Test Drive: Aston Martin Vantage

I got an email yesterday from someone at Aston Martin and one thing led to another and I was invited to test drive one of their cars. So, after work I passed by the dealership which is located in the same place where Auto City used to be before they closed down. When I walked in I was completely surprised at how big the dealership was. According to them its actually the largest Aston Martin dealership in the world which I thought was pretty cool. The dealership is divided into three floors. On the top floor they have a collection of vintage Aston Martins including a very rare station wagon and an Aston Martin DB5 similar to the one from the James Bond movie Goldfinger. One the ground floor they have a large display of new cars and also a small Aston Martin boutique while the basement contained some pre-owned vehicles. After the tour I was finally led to my test vehicle, the Aston Martin Vantage. Sigh… what a beautiful car.

After a quick tour of how everything works I took off for a drive. The first thing I needed to get used to was the speedometer. With my Wrangler, when the speedometer needle is up in the middle it means I am going 100KM/h. In my Z4 when the speedometer is up in the middle it means I am going around 140KM/h. In the Aston Martin when the needle is pointing straight up you’re going 300KM/h. So I was driving thinking I was going maybe 60 or 80KM/h because the needle was still very low but then I took a look at the number next to the needle and I wish I could say how fast I was going but I don’t think I can without getting into trouble. It was very cool. Another thing I liked about the car is that it’s pretty quiet and comfortable when driving normally but as soon as you hit 4000RPM it turns into a beast like a werewolf under a full moon. Actually I think that’s what I liked most about the car, its a very comfortable day to day car when you want it to be and then step on it and you’re suddenly in a loud and aggressive sports car. I now totally understand why Jeremy Clarkson loves the Aston Martins so much.

Just before I took the car back to the dealership I decided to pass by the Avenues parking lot to take some pictures. I wish I had the car for at least a day or even a weekend but I am not going to be too greedy. They did promise me that I would get to test drive their other cars as well. So maybe the DB9 next and then a DBS after that.

Anyway if you want to check out their cars they will be on display at the Concours d’Elegance which I posted about 2 weeks back. The Concours d’Elegance is going to be held at Marina Mall and Crescent from the 20th to the 23rd. The Aston Martins will be on display near Le Notre. It’s the first time the Concours d’Elegance is being held in Kuwait so don’t miss out.

Update: Forgot to mention but the One-77 was in Kuwait 2 weeks ago!