Halcyon daze

FIRST DRIVE

The V8 Vantage remains an automotive icon two decades on from its launch – still riotous to drive but now tantalisingly affordable

JUST FOR A MOMENT, FORGET THE pictures and headline accompanying this text. Imagine, without any context, you’re about to drive a prototype for a brand new Aston Martin model. What kind of car springs

am being overtaken by my own wing. As I tilt up onto Boxberg test ground’s banking and the sun curves behind me, the lengthening shadows project the great roll hoop of a spoiler onto the road ahead. S

BANANA SKIDS IS EASILY ASSIGNED, BUT WHAT ABOUT the others? Delving into Barker’s cornucopia of cheap confectionery, we pluck some more sugary sticks from the multicoloured bag and lay them out on the

Conditions were perfect. It was a warm, dry afternoon and we were yards from a lightly trafficked and derestricted German autobahn. I joined from the sliproad, saw there was nothing in front, checked