03 Jan 07
Something does not compute. I'm in the desert and it's raining. Bucketing down. Yes, welcome to an unexpectedly damp Bahrain. Or maybe that should be Bah-rain.
Why am I here? Two reasons: Aston Martin has entered the inaugural Bahrain 24 Hours race with the same almost-standard V8 Vantage race car that took part in the Nürburgring 24 Hours last spring, when Aston chief Dr Ulrich Bez was one of the drivers. And to add some off-circuit glamour, Aston Martin has also brought along its first two production-ready V8 Vantage Sportshifts.
There's a pearlescent white one (very Middle East) and there's a silver one with red brake calipers and a red interior, which I'm driving. When the V8 Sportshift reaches the showrooms in March, in both coupe and about-to-be-launched Roadster guises, it will cost £3,000 more than the regular manual version (currently £82,800 for the coupe). By some standards that extra cost is almost a bargain.
Really? It depends where you're coming from. If you're coming from a Ferrari price list, you'll have spotted £6,150 as the extra price for specifying your F430 with an 'F1' paddleshift transmission. But the Aston's rear-mounted gearbox has much in common with the Ferrari's, whether manual or paddleshift; both are made by Italian company Graziano and to convert them from manual to semi-auto involves similar Magneti Marelli electro-hydraulics. Go figure.
