There are only so many times you can traverse the British countryside before it gets, well, a bit samey, especially in winter when the landscape is lifeless and the weather miserable. From our little corner of the UK called Essex, the most interesting places geographically are a fair old drive away, and in many instances the weather only worsens the closer you get to them. In desperate need of some winter sun, we decided to hop on a plane and fly to Portugal, more specifically the sunny Algarve. In less time than it takes to drive to Scotland, you can be in one of the southern most points of Europe where temperatures below 10 degrees are accompanied by “danger to life” weather warnings. For the record, that’s not a joke but a quote taken directly from Apple’s weather app.

Now, I know this sounds like an excuse for a holiday, however, I can assure you that our trip to a location approximately 150 miles north of the African content was for, cough-cough, serious business. On our extensive itinerary were two considerable tasks – the first involved driving an Aston Martin V8 Vantage S on some Portuguese mountain roads, and the second was a visit to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve (better known as Portimão) for a testing day which included some teams from the Intelligent Money British GT Championship. Yes, serious business. Sort of …

In a scene that looked like it could have been lifted straight from an Ian Fleming novel, we found the Aston parked up at the Marina de Vilamoura in front of a line of large yachts. The only thing that reminded me that I wasn’t in a Bond movie were the holidaymakers (still not us) making the most of the winter sun. Spotting Brits abroad is an easy task, especially in the colder months when the locals wrap up warm but the tourists can still be found wearing skimpy shorts, and t-shirts which don’t quite cover the full extent of their beer guts. On the plus side, while 20 degrees is considered warm, it’s not scorching enough to do any damage, and so locals are for now at least saved from the sight of pasty Brits with lobster red skin. Give it another couple of months though.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the Vantage S and the task at hand. Just 45 minutes from the Marina is a well-known section of the famous Nacional 2 Road. The N2 is Portugal’s longest road covering 739km, which stretches from Faro in the south of the country and all the way up to Chaves in the far north. Best of all, it’s mostly made up of rural roads with smooth tarmac which makes it the perfect route for testing performance cars.

An appropriate place to take the Vantage S then, especially when you consider that it was designed to be a driver-focussed version of the standard V8. Upgrades for the S included a small increase in power of 10bhp and the inclusion of the Sportshift II gearbox as standard. The fettling didn’t just stop at the engine and transmission either. In the pursuit of greater dynamism, the S received a quicker steering rack, stiffer suspension, new front brakes and wider tyres.

The results are, well I couldn’t tell you because I’ve not driven a ‘non-S’ V8 Vantage before, however I can confirm that this particular Aston felt fantastic to drive. Regular readers would have noticed some of the older vehicles we’ve recently been driving and this theme has arisen for good reason. Modern performance cars are insanely fast and competent, but even peddling something just a decade old exposes how cars were more characterful not too long ago. The Aston is a perfect case in point. It lacks the speed and mod-cons of today’s sports and GT cars, but it oozes the type of class and charisma that’s less prevalent in 2023, unless of course, you can afford to pay through the nose for it.

Weighing 1,610kg at the kerb, it’s not a particularly light car for something so compact, however the quick steering and positioning of the engine which is well behind the front axle makes the front end particularly responsive. It feels light on its feet but the steering has a pleasing weight to it which helps it feel dialled in to the road. Through the corners you can feel some roll in the chassis and despite the stiffer suspension, it still retains the suppleness expected of an Aston Martin. The consequences of all this are a car that treads the line between sports car and grand tourer. It doesn’t feel hyperactive, but nor is it cumbersome. It tells you what you need to know without overloading your senses, which is a good thing because what you really want to lose yourself in is that normally aspirated 4.7 litre V8 engine out front.

In a nutshell, the motor is glorious. Noise and response are the hallmarks of an unassisted engine, and the Vantage S has both these traits in abundance. The V8 soundtrack is sonorous yet angry at high revs, and the throttle response is pin sharp. With 430bhp and 361ft lbs at its disposal, the Aston flies to 62mph in 4.5 seconds and will top out at 189mph, and on this very stretch of the N2 with its short to medium length straights, and it’s twists and turns, the performance feels like the correct amount. The Vantage S is fast enough to be entertaining, even thrilling, but not so fast that you’re always having to anchor down on the brakes because you’ve approached the next corner too quickly. And unlike UK country roads which are festooned with potholes which are so gargantuan they can be seen from the Moon, the N2 is smooth and flowing.

Perhaps back in Blighty the Aston would feel more rigid with its stiffer suspension, but here in Portugal it eats up the road surface. The only slight chink in the car’s armoury is the gearbox which is of its time. It may have been registered in late 2014, but the Vantage S hit showrooms in 2011 and shortly before twin-clutch transmissions became the rule rather than the exception. Sportshift II is an automated manual with a single clutch similar to the ‘box in an Aventador but far less extreme. The seven-speeder requires a lift off the throttle to smooth out the gear changes on the way up, but coming down the transmission you get snappy shifts. Fortunately, there’s also a manual option for the Vantage S, although these are harder to come by.

One thing that’s not hard to find in Portugal is a stunning backdrop. The ribbon of tarmac we were driving on was worth the flight over all on its own, but with fun mountain roads comes beautiful scenery and we regularly found ourselves parked up admiring the landscape. Oh, and it helps that it’s sunny most days of the year. We’d travelled from the glamour of Vilamoura with its upmarket restaurants and big boats to what are regarded as some of Europe’s best driving roads in just 45 minutes. The Algarve genuinely is a part of the world that has it all, and after a day of “work” we headed back as the sun began to set. Earlier in the write up I mentioned how close we were to the African continent. Faro to Tangier is just 146 miles as the crow flies and so perhaps not so surprisingly, the sunset we were treated to was Moroccan-like. Brilliant but observable, the sun loomed large above the horizon behind a shroud of heat haze and dust, turning the sky bright orange as it began to fade from view. It offered a spectacular end to a rather perfect day. This is how grand touring is done, and there a few cars that are better suited to the role than the Vantage S.

The next day, we hopped back in the Aston and headed for Portimão for a day of pre-season testing. Some teams which compete in the Intelligent Money British GT Championship were testing ahead of the season opener at Oulton Park some six weeks later, and so we popped in to catch up with friends, grab some content, and ogle at GT4 and GT3 racing cars being driven in anger. Yes, this is also work, honestly! It also gave us another opportunity to try out the Aston which proved itself a fantastic cruiser on the toll roads en route to the track, and a real head turner once we arrived. There were race cars everywhere, but that didn’t stop the Vantage S from turning just as many heads with its timeless class and beauty. Then came the realisation that Britain ain’t all that terrible. Yes, the weather is crap, the roads are shameful and our reputation abroad isn’t the greatest, but we sure know how make a damn good car. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage S is yet another example in our rich and illustrious history of building world beating motor vehicles, and I for one couldn’t be prouder.