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2019 Aston Martin Vantage ridealong: Going to the extremes

"My job is to make them drive like they look," Matt Becker, Aston Martin's vehicle attributes engineer, tells me. The engine is idling, and we're harnessed inside of the 2019 Vantage test mule's racing bucket seats, somewhere on a frozen lake near the Arctic Circle in Sweden. Since the Vantage is Aston's best seller, and it's representative of the things the brand stands for, it's safe to say this chilly prototype is the most important Aston Martin on the planet right now. "Shall we have a go?" Becker rhetorically asks, looking out at the ice track. "First, with all the systems on. We test and develop this car with systems on and off, at every stage." Becker shifts the Vantage into Drive, and immediately it sounds happier. Under the hood is an Aston-ized, AMG-sourced twin-turbo V8, packing 503 horsepower and 505 lb-ft of torque. It was given the full work-over, and the controller algorithms were developed to make it behave like a proper Aston. Power is channeled through an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox. How and when the power comes on depends on driving conditions and mode, of which the 2019 Vantage has three: Sport, Sport Plus and Track. Absent is the DB11's GT mode, which fits perfectly on the grand tourer but not on a pure sports car such as the Vantage. Throughout testing, the Vantage stays under heavy camouflage and even sports some DB11 bits at first to deter speculation. But despite the partial DB11 drag, the Vantage will embody CEO Andy Palmer's directive: "[W]e need greater differentiation between the lines." While the DB11 is a striking and elegant grand tourer, the Vantage dials up the aggression over its predecessor. A massive, oxygen-gulping grille dominates the frontend. The car is about the same width as the DB11, but in person, it seems twice as wide as more pedestrian sports cars. Fender vents serve both functional and aesthetic purposes. The lip of the trunk swoops up, a naturally integrated spoiler that will help deliver downforce. But there's a lot more at play than is even immediately evident to the eyes, most important of which is the electronic rear differential. This the first Aston to ever be fitted with an e-diff. As Becker explains: "What that allows us to do is vary the amount of torque across the rear axle that we have, which allows you to make the car very short, very agile. Add in tricks like Dynamic Torque Vectoring, and because we can open up the diff, it's like putting a pole in the ground when you're skiing.

Ford GT dominates Le Mans qualifying, gets slapped with performance adjustment

Fifty years after Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon drove the Ford GT40 to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford is poised for a historic return to the Circuit de la Sarthe. The new Ford GT took the top two qualifying positions in the LMGTE Pro class, and four of the top five. Ferrari's 488 filled in the rest of the spots in the top seven, the first two from AF Corse. In other words, we're primed for a reboot of the classic Ford-Ferrari feud at this year's race. Or not, as the ACO, which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, announced sweeping pre-race Balance of Performance (BOP) adjustments this morning that make this year's GT class anybody's race. In LMP1, last year's overall winner Porsche locked up the top two spots with the 919 Hybrid and will lead the entire field at race start. Toyota's two-car factory effort followed with qualifying times 1.004 and 2.170 seconds behind the pole lap. Audi rounds out the manufacturer-backed LMP1 class in fifth and sixth. Full qualifying results can be found here. The storyline for the GT cars is perfect - some say too perfect. Ford's class-leading times came after BOP adjustment to the Corvette Racing C7.R before qualifying. BOP is intended to level the playing field in the class by adjusting power, ballast, and fuel capacity. (Check out this explainer video for more, or even just if you love French accents.) But the process is riddled with unknowns and ripe for accusations of sandbagging. That is, if the Ford cars were intentionally slow in practice they could hope for BOP adjustment to improve their race chances. On the Corvette side, last year's GTE Pro winner went from the top of the field to the bottom, barely improving from practice to qualifying. If you think Le Mans is as rigged at the NBA Playoffs, well, it's not that simple. Because if Ford and Ferrari held back until qualifying - the eighth-place Porsche 911 RSR is three-and-a-half seconds off the class pole time - it was a pretty dumb strategy. This morning, the ACO tried to put things back in order by limiting the boost in the Ford GT's twin-turbo V6 and adding 11 pounds of ballast. Ferrari was also given extra weight but allowed more fuel capacity. The Corvette and Aston Martin teams were both given breaks on their air restrictors, which will allow their engines to make more power. Both Ford and Porsche also received extra fuel capacity.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage shows off sound, will return in 2022

According to Aristotle's fourth-century History of Animals, swans "are musical, and sing chiefly at the approach of death." Scientists still debate the accuracy of this statement, but we don't think anybody is going to argue with the melodic tones of the swan song that is Aston Martin's V12 Vantage. Listen for yourself in the video up above. We've been expecting this. We saw spy shots in August of a hardcore Vantage mule out testing on the Nurburgring that was fitted with all manner of enhancements that led us to believe a twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12 may be under its vented hood. Later, the rumormill was aflutter with reports that the British marque was planning to bestow its smallest car with big power courtesy of a V12 tuned to deliver a reported 670 horsepower. That's 20 ponies fewer than the Speedster's twelve-cylinder, which spins out 690 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. Aston Martin V12 Vantage prototype View 13 Photos We don't know much more than that, for now. Aston Martin's teaser says the V12 Vantage returns in 2022, we'd guess as a 2023 model, and that it will be labeled a Final Edition. We're certain the number produced will be limited, so if this is the beautiful swan song you've been waiting for, now would be a good time to get your finances in order. Related video: