There was a time late in the last century, when ‘Aston Martin’ meant something very different. An iconic British brand, to be sure, but a maker of hand built sportscars aimed at older buyers romanced by name and heritage in the face of compelling evidence that German and Italian rivals were better made and finer to drive. The gorgeous DB9 of 2003 was a sign that the future might be different but it was still an old-style GT rather than an out-and-out sportscar, the kind of design still most likely to appeal to Aston enthusiasts. A slightly smaller model with younger, more dynamic orientation was needed. A car that someone with little prior interest in the brand might buy. A car you could seriously choose over a Porsche 911 or a Maserati GT. A car like this one, Aston Martin’s Vantage.

Launched in 2005, this was the first thing the Gaydon factory had made that really worried German and Italian rivals. It was slightly more affordable for a start, so would sell in rather larger numbers than Aston’s hand-built GTs further up the range. And it was fast, light on its feet and styled to be achingly desirable, either in coupe form or in subsequent open-topped Roadster guise. Rivals consoled themselves that the original model’s 380bhp 4.3-litre V8 sounded faster than it actually went (though the special edition N400 variant of 2007 put out 400bhp).

This overall issue was dealt with in 2008 with the installation instead of a 4.7-litre unit that boosted power by 11% to 420bhp. There was also a 430bhp V8 Vantage S model that many customers ended up choosing, which differed from the standard V8 with its bigger brakes, sharper suspension and steering and the standard inclusion of a 7-speed sequential shift semi-automatic gearbox. A special edition N420 model was introduced in 2010, while an N430 model arrived in 2015; both shared the V8S model’s 430bhp engine but received various handling and bodystyle tweaks.

Of course you don’t have to have a V8 engine in your Vantage. There was also a V12 model, launched in 2009 with V10 and also available in coupe or Roadster guises mated to SportShift II auto transmission. In 2013, an uprated 565bhp V12 Vantage S variant was introduced.

The modern-era Vantage sold in V8 and V12 guises until replaced by a new generation model in late 2017.