Understand it is not. The latest Aston Vantage is far more brutal version of the standard car than any Vantage has ever been since the name was coined for the DB2’s more powerful engine back in 1951. Then and though the DB series, Vantage just meant power; it wasn’t until 1977 that Vantage became a separate model, recognizable at a glace with wider wheels with wheel-arch flares and wind cheating front with fashionable and effective front air-dam.

The standard Virage isn’t slow with a maximum speed around 157 mph, but it has a fair amount of weight to get under way, so the 0-60 mph time is not really to Aston standard – at 6.8 seconds, it is slower than a Volkswagen Corrado VR6. And the Virage is designed for comfortable fast touring, so it lacks the handling tautness that the traditional Aston driver expects. The Vantage addresses these relative shortcomings in full measure.

The standard engine is a development of the original Marek-designed aluminum V-8, only it now has four valve heads designed by the American Reeves Callaway, who had been responsible for the race engines used in 1989 AMR-1 race programme.

In full emission from this develops 335 bhp. For some time, the traditional way of increasing power has been to use turbo-charging, but this brings with it the problem of turbo-lag – the delay in response to the throttle while the turbos build up speed; big turbos for big engine take even longer, which is why the Bugatti uses no fewer than four units. Aston Martin decided to revert to the ‘thirties traditions of supercharging.

Where the units are directly driven by the engine and thus provide instant response; the drawback is that this consumes extra power so fuel consumption suffers. Using twin Eaton ‘blowers’ the 5.34 liter V-8 now produces a massive 550bhp, but still has tremendous torque 550 lb.ft. is more than any other production engine.

The traditional ZF 5-speed gearbox has been replaced by a 6-speed version used in the Chevrolet Corvette; five gears are used to power the Vantage up to its maximum speed with sixth an overdrive, giving a very long legged 42 mph per 1000rpm. Autocar testing saw 177 mph in fifth gear around the Millbrook bowl and there was more to come; Aston Martin say the car has recorded 191 mph, so we have settled for an average of the two at 184mph at a red-lined 6500rpm, which is the point at which the engine develops its maximum power.

In acceleration, the new Vantage is very quick despite weighting nearly two tons; 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds and 0-100 mph in 10.1 seconds put it into the top ten, and it is the only four-seater among them. Heavy fuel consumption – you might get 15 mpg – is one drawback, but there are others inevitable when you try to make that size of car handle like a two seater sports car.

The suspension has been considerably stiffed to keep roll angles down, so the ride is bouncy while wide low profile tyres add to the road noise that this generates; and the engine is far from quiet until you drop into that you expect and want from a powerful rear wheel drive sports car; the front responds well to the steering and back answers to the throttle.

The standard Virage was launched in the winter of 1988 after a very quick design period. The original V-8 was costly to build and many of its parts, borrowed from other manufactures, were long obsolete; Virage thinking went back 10 years when a new V-8 was planned as a shortened version of the more modern Lagonda, only this would have its own body. The first Virage prototype was shortened Lagonda to test all the mechanical components; and the new body came form the RCA duo, John Heffernan and Ken Greenley, echoing the past in an new modern shape. The Vantage took Aston back into the supercar league.