V8 Vantage N400

Aston Martin introduced the N400 in 2007 as a limited V8 Vantage derivative associated with the Nürburgring and the company’s N24 competition programme. The theme alone would not justify a separate technical identity, but the production car also received an output increase, Sports Pack chassis settings and lightweight forged wheels. Its name referred to both Nürburgring and a 400 bhp rating.

The 4,282 cc naturally aspirated V8 was rated at 400 bhp, converted here to 298 kW and 405 PS, with 420 Nm. That was a 20 bhp increase over the contemporary standard 4.3-litre V8 Vantage. The six-speed manual drove a rear transaxle, retaining the base car’s front-mid-engine balance. Because the engine remained naturally aspirated, its distinctiveness is heard through calibration, breathing and load response rather than a change of cylinder count or forced-induction system.

Chassis content is part of the N400 claim. The Sports Pack brought firmer spring and damper settings and a revised rear anti-roll bar, while the forged wheels reduced unsprung mass. Those changes do not create a separate engine sound, but they affect how road texture and driveline movement reach the cabin. For an audio archive this matters: an interior recording can preserve suspension and tyre contributions alongside the V8, while an exterior pass concentrates more strongly on combustion and exhaust energy.

Aston Martin announced 240 Coupes and 240 Roadsters. Later manufacturer material repeats that launch split, but it does not function as a completed chassis-by-chassis production audit. RevAtlas therefore records 240 only as the planned Coupe allocation. The page excludes the visually and mechanically related Roadster, and it does not merge the N400 with the later N420 or N430. The N24 racing car is also separate, despite the road car’s Nürburgring narrative and shared visual cues.

Survivors often have aftermarket exhausts, induction parts or upgraded suspension, all of which can exaggerate the difference from a standard Vantage. A reference submission should establish the original 4.3-litre engine, manual gearbox, catalyst and silencer arrangement, wheel specification and known chassis changes. With that evidence, the N400 offers a useful comparison between the regular V8 Vantage and the V12 Vantage: same compact VH platform and rear-transaxle concept, but different engine architecture, torque delivery, mass and acoustic density.

The Roadster, optional Sportshift transmission, standard 4.3-litre Vantage, N24 race car, N420 and N430 are excluded. Similar names can cover different engines, transmissions, body styles and production programmes. Keeping those distinctions visible protects the technical record and prevents search traffic from turning a familiar badge into a blended specification that no single production car carried.

It works through a 6-speed manual rear transaxle with rear-wheel drive. Output units remain explicit because manufacturer and independent sources may use bhp, PS or regional horsepower conventions.

For sound documentation, the primary listening markers are 4.3-litre naturally aspirated V8, high-load intake resonance, six-speed manual shifts, rear-transaxle driveline detail. A cold start must include the uninterrupted crank, first combustion and settling idle, with ambient temperature and vehicle state recorded. Acceleration and fly-by submissions need gear, load, road or closed-course context, microphone position and wind conditions. No recording should be described as factory stock until intake, forced-induction hardware, catalysts, gearbox and silencers have been evidenced.

Period photographs and badges can establish visual context, but they cannot prove mechanical originality. Restoration, service replacement and reversible modification are common across valuable performance cars. RevAtlas therefore records configuration component by component and keeps modified survivors useful without presenting them as untouched references.