The 2025 Aston Martin Vantage is upholding its reputation of marrying sports car performance and automotive elegance with some meaningful enhancements. So, it was off to Seville, Spain to experience them for ourselves.

Starting with the powertrain. Despite the brand’s upcoming electrified ventures, it was refreshing to find this Vantage spearheaded by a reworked and updated, hand-built, gasoline-fed 4.0-liter V8. Twin-turbo assisted, it outputs 656 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, sent to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic.

True, the Vantage is clearly built for the streets first, but a trip to the track was necessary to really wring it out.

ALEXANDER KELLUM: “It starts with that ferocity of the V8… it sounds sweet and it means business, but then tethered to the suspension and everything else. This thing is incredibly, incredibly refined, very tuned in.”

It’s an impressive engine, but there’s more to the equation. Adaptive dampers, AML-specific Michelin Pilot S 5 tires and carbon ceramic brakes are just some of the variables. The Aston’s 50:50 weight distribution supplied cornering capabilities as sublime as those roaring straight-line dashes.

These changes do offer everyday benefits, too. The stiffer structure delivered a “point and shoot” ride on curvy roads, while the adaptive suspension mixed in a very tour-able sports car when the going gets long and laxed.

And the interior is still meticulously chiseled, elegantly blending tech with analog. But one big improvement is the in-house infotainment system, displayed on a 10-inch screen and smartphone compatible.

The first examples of the 2025 Aston Martin Vantage arrive this quarter, starting around $190,000.

And we’ll have more Quick Spins… soon!