Vantge S Review; Upside Down Project; Detroit Car Week 2026
About this episode
The Smoking Tire covers the Aston Martin Vantage S in detail, praising its refined dynamics—power delivery, brakes, steering, and overall “sorted” harmony—while calling out minor annoyances like restart behavior and limited legroom versus a 911 GTS. The hosts also debate attention-getting cars in LA, then pivot to plans for Detroit’s Woodward Dream Cruise instead of Car Week, plus a wild Ford GT Mark IV Nürburgring time and their ongoing Mercedes E55 Cabrio powertrain swap project. Listener Q&A ranges from car replacements and 996 value to autonomous robo-taxis and project-car resale strategy.
Matt Farah and Zack Klapman review the new Aston Martin Vantage S; would a rear collision avoidance system work; listing every hypercar Matt has driven; a special Ford GT just set a blistering Nurburgring record; why they're spending car week in Detroit this year; try to sort out the best car for the Woodward Dream Cruise; and answer Patreon questions including:
- Will a Golf R replace my Audi S4 sadness?
- What cars are better when they're worse?
- How to sell a project car
- Need a commuter for quarterly track days
- Is $40k "worth it" for a 996?
- Are hypercars serviced by mileage or time?
- The 2026 Lexus IS refresh
- Our thoughts on Rivian dating Uber
- Dream show at the Vegas Sphere?
- Where to test a car
- General advice for people in their 20s
- Do you need a car in Tuscany?
- And more!
Recorded April 2, 2026
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Subaru Uncharted
"...is is a different... For people like us, this is uncharted territory. It is, but it's also more affordable t..."
Aston Martin Valhalla
"...he off-season, or whether Andrew Kay who did the Valhalla had his hands on this thing. I didn't go on the ..."
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
"...while. It was almost like, like the Vantage, the V8 Vantage in those earlier days was closer to the 911, not..."
Porsche 911
"... Vantage in those earlier days was closer to the 911, not the Turbo, of course, but like, it was pret..."
Aston Martin Vanquish
"...are doing it. And it was like, it was a bit, but vanquished to vanquish S. You know, the last Vantage S wa..."
Chevrolet C8
"...uggling to answer. I mean, there's like when the C8 was new because it was a new idea. Sure."
Ford Mustang
"...ogies around where it looks like a brand new 1969 Mustang like that. That gets a lot of the, I mean, I'm a..."
Ferrari 250
"...could be in traffic at Pebble Beach and there's a Ferrari 250 LM next to you and there's a 73 RS that raced in..."
Chevrolet Bel Air
"... a 66 GTO convertible. Then behind it some weird Bel Air modified thing. Whoa, that's terrible."
Dodge Challenger
"Yeah. Trans-Am-E and then a Challenger. Maybe a Red Eye or a Demon."
Cadillac Escalade
"...it'll probably have to be something big, but. So Escalade V. It'll be Escalade V."
Challenger Hellcat
"Do we. Dodge got us a Hellcat Durango. Yeah."
Mercedes-Benz E55S
"The M119 is a physically big engine. What you actually want is the E55's engine from 99 to 01. That the four-eyed square, the first E55, 369 horsepower naturally aspirated,"
Maserati Quattroporte
"...n SoCal, what should replace a high mile Maserati Quattroporte S that will surely need very expensive repairs s..."
Fiat Spider
"Got it. My parents have an 80s fiat spider 2000 and the engine feels pretty meh. No shit."
Lamborghini Kuntoshes
"... worse. I mean a lot of snobs will tell you that Lamborghini Kuntoshes are better with carbs but I don't necessarily ag..."
3 Morgan Threewheeler
"carburators are so loud exhaust wise that I can't really hear the intake. The Morgan three-wheeler I hate to say going to the super three which they make now it has a car engine and it's quieter and it has more power and it has more emissions excuse me a"
Toyota Gr86
"...grip and maneuverability you could drop to like a GR86 but it's not going to be quiet on the highway li..."
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
"...lots of different stuff that too that too do the lancer evolution pretty good it's good when we think of douchey o..."
Toyota Prius
"...and no it was the facelifted is which has a very prius like nose on it is that would you describe that ..."
Toyota Corolla
"...nd more so than a lexus i see like i see like g r corolla and prius in this front end more than i see lexu..."
Toyota GR Corolla
"...ing well you're right it's more it's more 86 and gr corolla than it is prius yeah um but i with you i didn't..."
Bugatti Veyron
"...performance cars you've driven oh there's a okay veyron sharon konex egg pagani utopia konex egg excuse m..."
Maserati MC12
"you pagani utopia pagani wyra karara gt 918 enzo mc 12 ssc some of the singers seven figures sing oh yeah every singer except a turbo dls and that weird"
Pagani Utopia Pagani
"you pagani utopia pagani wyra karara gt 918 enzo mc 12 ssc some of the si..."
Mclaren F1
"...m this is a tough one that's a lot that is a lot mclaren f1 that was not over a million new but i think it ge..."
Mclaren Senna Mclaren
"...h obviously valhalla uh yeah i think that's a lot senna mclaren mclaren senna were those under a million yeah ok..."
Cadillac Ctsv
"...what he already was driving i looked up the first ctsv was until 04 and that because that would have be..."
Nissan Gtr
"... but fast and straight line but british uh um uh gtr was gt st go for skyline skyline four door yeah ..."
Lotus Carlton
"...at's kind of no one will expect that but a lotus carlton that also would be that's what the bad guys would..."
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