Five-Point Inspection: 2013 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S Roadster

This car FLIES. Tip into the throttle and it bounds forward like a kangaroo on coke. It’s seriously fast; but it was hard to utilize all of its power during our brief test drive because it was raining and the roads were soaked like a waterlogged sleeping bag.

The shifter controlling the car’s six-speed manual transmission is perfect for rummaging through the gears. In hand it feels sturdy, like a bolt-action rifle. Driving the Vantage is almost magical, the road ahead becomes a shooting range, tunnels transform into gun barrels and the gas tank morphs into a magazine full of ammunition. Like Superman, it feels like a speeding bullet.

Unfortunately it nearly takes a man of steel to operate the clutch. Its weighting is surprisingly heavy, though not brutally so. The engagement point is also a bit unexpected; it’s high in the pedal’s travel range, which can make driving the car smoothly a little bit challenging until you get a feel for how it responds.