I thought Aston Martins weren't my thing — Then I drove the GT8

I’ll be honest... Aston Martins have never really been my thing. I think I landed in the wrong era. Some people grew up with Bond in an Aston. Others think they’re cool again now.

Me? Bond was turning up in a BMW… and I’ve clearly never recovered. So when I got asked to drive the Aston Martin Vantage GT8, I wasn’t exactly expecting much. Then I started it and everything changed.

This isn’t a normal Aston. Only 150 cars were ever built. It’s lighter. Louder. Sharper. And it exists because Aston Martin briefly lost their minds with the GT12… realised people loved it… and decided to double down.

The result? A car that feels far closer to a race car than a traditional Aston Martin. And one that completely ruined my opinion of the brand.

In this video, we cover:

• Why the GT8 exists (and the madness that came before it)
• The GT12 story and how it led to this
• Proper geeky details most people don’t know
• What it’s actually like to drive on real roads
• The difference between manual and paddle shift GT8s
• And the one thing this car does that I didn’t expect at all