USED BUYER'S GUIDE Aston Martin Vantage Mk2

FROM £70,000 British sports car was a winner when new and makes a great used performance buy

- Richard Dredge

ASTON Martin has been selling cars using the Vantage name since as long ago as 1950, and as such it’s one of the most evocative automotive monikers.

But it took a long time for Aston to produce a Vantage that was truly credible on the world stage. Some would say that moment came in 2005 with the arrival of the Vantage V8, but arguably it was that car’s successor that could truly compete with its rivals in terms of the technology fitted and the build quality.

The Vantage Mk2 really upped the game for Aston, and with the earliest examples now seven years old, this junior supercar is shaping up to be a very smart used buy.

HISTORY

THE Mk2 Vantage was unveiled in November 2017, costing from £95,000 with a 503bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8; six months later it went into production, with the first customer cars delivered soon after.

At first all Vantages came only with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, but the AMR of winter 2019 had a seven-speed manual transmission; just 200 were made. The Vantage Roadster that went on sale in spring 2020 shared the coupé's engine and gearbox.

But something altogether more exciting arrived in spring 2022: the V12 Vantage, with a 690bhp twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 engine. Once again there was a Roadster edition, from autumn 2022, but all 333 examples of the £265k coupé and all 249 Roadsters were sold before the cars were even announced.

Those who missed out could always console themselves with one of the heavily facelifted Vantages that arrived in spring 2024, with a dramatic new look, a 656bhp V8 engine, a heavily revised chassis and an all-new interior. By now the starting price had risen to £165,000. A year later the facelifted Roadster arrived.