Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 review

Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 Review 7 To commemorate its good showing (fifth place overall) at this year’s 24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance race and to further cement its ties between its racecars and road cars, Aston Martin has released a special variant of its V8 Vantage, the N430.

This isn’t the first time the automaker has released a special N-badged version of its V8 Vantage. It started in 2007 with the 400bhp N400, and in 2010, there was the N420 that packs 420bhp. This time around, the N430 has, you guessed it, 430bhp.

Available in both coupe and soft-top guises, the output from the N430’s 4.7-litre V8 is identical to that of the V8 Vantage S, but where the two differ is aesthetics, with the former firmly treading the unsubtle path.

For example, the car I drove is painted midnight-blue, which is normal enough, but the red accents sprinkled liberally on the car’s interior and exterior (its “lipstick” in particular) certainly aren’t normal. If that still isn’t loud enough for you, you could have the N430 in Alloro Green with retina-searing yellow accents.

Other differences over the V8 Vantage S include a 20kg weight saving, achieved in part through the use of lightweight Kevlar-composite seats (upholstered in Alcantara and leather) and 19-inch forged alloys.

Aston Martin says the N430 is very much inspired by its GT4-class racecars (essentially roadgoing cars with the barest of modifications, mainly for safety), and the carmaker isn’t too far off the mark. Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 Review 3 If the loud paint scheme isn’t a big enough clue, there’s an equally loud exhaust note and uprated suspension settings that border on being overly firm. All told, the N430’s cabin is a busy place, and the car demands your full attention at all times, with the steering tugging when encountering off-camber ruts.

And you’d best be “switched on” when prodding the throttle, too. Unlike some other naturally aspirated cars that only come alive at the furthest reaches of their rev range, the N430’s motor, thanks to its relatively flat torque curve, pulls strongly from 3000rpm all the way to its redline, with the ferocious bark from the exhaust becoming more urgent along the way.

430bhp and a zero-to-100km/h time of 4.8 seconds may not seem like a whole lot (for a sports car) these days, but out on the open road, I don’t think the N430 falls short in the power department… or in the fun department. Thanks to the engine’s generous spread of torque and the 7-speed automated manual’s lowered final-drive ratio, the N430 is capable of making B-road blasts properly riotous. Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 Review 4 Granted, the gearbox makes for slightly lurchy progress at low speeds (as most transmissions of its ilk are wont to being), and as a result of the uprated suspension settings, poorer road surfaces will jostle occupants around a fair bit, but on the whole, the N430 left a silly grin on my face most of the time.

I felt at one with the car, as if it was an extension of myself, which is a rare sensation to feel, with only a handful of sports car manufacturers managing this feat. Still, for all its merits, the N430 doesn’t stack up too favourably against some other “track day special” rivals, such as the Porsche 911 GT3. In the Porsche’s case, it has a smaller engine (a 3.8-litre flat-6), yet manages to produce 45bhp more than the N430.

However, for the Aston Martin devotee, or if you’re the sort who eschews big-headline power figures, and instead craves an immersive driving experience in a charismatic car with a brilliantly sorted chassis, the N430 is hard to beat.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430 Review 2