Aston Martin Vantage review: 656 hp of very deliberate excess for Bahrain's small circle of owners
4.3/5motorssouq Editorial Team
This is a car for someone who wants the most extreme Vantage Aston has ever built and has already accepted the compromises of owning a low-volume British sports car with no local dealer in a hot, humid climate. It is genuinely thrilling to drive. It is not, on any honest measure, the sensible way to spend this money in Bahrain.
Pros
- 656 hp AMG-sourced V8 makes it the most extreme production Vantage Aston has built
- Adaptive dampers are genuinely usable in road settings, not just track mode
- Wider tracks and a new electronic rear differential sharpen an already good chassis
- Interior quality is a clear step up from the previous Vantage generation
Cons
- No factory-authorised Aston Martin dealer in Bahrain; ownership means import logistics
- Servicing and warranty work mean a trip to the UAE or Kuwait network
- Staggered performance tyres wear quickly on Manama's coarser tarmac
- Not remotely practical as a daily car for anyone without a second vehicle
Aston Martin did not gently update the Vantage for this generation — it rebuilt the car's entire personality. The 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, sourced in block form from Mercedes-AMG and substantially reworked by Aston's own engineers, now produces 656 hp, a jump of well over 150 hp on the outgoing model. The result is a car that genuinely intimidates in a way the previous, more relaxed Vantage never tried to.
The chassis has been retuned to match: wider tracks, a new electronic rear differential, and an adaptive damper calibration that is genuinely usable on a rough road without beating the driver up, at least in its softer modes. Switch everything to Track and the Vantage becomes one of the most engaging front-engined V8 sports cars currently sold by anyone, Aston included.
The Bahrain reality check
None of that changes the ownership picture. There is still no factory-authorised Aston Martin dealer on the island, so a new Vantage here means either private import through the UAE or Kuwait network or buying through a dealer abroad and shipping the car. Servicing, software updates and warranty claims mean a trip off-island, and the specialist workshops that exist locally are more comfortable with the older, simpler V8 Vantage than this generation's more integrated electronics.
Bahrain's climate is not gentle on any car with this much turbocharged power packed into a tight engine bay — cooling systems work hard in summer traffic, and the tyres this car wants (staggered, low-profile, performance-rated) wear faster on the coarser tarmac around Manama than on a European B-road.
Who it is actually for
Buy it if you already own — or have owned — something like this and know exactly what the ownership experience involves: shipping logistics, a small circle of trusted independent mechanics, and insurance that reflects the car's rarity rather than its list price. It is not a first exotic car, and it is absolutely not a daily driver for anyone without a second, more ordinary car for the rest of life.