REVIEW: AUTOart Aston Martin Vanquish S • DiecastSociety.com

REVIEW: AUTOart Aston Martin Vanquish S

One of the latest efforts from AUTOart is the Aston Martin Vanquish S in 1:18 scale.  Our example comes in Ming Blue with White and carbon fibre accent bits.  A little insight on the Vanquish S…  we’re sure the latest rendition will provide a platform of excelled performance metrics.  The car is powered by a 5.9-litre V-12, the output is rated 580 hp – this is still 20 horses less than the new twin-turbocharged V-12 in the DB11.

Styling is subjective for sure.  Some say she is wearing little lipstick and lacking in the men’s department, though we kind of like the styling techniques.  Two versions of the car are available Coupe and Convertible Volante.  The coupe version sells just under the $300,000 mark and the convertible is just north of that.  Our example here in scale will set you back about $230 Canadian.  A bargain indeed!

Out of the box, the Ming Blue is absolutely stunning!  Paint work is on point throughout.  Another visible element is the carbon fibre technique implement here.  AUTOart actually uses decal sheet instead of the moulded technique recently found on their 1:18 Koenigsegg One:1.  There is a lot of carbon fibre here, most of which is found on the roof.  The application is solid as well as the choice of the weave.

As for shutlines and panel gaps, they are for the most part solid.  Though our example had some challenges on the passenger side door.  More on this when we look at the interior side of the car.

Some like the front of the Aston Martin Vanquish S and others don’t.  We fall on the like side.  AUTOart has done an exceptional job of executing the front section.  What we like is the excellent use of the perforated grilles – they even go as far as capturing the two small openings on either side of the lower chin section.  Well done!  AUTOart went as far as wrapping the centre grill perimeter with carbon fibre too in alignment with the original.  Headlight detail is good and we love the use of a true 3D emblem in the centre.

If there was one complaint it would be the over the definition of the lower spoiler section.  In our opinion, it should be slightly elongated and more refined.  We’re talking marginal gains here.

This model provides full 360-access.  As we enter the motor area, we want to point out the two perforated metal grilles on either side the hood.  The execution here is excellent.  Opening the hood is easy, though remember to open slightly and then sweep forward to ensure not to damage the model.  Operation open and close is flawless.

The motor does come fully equipped and the hood is supported by two struts.  AUTOart does use a good combination of colour, layer work and decals, but in the end, it doesn’t deliver the best possible impact.  It could use a little more refinement.

The undercarriage is very well appointed, it takes us back to AUTOart of old.  Maybe its Aston Martin that requires this level of detail, any way you slice it we like it.  Note the high level of detail in the exhaust system and related suspension components.

The rear is on par with the front.  Carbon fibre work is excellent again.  We love the opening in the centre of the bumper/diffuser – You can see right through into the undercarriage detail.  More on that soon.  Once again 3D emblem is found in the centre and the taillights are executed well.

Storage is accessible.  The open and close operation is flawless.  Inside there isn’t much.  Full flocking throughout and two struts basically complete the package.

Wheels are a good representation of the originals.  Very good use of colour and refinement help the overall presentation.  The Silver calipers even include Aston Martin logo and tires show off their scripts with Pirelli P-Zero in check!

Interior of the Vanquish S is completed in White with Gray carpeting and Black accent bits.  The overall impression is very good.  Nice attention to the overall detail in the doors, centre console and dash.  There are few items AUTOart did miss.  Blue stitching in the door, dead pedal requires a more pronounced angle, and the most obvious, they missed the Black in the flat part of the right side of the steering wheel.  These are small things for most and to others, they add up.  Again, the overall impression is solid.

As mentioned earlier we had some challenges with the shutlines on the passenger side, but before this, we want to mention the upswing doors found on Aston Martin is live and well on this example too.  Back to the issue.  To close the door it required a little more force than we like to apply.  In the end, it turned out to be a badly placed trim piece within the interior – see the image above.  How this was missed is a mystery to us.

Wow, we are very impressed with the AUTOart Aston Martin Vanquish S.  There is a lot of good with very little bad here.  Fans of the marque will be proud to add on to their collection.  A good selection of available colours is just around the corner with more possibly on the table for future release.  In our opinion, the weakest link is the engine.  With a little more effort the overall realism could be lifted to near excellent standards.  Overall impressions of the Vanquish S on a whole are extremely positive!  Highly recommended, add one.  Enjoy the pics!

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13 Responses to "REVIEW: AUTOart Aston Martin Vanquish S"

  1. Chad says:

    I am also in the “like” department. To me, it is the ultimate expression of the VH platform and the styling language started by Ian Callum. I’m hoping to pick this model up, and perhaps add some detail to the engine bay. Thanks for the review!

  2. Mohamed Hassan says:

    I wish I could see a vanquish s volante, never was able to find a die cast any where.

  3. Nero says:

    The part that most bothered me is this car in theory was available from december.. and its impossible to buy at stores..

    Like, Defender CT AMR, One:1, etc… They simply dissapear at preorders..

  4. Stephane Demers says:

    Weak engine again…. Damn it’s not a Maisto WTF?! For that price nothing should be weak.

  5. H.G says:

    Oh how the mighty have fallen. Weak details and poor quality on this model, not worth the price at all imo. Sorry Autoart, you need to get your sh** together.

  6. Vitaliy D says:

    I’d definitely buy one if it was using all the metal parts.
    Talking about undercarriage, it’s kind of funny to praise today’s 1:18 scale model for just average details there, especially if its detail level is not as good as e.g. 1:24 (!) Ebbro Honda NSX produced… well… how many years ago, anyone remembers?
    I’ve seen this Aston Martin in this colour on both modelissimo and ck-models sites a month or two ago, and I believe they all were bought during just a few days.

  7. Vitaliy D says:

    Now a silver one is available on both modelissimo and ck-models.

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