As part of my decision whether to purchase the Aston Martin Vantage I have a deposit on, I thought I would take the new 911 for a spin, as it's compared to the Aston. So I pulled up in my 911 to take the car out for a spin.

My first suprise was that the seat was nowhere near as comfortable as the one in the 928 which is totally stock. The interior of my S4 is in good shape with some upgrade wood and aluminum bits and a built-in NAV system. The 911 looks too busy, the radio display (using a NAV screen) just looked cheap, as well as many of the plastic bits in the 911. The instrument cluster was OK.

Overall I think the 928 is a much better overall design and far cleaner, even though our window switches are the worst in the market (something I'll eventually change).

I felt very compressed in the 911 interior.

My next suprise was the clutch (I have not driven a six speed, ever, and have not driven a stick a past 928 with a 5 speed in 5 years).

As I made a complete fool of myself pulling into the street with the 911's very heavy "instant-on" clutch, I began to get used to the feel of the system.

The actual powerband I found quite limited having to constantly switch gears. SInce I'm used to the 456lbs torque of my American made engine in my 928, I'm not used to "finding" the power band constantly, I found it quite a bit of "work" to get performance out of the car. This left me wondering if this workload would eventually become enjoyable, or simply irritating. The clutch heavyness was also irritatiing.

Now this worries me, as the Aston comes only with a 6 speed manual and also only 380HP. Its redline is 7,300 RPM which might help. On the 13th, I'm going to Chicago to see the Aston and get a feel of the clutch, however, they are not allowing test drives at this time.

Anyhow, to make a long story short, I was glad to be back into the 928 and appreciate the car a whole lot more than ever. The 928 may feel a bit heavier, but for a few extra bucks I can get another 100 to 150HP out of my engine which will help a a lot, but I'll only invest if I decide against the Vantage.

 

You getting the snowplow option on the Aston up there in Minny??

have the leaves peaked yet? I miss that part of fall tremendously. as well as dropping waterfoul with my 12gauge!
Post pics of the car when you get it.

 

Whenever I've gotten a chance to drive the newer 996's what I've found most noticeable is the lightness of controls and of course the lack of torque. I've always appreciated getting back into my 928. I suspect that whenever Porsche gets around to putting a V8 engine into a sports or GT car I'll be far more susceptible to switching.

 

What does this mean? you have a chevy engine in the 928?

 

Naw - it just means that his mechanic is not named Deiter.

Seriously, yes, this fellow has done some nice work with hybrid.

 

Malibu
No test drives on the Aston? Even after you put a deposit down on one & have the means to buy one? I would never buy a car without driving it (or one just like it)!?!?!? That is bad business, but obviously the aston market allows it...but remember its british, so it will have so many problems it will make the 928 look like a Honda!

 

A week ago I was in the Aston showroom in Los Gatos, CA and they had a paddle shifter in there. They claimed it was similar to a Tiptronic just like the P cars use. And, though I was in a hurry, they invited me back for a test drive.
Maybe another dealer would be in order?

 

I would say this is a prejudice. The new Aston Martin generation is very much an international car - the company is owned by Ford (American), the CEO is a German, who used to be Porsche's VP of R&D, and components are shared with Jaguar (yes, tat is in fact british, but it's not like you see newer Jaguars stranded all that often). I don't remember where their sophisticated transmission system comes from, but would guess it's either from Aisin (Japan) or ZF (Germany).


I have no doubt that if I had to replace the 928 with something different, the Aston V8 would be my first choice at this time, only followed by a 997 Carrera with lots of Exclusive options that you don't need on the much more exclusive Aston. As described above, I also found the Carrera lacking the kick in the back that I get from the 928, and I dislike the center console that is much more cluttered than the 928 counterpart.

But of course, above all these would be to keep the one I have, or get one that is even better. It's so nice to dream... Ooops, just woke up from hitting my head on the desk. Nooo. I'm going to keep my 928 forever!

 

As far as the Aston, I won't decide unless I test drive... a requirement. I actually had the first American delivery of an SLK55 (the new AMG SLK) and found it not only weird looking and feeling, but you really had to lay into the peddle to get the power, so the test drive killed it... of course they had people in line to buy the car.

Actually the Aston is in addition, not replacement of the 928. The "Chevy" engine in the 928 means I'll never (or most likely never) get my investment back, so I'll keep it and continue to enjoy the car, and upgrade it. The Aston is the type of car that would likely be difficult to modify at any price I could afford.

I heard the paddle shifter in the Aston is extermely good, unfortuinately it won't be in the Vantage.

If I see the car next week and decide to get my deposit back, I'll throw some more $$$ at the 928 this winter.

 

All of Malibu's posts make me wanna drop a chevy crate engine in the 928

 

Tarek,
Be prepared for the onslaught! In a lot of eyes that was a no no!

 

Yeah...and when you do that, send the 928 engine to me. It would be akin(sp) to having collected all the E-type engine lumps in the 80s. That would an interesting hobby, collecting 928 engines...

 

Had a bit of fun with a Cayenne S the other day. This couple kept pulling up next to me and I kept nailing the gas at every light, only for them to catch up slowly at the next light. At the third light, the guy finally took the bait and hammered the throttle off the line. The 928 was a car length ahead in the first 40 yards, and the Cayenne only started catching up (fast) by about 5 car lengths (I'd say 100 - 150 yds). At that point the Cayenne came on strong, but we were already almost at the speed limit so I let off and so did he. I'm going to look the gear ratios up on that thing now ...

 

Here's why:
Acceleration, sec to mph
0-30 mph 2.3
0-40 mph 3.6
0-50 mph 5
0-60 mph 6.9
0-70 mph 8.8
0-80 mph 11.1
0-90 mph 13.9
0-100 mph 17.3
1/4 mile, sec @ mph 14.9 @ 94.9
Braking, 60-0 mph, ft 111
Braking, 100-0 mph, ft 318
600-ft slalom, mph 63.2
Wet course lap, min:sec 1:09
Figure 8, sec @ ave g 26.36 @ 0.67
200-ft skidpad, g 0.86
Top-gear rpm @ 60 mph 2000