hello, everybody!

- Hel-lo! - You got tickets?

Thank you so much.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you.

Cut!

Thanks so much, everybody!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And welcome. And in today's incredibly topical show:

Neil Armstrong walks on the Moon...

some angry cyclists...

and I throw a sandwich out of the window.

All that...

All that is to come.

But first, Aston Martin has just launched a new car.

And here's Richard Hammond to tell us all about it.

This is the new V8 Vantage.

And, well, it's not an ugly car, is it?

I mean, I'm not sure about this colour.

You'd be on the phone to your doctor if your wee came out like this.

But the shape itself is stunning.

This is one of those superstar cars

that leave a wake of dropped jaws

and phone camera flashes.

And as the smallest, punchiest,

sportiest car in the Aston line-up,

it's fast too.

0-60 takes three-and-a-half seconds.

So you're not gonna be embarrassed by 911 Carreras.

Top speed, 195.

But here's the thing.

Astons have always been beautiful and fast

in a straight line,

but when you're making a sports car,

that's the easy part.

It was when you dug deeper under the skin,

into the areas you couldn't see,

that in the past they often came up short.

The trouble is, the company has never had the money

or the manpower of Porsche or Ferrari,

and you could sense that in their cars.

They just didn't feel as well made

or well-engineered as some rivals.

That means they sold mainly to people

listening to their hearts and not their heads,

because your heart says, "I want an Aston"

even when your head says,

"That door doesn't fit properly."

But this is 2018.

Good looks and speed aren't enough if bits are coming off in your hand.

This car can't be nice to drive, "for an Aston".

It can't be well made, "for an Aston".

It's got to be good, full stop.

So, let's start with the interior,

a place that normally tells you straightaway

if corners have been cut.

And the news in here is good.

Everything you see is brand new,

not warmed-up leftovers from an older model.

And it all feels properly put together...

as it should in a car that costs £121,000.

And if you push down on the electric height adjustor,

it has the lowest driving position

of any car I've ever been in.

I mean, I wouldn't claim to be a tall man, but...

this is low.

I feel seven.

Then we come to the engine.

It's a four-litre V8.

It has twin turbos.

It makes 510 horsepower, and...

it's German.

Specifically from the AMG division of Mercedes.

Yes, this will make people of a Brexity persuasion choke on their real ale,

but look at it this way.

Why waste money you don't have

developing an OK engine,

when you can buy in a brilliant one?

Besides, there's a plaque here that says, look,

it's been inspected by somebody at Aston Martin.

Presumably to make sure those slapdash German engineers

have done things properly.

But although the Vantage has Mercedes lungs,

the engineers have tried to make sure

it sings with an Aston voice.

Yeah, in an AMG, this engine doesn't make this noise.

In a Merc, it's all oom-pah bass.

Whereas Aston Martin have added

some British gravel to the mix.

Rrrr!

So, it's handsome, quick, tuneful and feels well built.

But now we come to the acid test -

how the new Vantage handles corners.

And, on paper at least, things seem promising.

It's built on an all-new chassis,

a shorter version of the one under the DB11.

And it's the first Aston Martin

to be fitted with an electronic diff,

a very expensive but very valuable weapon of war.

So, let's see what's what.

Yeah, it works.

This is in control of its power. It really is.

It's been set up by a man who used to work

at suspension masters Lotus.

And you can tell.

This just feels fabulous.

This knows what it wants to be.

There's no soft GT mode like you get in the DB11.

Your entry level setting is Sport,

and then it goes Sport Plus and Track.

That's what I want, it's a sports car! I don't want a soggy setting.

Yeah, this is superb.

Of course, it's still a car from a small British company,

so there are a few issues.

Visibility is not brilliant.

For me, sitting down here, it's like trying

to drive a car from the back of a crowded lift.

There's no glove box.

I don't like the sound of the indicators.

It's like a 1980s Casio keyboard. Listen.

And there's too much Alcantara. This will be all right when it's new,

but buy one of these second-hand,

and it'll be like using somebody else's flannel.

Still, in the big scheme of things,

these are just niggles.

Because overall, the Vantage is fantastic fun.

In the past, you could buy an Aston and love it,

but still know deep down that a 911 was a better car.

With this new Vantage, that gap has been closed

to a point where it doesn't matter.

It's not just brilliant "for an Aston Martin".

It's brilliant, full stop.

Good car.

It is a good car.

- I can see out. - Can you? Can you really?

Amazing, I know. I really can see out.

I agree with you, it is a brilliant, brilliant car.

But one thing I ought to mention -

you know all that tech inside it?

That is Mercedes stuff,

but it's last-generation Mercedes stuff they're fitting.

But it's still better than all the stuff that Aston used to fit.

That's true. No, that is true.

And the other thing, you expressed surprise that it's got that AMG engine.

But remember, the Aston V12, they've been using for years, that's German.

- It's made in Germany. - Yes.

That makes it sort of German, doesn't it?

No, no, no. It's where it's designed and developed that matters.

- No, he has got a point. - Yeah, I mean...

your autobiography, you could get it printed in Germany

but it would still be dreary because you designed and conceived it.

It's...

Can't argue with that, May, it would be.

Let's not get bogged down with what's German, and what's not.

The point is, OK, unlike the previous Vantage,

that is way, way more than a pretty face.

I mean, a lot more.

But, now, let's find how fast

Abbie can get one around the Eboladrome.

And away it goes,

with a little bit of wheel spin

and a wiggle of the hips under power,

but Abbie's got it under control,

hammering onto the Isn't.

Working away there at that unusual and frankly stupid

square steering wheel.

And already we're at the drop down into Your Name Here.

Was that a four-wheel drift?

And another one!

And now hard braking...

Ooh, look at that, turns in well.

And that looks quick.

Seems a bit lively there as all that turbocharged torque

tries to kick the tail out.

If this run was at night, she'd be in trouble

because the Vantage's headlamps are woeful!

But no complaints about the speed, that's for sure.

OK. Oh, coming in wide for Old Lady's House.

But keeping it neat round there,

and now the short squirt down to Substation.

Floaty under braking. Flicks it in.

Just Field of Sheep to go.

Surprisingly un-slidy and across the line!

- Oh, there we go. - Looks exciting.

- It does. - That was lively.

Like an old-fashioned racing car, moving around.

- The old days. - That was a good-looking lap, that.

Let's find out where it ended up on our lap board.

Shall we? Here we go.

Aye, aye... ooh.

Exactly the same speed as a 911 GT3 RS.

When you think the Aston doesn't have a massive wing

and scaffolding in the back, that is pretty impressive.

- It is very impressive. - But never mind that.

It's no faster than a BMW M5.

Yes, but I think what that says, James,

is the M5 is seriously quick.

- Well, quite. You, - Yeah, yeah.

You do forget just how fast that thing is.

It is, it certainly is.