Aston Martin teases Vantage AMR's honest-to-goodness manual transmission
A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
Considering just how competent modern automatic and dual-clutch transmissions can be, it makes sense that many automakers have given up spending time and money to develop manual transmissions for their sports car offerings. It looked like Aston Martin was going in that direction, too, but no!
Aston Martin on Friday tweeted out a teaser for its upcoming Vantage AMR. The image is pretty straightforward, showing the words "AMR" and "Vantage," but tucked in between the two is something very odd -- a three-pedal layout. It's not insane to extrapolate the notion that the Vantage AMR will, in fact, carry a manual transmission, at least as an option.
Coming soon. #AstonMartin #VantageAMR pic.twitter.com/Fn3fF3d2nD
— Aston Martin (@astonmartin) April 26, 2019
AMR is the new extra-performance tier from Aston Martin. Those three letters give each car they touch a dose of get-up-and-go, usually by way of a beefier suspension setup, a little more power and a heapin' helpin' of flashy aesthetics. We've already taken a spin in the 630-horsepower DB11 AMR, and shortly after that, Aston Martin also unveiled the Rapide AMR. There are also track-only AMR Pro variants of the Vulcan and Valkyrie, and guess what? They're all wildly insane.
Rumor has it that the Vantage AMR will be unveiled next week. We're not quite sure what to expect, but odds are that this new AMR will follow in the footsteps of similarly badged Astons, rocking a bit more power from its V8 engine and some more ostentatious kit to match.
Then again, the Vantage is no slouch on its own. Its Mercedes-AMG-sourced V8 outs out a proper 503 horsepower and 505 pound-feet of torque. The telematics might not be the newest on the block, but once you get this thing up to speed, the screen is bound to be the least of your concerns.
