Supercar Driver Magazine Issue 26 by Supercar Driver

ISSUE26

WINTER2018

T H E S U P E R C A R O W N E R Sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; M A G A Z I N E

SCD STAFF Jonty Wydell

Tour Manager & Writer jonty@supercar-driver.com

Matt Parker

Membership Manager & Writer matt@supercar-driver.com

Riad Ariane Photographer

riad@supercar-driver.com

Tim Crawford Videographer

tim@tc-media.co.uk

Debbie Winstanley Accounts Manager

Welcome to issue 26 of Supercar Driver, a unique publication, written by the owners, for the owners. We are about to embark on our eighth year of SCD, in those eight years we’ve been on quite the journey and we are working towards our tenth birthday celebrations in a couple of years. We are excited to kick off 2018 and continue enhancing all aspects of SCD. By the time you read this we will have had our New Year Meets in the North and South and we are raring to go for another year of adventure!

Adam Thorby

Director & Co-Founder adam@supercar-driver.com

debbie@supercar-driver.com

Luke Earnshaw Designer

luke@supercar-driver.com

CONTRIBUTORS Tim Hanlon Writer

tim@supercar-driver.com

David Baker Writer

daveb@supercar-driver.com

Josh White

Editor’s Note: One of the things that I particularly love about editing this magazine is the glorious technicolour photographs which find their way across my desk and ultimately into these pages, largely thanks to the colour choices that our members have selected for their supercars. These brightly coloured cars provide a world separated from everyday life, where monochrome shades of metal fill the daily motorway commute, blending in with the rain clouds. It is here where SCD Magazine can certainly offer some respite; we’ve got oranges, yellows, greens, reds and purples to give your eyes a full workout. Whilst the dark evenings and dismal days carry us through another UK winter, I hope the pages of this edition brighten up your day – not least because of the content herein which we so passionately put together for every edition, but also because of the palette of the subject matter. Happy New Year everyone!

Writer

josh@supercar-driver.com

Oli Webb

Paul Owen Editor

paul@supercar-driver.com

Resident Racing Driver oliwebbracing@me.com

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INSIDE ISSUE 26 ON THE COVER 68

FEATURES & ARTICLES

DRIVEN

Supercars, Appreciating Assets?

Aston Martin V12 Vantage S

A New Look - The SCD Golf R

McLaren 570S Spider

Brutalist to Modernist - Majik House

Lamborghini Murcielago LP650-4 Roadster

Focus on: Supercar Stables

Porsche 911 2.7 RS Sport Lightweight

Akrapovič Exhausts - Latest Releases

Introducing Janine Edwards

Oliver Webb - Portimão

I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here!

2017 SCD Review

Focus on: Cartwright King

Sleeping Beauties - A1 Car Storage

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye - Tim’s new SLS

Ringing True - Litchfield Motors

Hand in Glove - Total Car Control

Carl Hartley Q&A

Steel City Classics

114

Final Thought

146

LOVE READING THE MAGAZINE? Subscribe online to get a quarterly magazine to your door

supercar-driver.com/subscribe Or, as an SCD member, get this magazine included each issue

supercar-driver.com/driver-membership

TheSupercarDriver

Supercar Driver

@ASupercarDriver

110

101

MEMBERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; RIDES

Supercar_Driver

EVENTS

Mercedes-AMG GT R

Ferrari Tricolore Trio

Caterham 620R & Ariel Atom

An Italian Legacy

Garage Goals

Chopard Classic Rally - Desert Adventure

Best of Italy Tour

101

Supercars on Ice

110

DK Engineering Visit

116

DEALER DRIVES Honda NSX

122

Porsche 9M 911

126

Aston Martin Vantage GT8

130

Mercedes-AMG E63 S

134

126

If you would like to submit an article or photo for consideration in a future publication, please email the editor. By submitting an article to us, you are granting permission for its use in future Supercar Driver publications, promotional materials, or online.

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Copyright ÂŽ 2017/18 Supercar Driver Limited. All photographs, advertisements and editorial content has been used with permission of the owners and may not be copied, duplicated or reused without written permission. Magazine created and edited for and on behalf of Supercar Driver Limited. Content including words and photographs remains copyright of the original author/photographer and used with permission.

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SWANSONG Matt tries a V12 Vantage S with the entire AMR catalogue thrown at it to find out if this racing-inspired last hurrah means Aston Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s venerable Vantage can still cut the mustard. Written by: Matt Parker

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...a full-length titanium sports exhaust which saves 14kg, improves response and results in an almighty V12 sound-track, making this about the angriest sounding Aston ever produced.

The Vantage has been the Aston I’d have ever since it was released way back in 2005. I’ve always liked its compact dimensions over its more GT-orientated siblings and its perfect proportions make for one of the most timeless automotive designs of all time. Then, in 2009, the guys at Gaydon decided to shoehorn the 6.0 V12 from the DBS in this small car and the want became real. Since then, the V12 Vantage has been going strong, with the even more punchy V12 Vantage S taking over in 2013 and now, in its final year, the Vantage has been given a good going over by Aston’s new sub-brand, AMR (Aston Martin Racing) for a limited run of just 300 cars worldwide. Right now, you might be feeling like your ‘ordinary’ Vantage is obsolete or assuming that you’re probably too late to land a slot for one of those 300 cars, but there’s good news – any existing Vantage model can be given the AMR treatment, just like the V12 Vantage S we’re driving at our preferred Aston Martin dealer, Aston Martin Leeds today. Having recently sampled and loved a standard V12 Vantage S with the 7-speed manual, I’m keen to see how they’ve improved on an already exciting machine. The most obvious change on this car is the AMR Aero-kit which comprises a carbon fibre front splitter, side sills, canards and

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fixed rear spoiler which I’m sure will be Marmite amongst Aston purists, but it’s optional after all. To complete the look, the car has the optional satin black AMR wheels inspired by those of the track-only Vantage AMR Pro. The AMR treatment is more than just skin deep though, with the AMR Performance Pack pumping the 6.0 V12’s output up to 595bhp and 465lb ft, that’s over 50% more than the original V8 Vantage of 12 years ago! The increase in power comes thanks to magnesium manifolds and a full-length titanium sports exhaust which saves 14kg, improves response and results in an almighty V12 sound-track, making this about the angriest sounding Aston ever produced. The pack also adds a carbon fibre rear diffuser, just in case there wasn’t already enough carbon for you. The flat China Grey paint really works with the oodles of carbon fibre and yellow accents, even if some of your crueller mates might ask when it’s going to be painted. The theme continues in the Alcantara smothered interior. It’s far from cutting edge by the standards of the DB11 but it still feels like a special place to be with yellow touches everywhere from stitching throughout as well as the headrest logos and even the gearshift paddles – you won’t find any walnut here!

When setting off on the road, the Sportshift III single-clutch automated manual gearbox makes itself known during changes. Keep it in manual mode and it’s not as lurchy as other single-clutch boxes I’ve experienced, but the abrupt interruption in acceleration with every shift might prove a little tire-some if you’re used to slick double-clutch systems. There is a way around this though, you can opt for a 7-speed manual which I most definitely would, as it will probably be your last chance to do so in an Aston and really completes the old-school muscle feel of the car. It also looks like it will be the last naturally aspirated Aston with the forthcoming model set to use AMG sourced turbocharged motors, and it’s quite a swansong. The big V12 responds quickly and pulls almost from idle with real punch-in-the-gut mid-range torque which continues all the way to redline, accompanied by a soundtrack unlike any Aston I’ve experienced before. The growling V12 character remains but that titanium exhaust opens up a whole new

world of aggression with a much harder edge than the standard V12 S – the engine dominates the whole experience. Thankfully the standard carbon ceramic brakes are more than a match for the power and traction is surprisingly good if you’re not too silly with the loud pedal thanks to the sticky P Zero Corsas, but even if you’re feeling a bit heavy footed, the DSC track mode lets the car move around just a little without interfering or letting you end up facing the wrong way; I can only imagine how much fun it’d be with all the systems disabled and sufficient room to play! It’s hardly featherweight for a relatively small car at 1,665kg, but it masks its weight well and generally feels more planted and confidence inspiring than the last V12 I sampled. You might not expect so when you see and hear the AMR, but it manages to maintain the supple comfort you’d expect of an Aston. Keep the dampers in soft and disengage sport mode so the exhaust valves aren’t so eager to open and

unleash hell on your ear drums and the car suddenly becomes GT-esque, turning into a car you could cross continents in without breaking sweat, your back or your ears. If you happen to end up in Germany on that road trip, you might like to know that the AMR tops out at a seriously impressive 205mph. The V12 Vantage S in general is a breath of fresh air in this era of downsizing, forced induction and automatic everything, clinging onto its enormous and charismatic naturally aspired V12 lump for dear life. The AMR treatment turns everything up to eleven but brings with it no drawbacks ensuring that, even if the next Vantage will be powered by a smaller, turbocharged engine, the current model will roar through the pearly gates backwards in a cloud of tyre smoke. Let’s all take a moment to be thankful that cars like this still exist because in years to come, when our cars sound like George Jet-son’s flying runabout and we’re saying “they don’t make ‘em like they used to”, it will be cars like this we’ll miss the most.