Aston Martin V8 Vantage F1 — Driving with RJ De Vera!

We started at the Aston Martin Newport Beach showroom where dozens of owners showed up to go for a group drive along the beautiful coast & through some twisty canyons! Then I got my chance to put the hand-built Mercedes-AMG sourced twin turbo V8 through its paces … and boy does it sound amazing! 

This car truly stands out with its premium styling, luxurious interior and dynamic handling, be sure to watch till the end to see just how much fun we had taking it for a drive!

Also check out  Drive Culture on YouTube. Drive Culture is detailed car review YouTube channel hosted by the ultimate car enthusiast, Jonathon Rivers. Who is Jonathon Rivers? Well, he's a 15-year-plus auto industry veteran, who was born and raised in the Motor City!

He lived several years in Japan, speaks and reads Japanese, and now works for American Honda Motor. (Although this channel is his own & not affiliated) He's owned several fun cars including an Evo IV, multiple Civic Si, Focus RS, and most recently the Integra Type S (which he led planning for Acura)! He's also been lucky enough to drive just about every key new product in the market from compact cars to SUVs and EVs as well as super cars!

If that isn't enough to prove his "car guy" status, Jonathon has also been featured in Motor Trend, Car and Driver, AutoBlog, Jay Leno's Garage, Raiti's Rides and the SavageGeese channels! He's on Instagram  here and Facebook  here.

Check back every Friday at 7 a.m. PT for new content and videos!

The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.

A transcript, cleaned up by AI and edited by a staffer, is below.

[Image: YouTube Screenshot]

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This transcript is a detailed video review of a 2023 Aston Martin Vantage V8 F1 Edition hosted by automotive YouTuber Jonathan Rivers on Drive Culture, featuring the car’s owner, RJ Divera. 

Main Themes

Overview and First Impressions

• • Rivers immediately praises the car’s emotional appeal, calling it a vehicle that “puts a smile on your face.”
  • He frames the Vantage F1 Edition as one of the best modern Aston Martins because of its design, sound, and driving character. 

Exterior and Design Highlights

RJ explains that the F1 Edition is a special final-version model created near the end of the Vantage generation.

Key exterior details include:

• • Exclusive F1 Racing Green paint inspired by Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team’s return to Formula One.
  • Aggressive aerodynamic upgrades including:
  • front splitter
  • side canards
  • carbon-fiber louvers
  • carbon roof and mirrors
  • Custom aftermarket modifications:
  • Vorsteiner three-piece wheels
  • Michelin Pilot Sport tires
  • KW suspension lowering setup
  • deleted rear wing for cleaner styling
  • The hosts repeatedly praise the proportions and overall stance of the car. 

Interior Features

The interior is described as luxurious and race-inspired:

• • Extensive use of:
  • matte carbon fiber
  • Alcantara suede
  • leather trim
  • Optional carbon-fiber bucket seats unique to the F1 Edition
  • Fighter-jet-style controls with many physical buttons
  • Aston Martin branding throughout
  • Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support despite the car’s analog feel. 

Rivers emphasizes that the interior feels handcrafted and premium rather than overly digital.

Powertrain and Performance

The car uses an AMG-sourced twin-turbo V8 engine:

• • Around 530 horsepower
  • Approximately 505 lb-ft of torque
  • Rear-wheel drive
  • 8-speed ZF automatic transmission specially tuned by Aston Martin

RJ notes that the F1 Edition received suspension and transmission tuning upgrades over the standard Vantage. 

The hosts repeatedly praise:

• • the engine sound
  • fast paddle-shift response
  • steering precision
  • chassis balance
  • ride quality

Driving Experience

The driving segment dominates the second half of the transcript.

Rivers reacts enthusiastically to:

• • the exhaust sound
  • acceleration
  • cornering feel
  • transmission response
  • braking power

He compares the experience favorably to high-end supercars and says the car delivers a rare blend of:

• • luxury
  • emotional engagement
  • track-ready performance. 

RJ explains that although the car has “only” 530 horsepower by modern supercar standards, its emotional character matters more than raw numbers.

Broader Discussion About Enthusiast Cars

The two discuss how modern enthusiasts often obsess over specifications and horsepower figures, while truly special cars are defined by the emotional experience they create.

The Vantage F1 Edition is portrayed as:

• • a “sleeper supercar”
  • more engaging than many higher-horsepower vehicles
  • a future collectible. 

Closing

The video ends with:

• • praise for the Newport Beach Aston Martin dealership experience
  • hints about future content involving RJ’s custom Honda S2000
  • encouragement for viewers to subscribe and comment. 

Overall, the transcript is an enthusiastic enthusiast-focused review emphasizing emotion, craftsmanship, sound, and driving feel over objective performance statistics.