Ferrari vs. Aston Martin

Like many would-be Ferrari competitors, Aston Martin has a significant legacy behind it, but much like McLaren and Bugatti, the legacy that defines Aston Martin has been recently redefined while Ferrari has remained consistent for the better part of a century.

Ferrari was founded as Scuderia Ferrari, the racing division of Alfa Romeo in 1929, spinning off into its own brand in 1939 and producing elegant, powerful automobiles since then. All produced in the same Maranello, Italy plant, with hand-assembled engines and designed to pay homage to the past as much as point toward the future.

Aston Martin was founded in 1913, named for co-founder Lionel Martin and his initial races at Aston Hill. Their first models, the Aston Martin Standard Sports, were produced in 1921. Since its inception, Aston Martin has changed owners and focus numerous times. The latest in a long line of potential saviors, Andrew Palmer bought a 37.5% stake in Aston Martin in 2012. He’s partnered with Daimler AG to put Mercedes-Benz engines under the hood of modern Aston Martin vehicles, putting them more in line with a modern luxury sedan than a track-inspired performance machine.

While the latest direction for Aston Martin seems to have helped them out, Bernstein Research analyst Max Warburton has been following Aston Martin’s recent attempts to pivot their brand and praises Ferrari: “Ferrari has a much richer motorsport heritage. It has a much greater number of historically significant cars that sell in greater quantities and much higher prices. The highest price yet achieved by a Ferrari is reputed to be $70 million. The greatest Aston sold for only $22.5 million.”

While we anticipate Aston Martin to produce more powerful engines in the future, they will be catching up to where Ferrari is now, likely to remain in the rearview of each Prancing Horse they meet. Here’s a look at the specs of two of the most recent models:

• The Aston Martin Vantage has a 3.9L twin-turbo V8 under the hood, rated at 503 hp and 505 lb-ft of torque and earning a 0-62 mph time of 3.6s (with a top speed of 195 mph).
• The Ferrari Roma sports a 3.8L twin-turbo V8 capable of 612 hp and 561 lb-ft of torque with a 0-62 mph time of 3.4s and a 0-124 mph time of 9.3s (the Vantage has no recorded 0-124 mph time). The Roma has a top speed of 199 mph.