Bond Baby

But what makes this car pure magic is that you can get one and drive it like cars were meant to be driven – with a stick in the middle and not the annoying flappy paddles it seems every other supercar has to have these days. Don’t get me wrong, the flappy paddles are great on a car, like the F430, that knows how to use them. But on anything else they’re a waste of space.

The V8’s conventional six-speed manual gearbox allows you to have full control of everything you’re doing and I love that. You can now buy the V8 with the sportshift function, but it costs more and you lose the fun of the manual gear stick so don’t bother. If you want the Sportshift then save up for a DB9 as that’s where it belongs.

The trouble is, which one should you buy - the coupe or the roadster? The coupe is, without doubt, the better looking of the two, maintaining the exquisite lines in this surprising small but powerful package. But for me, and if I had the money, I’d spend the extra £8,000 for the roadster. It would not be the purist’s choice but, for me, I loved the thrill of feeling as well as hearing that awesome engine. And you don’t even lose any speed despite all the shenanigans involved in the automatic roof hood.

It may be small, it may be £50,000 cheaper than the Ferrari F430, but the Aston Martin V8
Vantage is the two-seater to be seen in. So dust off that tux and work hard so you can get yourself behind the wheel.

THE FACTS – ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE V8
PRICE: £83,000-£93,000
TOP SPEED: 175mph
0-60mph: 4.9secs
POWER: 380bhp
ENGINE: 4.3ltr V8
TRANMISSION: 6-speed manual