Gaydon, England - Aston Martin has announced a Vantage for purists who want to swop cogs the old fashioned way.
The new AMR edition is not only 95kg lighter than the regular Vantage, but it also sports a seven-speed manual transmission.
The motorsport-inspired tranny features a ‘dog-leg’ first gear, with second to seventh positioned in a traditional ‘double H’ pattern. The gearbox is mated to a specially calibrated limited-slip differential and also features a selectable ‘AMSHIFT’ system that can heel-and-toe on your behalf.
The three-pedal Aston is powered by the same AMG-sourced 4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine found in the self-shifting model. It produces 375kW at 6000rpm and 625Nm from 2000 revs, for a claimed 0-100km/h time of four seconds flat, which is half a second slower than the standard auto model because let’s face it - a good autobox can change gears a lot faster than you can.
All that urge, of course, still goes to the rear wheels, and the AMR is fitted with Aston Martin’s adaptive damping system that offers Sport, Sport + and Track modes.
Aston Martin will build just 200 Vantage AMRs, with the final 59 of those sporting a ‘Vantage 59’ package that celebrates the company’s 1959 Le Mans victory. These ‘59’ variants all sport Stirling Green and Lime exterior paint as well as Dark Knight leather and alcantara upholstery.
But you don’t have to be part of the inner circle to own one of these special Astons, as the British sports car maker says they will be available on a “first-come-first-serve” basis to customers around the globe.
