2022 Aston Martin Vantage

A sports car's primary mission is to make the driver feel behind the wheel, and the beautiful 2022 Aston Martin Vantage does all that while making heads turn everywhere it goes. Its sensual shape–available with a fixed roof or a retractable soft top–is classic sport's car stuff, with a long hood and wide haunches. What's under that clamshell hood is almost equally as lusty: a 500-plus-hp twin-turbo V-8 sourced from Mercedes-AMG. This vociferous mill mates with a manual or automatic transmission, but unfortunately the former is only offered on the regular coupe. For driver's looking to channel their inner Sebastian Vettel, Aston now offers a track-tuned F1 Edition with distinct styling, an enhanced chassis, and extra horsepower. While the Vantage's interior suffers from some fit-and-finish issues and uncouth wind and road noise at highway speeds, the highly customizable cabin can still be lavishly appointed.

Fuel

The Vantage isn't as thirsty for fuel as its powerful V-8 engine might suggest, at least not when equipped with the automatic transmission. The EPA estimates that models with the automatic will earn 18 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. Models with the manual are rated at 14 mpg city and 21 highway. However, we haven't run a Vantage with either transmission on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy route, which is part of our extensive testing regimen, so we can't evaluate its real-world mpg.

Engine

Beneath the Vantage's clamshell hood lies a thrilling, thundering twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 that is supplied by Mercedes-AMG. This engine develops either 503 or 528 horsepower and 505 lb-ft of torque. The higher output is reserved for the track-inspired F1 Edition. While the regular Vantage feeds the rear wheels through either a seven-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic transmission, the F1 Edition only comes with the latter. We drove the F1 on track discovered a meaningfully sharpened driving experience. Still, going with the regular model's manual transmission creates a purer connection with the powertrain than the autobox, and also has the added performance benefit of removing 209 pounds. The Vantage's V-8 sounds beautiful, starting with a low baritone rumble at idle and finishing with a high-strung shriek as it nears its redline. An electronically controlled limited-slip differential and adaptive dampers are standard.