When it comes to automotive styling, Aston Martin has “beautiful” down pat. While the brand’s business ledger has endured 113 years of turmoil, the British marque has managed to stay afloat by sticking to a platonic ideal of design. That relentless embrace of beauty has kept discerning buyers coming back for more.

Aston’s Vantage models target performance stalwarts such as the Porsche 911, but it wasn’t until the model’s 2018 redesign that the Vantage became a serious threat. Honing that formula like an assiduously fettled Japanese sword is a variant that Aston Martin describes as the most performance-focused Vantage yet: the Vantage S.

What’s New for 2026

The Vantage S continues the automaker’s tradition of building higher-performance “S”-branded models, which dates back to the 1953 Aston Martin DB3 S. This time around, changes include a gain of 14 hp compared to the standard Vantage, for a total of 670 hp, while maintaining a mountainous 590 ft lbs of torque.

Throttle and transmission shifts have been tweaked for sharper response, while, critically, a series of chassis alterations aim to liven up handling and steering feel. Handling has been sharpened by rigidly mounting the rear subframe and reworking the Bilstein dampers.

Aesthetic changes include the addition of two centrally positioned blades on the hood. Finished in a choice of either black or carbon fiber, they draw air from the engine bay while adding a mean visual signifier of speed. A rear lip spoiler not only looks aggressive, but it also increases rear downforce by 97 pounds at top speed.

Design

Vehicles from Aston Martin have long offered a distinct visual ambiance that sets them apart from those of other carmakers, and the Vantage S is no exception. The Vantage S sits dramatically on the road with a strong snout and wide grille, a slightly upward-tilted midsection, and aggressively wide hips that resolve into a dramatically tucked tush. There’s no two ways about it: the Vantage S is downright sexy, exuding both masculine poise and feminine delicacy.

Pull open the so-called “swan wing” doors, and they live up to their nickname by swinging upward and outward in an easy sweep. The cabin is a prettily appointed, replete with smooth-to-touch leather and real metal controls, most notably the large drive-mode rotary whose knurled surface can be optioned in anodized red or silver.

Flanking the center console are four smaller knurled dials which manage fan, temperature, and volume settings. These controls are reassuringly analog holdovers at a time when overreliance on touchscreens often ends in distracted driving and a loss of connection to physical objects. Speaking of, the ”S” badges adorning the exterior are executed with the same solidity as the interior components, using chrome trim and a red glass-enamel fill that bolsters the prevailing feeling of hand-built quality.

Of course, a central 10.25-inch multimedia screen remains, but in this application its integration is discreet and positioned at a sleek angle. Navigating the menu system can be unintuitive, though, especially when managing the GPS settings. I also had trouble with Apple CarPlay Ultra, as it took uncomfortably long to link my phone. Once the connection was lost (when I stepped away from the car with my phone), I was unable to reconnect it for the remainder of the drive. Only when I had an Aston Martin technician work on it later could he, after more than 10 minutes of trying, establish a CarPlay connection again. Too bad, as last year’s demo of the advanced CarPlay Ultra was promising, but the real-world execution needs work.

At least the quality of cabin materials—the complex leather stitching, the suppleness of the hide, the tasteful integration of carbon-fiber trim—lends the cabin a feeling of specialness that mitigates some of the tech frustrations. Regarding those frustrations, the addition of legally required ADAS systems like speed and lane departure warnings can be disabled with a physical button, but it requires the individual fields on the multimedia screen to be unchecked.

Power Train and Hardware

Touted as the most performance-focused Vantage in history, the Vantage S features a 670 hp Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, which is slammed against the bulkhead in a way that earns it a “front mid-mounted” description. Aiding balance is a rear transaxle-mounted eight-speed automatic gearbox. Rather than the dual-clutch units featured in some of its competitors, this Aston has a more conventional torque converter–equipped transmission.

An extruded and bonded aluminum chassis combines with composite panels to help the car achieve a dry weight of 3,538 pounds, facilitating a zero-to-60 mph time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 202 mph.

Performance

My taste of Aston Martin’s latest comes on the sinuous canyon passes above the coastline of Malibu, Calif. While many sports cars are spartan in their functional aesthetic, including the Mercedes-AMG GT, which shares engine architecture with Aston Martin, the Vantage S feels different due to its elegant lines and abjectly opulent interior. Those qualities make this Aston feel like a polished outlier whose details reveal beauty beneath the brawn.

Once the V-8 is fired up and the knurled shifter clicked into ‘D,’ the Vantage S communicates the road surface below with clarity. While the standard model damps the road irregularities, the S feels more glued down, even in its softest setting, Sport.

The engine sound, while present, does not escalate significantly in volume until higher in the rpm range. When it does sing, especially in more aggressive drive modes or when the sport exhaust button is pressed, the engine produces a harmonically sweet sound, one that’s less guttural than that of its Teutonically tuned Mercedes-Benz counterpart. The transmission generally finds the right gear, though I did occasionally need to tap the large, fixed paddle shifters in anticipation of slowing speeds.

The steering, though somewhat isolated due to the car’s grand-touring disposition, feels communicative enough to enable and encourage rather spirited cornering. The Vantage S turns into corners aggressively without feeling out of control, and the Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 AML summer tires never felt out of sorts as I pitched the Aston through some of Malibu’s tightest, most challenging canyon roads.

As elegant as the Vantage S looks, it’s capable of surprisingly agile cornering when pushed, a tribute to the aggressive engineering that buttons down the platform and trades some of its road-going comfort for crisp handling. My tester was equipped with the optional $10,800 carbon-ceramic brakes, which stopped the coupe strongly and repeatedly, though I did smell what appeared to be brake pads after one particularly enthusiastic run, which undoubtedly also taxed the electronic rear differential and torque-vectoring system. At least the carbon brakes won’t shed dust on the 21-inch wheels after driving like the dickens.

The Aston Martin Vantage S is more satisfying to drive hard than any of its predecessors, and those who don’t mind some sacrifice to ride quality will encounter a rare combination absent in other sports cars: a sumptuous, preciously appointed interior and a whippersnapper drivetrain and chassis.

Is it Worth It?

Starting at $196,000 and easily optioned to the quarter-million-dollar mark, the Vantage S does require a fair bit of commitment from would-be buyers. But if you don’t miss the Porsche 911 Turbo S’s Swiss Army Knife speed, the AMG GT’s seamlessness, or the Italianate polish of the Ferrari Amalfi, the Aston Martin Vantage S proves that the British brand can venture into edgier territory without losing its soul. Aston Martin’s singular styling and pouncy performance make the Vantage S irresistible to those who value individualistic panache.

Specifications

Click here for more photos of the 2026 Aston Martin Vantage S.