I'm driving the luscious Aston Martin V8 Vantage from L.A. to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, just loping along, not really paying attention as I click off miles. Cresting a rise, I spot a black-and-white in the hollow below, facing me with a radar gun visible in the windshield. I start pulling over even before the trooper flips on his lights, and I've already climbed out of the car by the time he parks behind me.
"Any idea how fast you were going?" he asks me.
"Not exactly," I say, trying not to cringe too obviously.
"Does 80 sound familiar?"
To be honest, 80 sounds like a godsend. If he'd nailed me a few minutes earlier, he would have been saying, "Hands on top of the car!" and escorting me to the nearest town for an unpleasant meeting with the local magistrate. But it's a measure of just how powerful and capable the Aston is that I was doing 80 when I honestly thought I was barely pushing the speed limit.
The V8 Vantage is not only the newest Aston Martin but it's also a new kind of Aston Martin. Significantly smaller and less expensive than the V-12-powered DB9 and Vanquish, the two-seat Vantage is designed to be an exclusive sports car rather than a genuine supercar.... Read full article