Chevrolet Corvette vs Aston Martin Vantage

What's the difference?

For many, Chevrolet’s repositioning of the engine in its Corvette from the nose to behind its passengers was a shock, although Chevy had seemingly been itching to make the shift since showing its XP-880 Astro II concept car close to 60 years ago.

But the idea of an electric motor in ‘America’s Sports Car’ was probably even more confronting.

However, when you add the critical detail that the petrol-electric hybrid E-Ray version of the current C8 Corvette puts out 488kW (655hp) and 806Nm, surely fears the end is nigh for muscle car enthusiasts ebb away.

The C8 ‘Vette has been with us for five years, blurring the line between traditional US-style performance and mid-engine Euro exotics, maintaining good ol' boy naturally aspirated V8 power but locating it between the axles, and in the E-Ray, hooking it up with a chunky electric drive unit up front.

There are potential changes on the horizon, with the even more thunderous Corvette Grand Sport X hybrid lurking in the wings. But right now, this is Chevrolet’s hybrid hero.

Could this cut-price supercar be your next four-wheeled piece of mechanical pride and joy?

Aston Martin says the 2024 Vantage is designed to put the brand back where it belongs. And by that, it means thrust into the same conversation as Ferrari and Lamborghini when it comes to the ultimate in driver-focused supercars.

Which is why everything – and I mean everything – about this new model has been tightened, tuned or turned way the hell up in pursuit of performance.

Really, it has been a no-stone-left-unturned approach here. And the result, the brand reckons, is a car that delivers not just more power and more torque, but a near-telepathic connection between car and driver, too.

Well, that’s the promise anyway.

So how does the Vantage stack up in the battle for supercar supremacy? I was quite looking forward to figuring that out, to be honest.