‘Chuck away the performance figures and stop obsessing about numbers – just enjoy the experience,’ said Aston Martin.

That was the strong advice they gave during the pre-test briefing for the first drive of the much-anticipated all-new 202mph two-seater Aston Martin Vantage – its fastest ever with more power and punch.

But is it a match for its biggest rival, Ferrari? It’s time to find out. 

The latest iteration of Aston’s most affordable sports car now rings in at a whopping £165,000.

That a price hike of more than £44,000 on the £120,900 asking fee when the current outgoing version was launched in November 2017. 

And with extras you’d be lucky to get much change form £200,000.

Its move up in price range now brings it closer to the Ferrari Roma – arguably its biggest competition. 

In truth, I never really took to the look of the last Vantage which divided opinion as markedly as Marmite following a bold decision to ditch the iconic Aston grille – akin to the team behind Dr Who messing with the design of the Daleks. 

A courageous move, but no. 

So I’m really glad they’ve brought the grille back big time as the new Vantage reverts to a more muscular and traditional Aston Martin ‘face’.

Both the sexy exterior and the sumptuously sporty interior are a step-change improvement and uplift from an already high bar as the Aston team continue on their mission to create a Britain’s Ferrari, or rather a British Ferrari-beater.

Aston, based at Gaydon in leafy Warwickshire, says their new front-engined rear-wheel drive road-car is the fastest and most driver-focussed in the Vantage name-plate’s 74 year history, is ‘engineered for real drivers’, and remains ‘a hard-core sports car at heart’. 

But is it enough to panic Italy’s big wigs over in Maranello?

What’s it like to drive? 

It is certainly an impressive beast. 

And it really is the physical feel of driving the car – when those enhanced performance figures on a page translate into real driver experience – that is the strong suit here. 

James Bond fans can rest assured that the latest offering from 007’s favourite car firm certainly does have a licence to thrill. But also the potential for a licence to lose if you get carried away on public highways.

That is why I was pleased to have my first experience behind the wheel of the new Vantage during a morning spent doing hot laps at the Monteblanco racing circuit on the outskirts of Seville in southern Spain.

Here I could experience the full potential of the car (though to be fair, I didn’t get close, but gave it a fair old go), driving both solo and with the expert help and patient tutoring of three times Le Mans 24-hour winner Darren Turner riding shotgun alongside me.

Crash helmet on, I was off onto the serpentine Spanish circuit and thundering down the long home straight the pulling-power of the 665 horsepower 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol engine at its heart. 

To be fair, as the first few hairpin bends loomed large ahead of me, it really was the high-speed track experience about which I was obsessing – rather than the bald performance figures which the Aston Martin team had urged me and others present to chuck away.

But for the record, and to put it in context, the new Vantage does accelerate from rest to 62mph in just 3.5 seconds up to a top speed of 202mph. 

But that doesn’t even begin to convey the experience, which was awesome.

That power output is up by 155hp, or nearly a third, on the equivalent outgoing 510hp Vantage, and an increase of 130hp or a fifth on the Vantage F1 edition’s 535hp. 

That helps shave a second off the existing car’s acceleration, while adding 7mph to the top speed.

The engine is linked to a rear-mounted 8-speed automatic transmission (with carbon fibre prop shaft) with slick manual gear-changes possible via paddle-shift.

With such rapid acceleration I was thankful for the stopping power of equally powerful carbon ceramic brakes when I slammed on the anchors ahead of tight turns and cornering.

For the record, I have no pretentions to being a racing driver – quite the opposite – and I always have all the safety options switched on. I am a journalist first and I know my limitations. 

But I could not fail to be impressed at just how good a driver this car made me feel – even on a race track. 

The more I drive it, the more confident I felt.

Racing champion and Aston Martin Racing factory driver Darren was a delight in helping me squeeze even more out of the car than I might otherwise have dared – either following him at speed to match his superb racing lines in his own car, or having him alongside to take that next turn even tighter and closer to the apex.

As sweaty palms swiftly gave way to cool hot-laps, it gave me an enhanced appreciation of what this new Vantage as capable – without putting my own driving licence at risk.

That meant when I did go out on the public roads – for which it is designed to spend most if not all of its life – I could relax and appreciate the more refined features of the cars well as the intense dynamic performance.

That racing pedigree performance translates seamlessly onto the highway where, intriguingly, metallic green has taken over from silver as the most popular Aston colour. 

It has a cossetting cockpit with a good mix of touch-screen, steering wheel commands, and proper buttons, though one of the slider controls on the steering wheel is a bit fiddly.

There are five driving modes: track, sport+, sport, individual and wet. 

Sport and sport+ I found most engaging but you can set the car up to suit your personal preferences. 

Great grip and growl on twisty mountain roads, but watch the needle and your right foot on those enticingly long straight stretches.

Aston Martin F1 racing driver Fernando Alonso would enjoy one as his regular day car.

Does the Vantage look – and feel – the part? 

With its more classic Aston Martin styling, the new Vantage is 30mm wider with a more muscular stance.

The completely redesigned front end with a veined grille that is 38 per cent larger to boost cooling air intake. It also marks a return of the signature Aston Martin side-strake.

Styling elements of the One-77 supercar have also been included. There’s a wider rear bumper with side vents and larger diameter quad exhaust tailpipes to make it ‘look as dramatic from the rear as it does from the front.

Clever design styling means the car looks leaner as ‘volume’ is removed from the road presence.

Other features include frameless door mirrors, ‘presenting’ pop-out door handles, and supple, aromatic Bridge of Weir hides.

The new Vantage follows the introduction last year of the DB12 Coupe and Volante in what it terms the ‘ultra-luxury, performance sports car market’.

It continues a lineage that can be traced back to 1950, when the Vantage name was first used to denote an uprated engine package for the race-proven DB2 model.

The first time the Vantage name was applied as a model designation was in 1964, when a high-performance Vantage-badged version of the DB5 became the new flagship of the range.

A standalone Vantage model was introduced in the early 1970s, and since then the nameplate has played an increasingly prominent role in Aston Martin’s model line-up.

Car & motoring verdict 

The vigorous new Vantage gives Aston Martin a clear advantage in the competition to attract customers who enjoy real driving pleasure above bragging rights about Top Trumps statistics.

Aston Martin bosses under chairman Lawrence Stroll are clear they want to move the firm’s positioning from the sphere that includes luxurious sporty brands like Britain’s Bentley and more into the domain of performance supercars like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren, while still retaining levels of comfort and luxury that their well-heeled customers demand. 

Click here to resize this module

So that will be a key challenge for former Bentley chief executive Adrian Hallmark when he takes over at Aston in the Autumn.

Aston Martin said of their new Vantage: ‘The quintessential Aston Martin sports car and the most driver focused and fastest Vantage in the famous nameplate’s 74-year history, it is an authentic, unadulterated celebration of pure performance, engineered to deliver ‘maximum thrills with maximum confidence’ in keeping with ‘the most dynamic period in Aston Martin’s 111 year history.’

And it’s hard to disagree.

With the new generation Vantage they’ve made impressive headway towards their ultra-luxury British performance ambitions. 

Ferrari has already given an unacknowledged nod to Aston Martin with the styling of their own Roma model, which I cheekily refer to as an ‘Aston Ferrari’.

I suspect the Italian team in Maranello will be keeping a constantly close eye on their rear mirrors looking out for those impertinent Brits stealing up to them on their blind side. 

And rightly so.