LONDON: The Aston Martin DB11 will soon be getting a little brother. In June the British sports car manufacturer will start deliveries of its new Vantage model.

Although the Vantage will use the same platform as the DB11, it is not only much smaller, but above all more assertive and agile, the manufacturer says. And at a starting price of 190,000 dollars, it will also be cheaper.

The model will initially be available as a two-seat coupe – unlike the four-seat DB11 – with a V8 engine. In April 2019, the open-top Vantage Volante will follow.

Aston Martin has also confirmed that the use of a V12 engine in future Vantage models is at least technically possible.

Weighing little more than 1.5 tonnes and measuring only 4.47 metres in length, the Vantage and its 510-horsepower 4.0-litre engine can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 3.5 seconds, reaching a top speed of around 315 km/h.

The Vantage is slightly slower at full throttle than the DB11, but thanks to a different gear transmission ratio in the rear-mounted eight-speed automatic, it does enjoy better acceleration performance. Fuel consumption values provided by Aston Martin are 10.3 litres per 100km.