When Aston Martin engineers decided to embrace American muscle car swagger, they created something unexpected. The 2026 Vantage S features a front splitter with bold color accents that unmistakably echo Dodge Hellcat splitter guards—a playful nod that bridges British sophistication with Detroit attitude.
Your first glimpse reveals Mercedes-AMG‘s 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 nestled under those newly vented hood blades. This powerplant generates 670 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, representing a 13-horsepower bump over the standard model.
Launch control engages with mechanical precision; you’ll feel it in your chest. Aston Martin claims 3.2-second sprints to 60 mph, but the real revelation comes during in-gear acceleration, where the broader torque plateau transforms highway merging into an effortless surge.
Direct mounting of the rear subframe to the body eliminates compliance bushings. This chassis modification creates razor-sharp turn-in response that communicates every road surface detail through the steering wheel. Bilstein adaptive dampers receive recalibrated tuning that somehow sharpens corner entry while maintaining low-speed comfort—engineering wizardry that makes daily driving genuinely pleasant.
Those Hellcat-inspired splitter accents aren’t purely aesthetic theater. They denote functional under-body aerodynamic enhancements that provide measurable high-speed stability improvements. Red “S” badging, carbon fiber wing elements, and red-accented diffuser complete the visual transformation from gentleman’s GT to track-focused predator.
Throttle response calibration receives model-specific tuning that eliminates the disconnect between pedal input and engine response. You’ll notice this immediately during spirited driving, where every throttle adjustment translates into precise power delivery without the lag that plagues many turbocharged systems.
The $200,000 base price positions this Vantage S squarely in luxury sports car territory. First deliveries begin in late 2025, giving you time to decide whether British engineering with American muscle car attitude deserves a place in your garage.
