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If you’re a fan of sunshine, beaches and luxury performance cars, this giveaway is for you. Omaze is giving away not only an Aston Martin Vantage, but a 5-bedroom, 6-bath modern farmhouse in the City of Angels.
Here’s what we said about the Vantage when we last drove it:
“Aston wrapped its aluminum-tubbed baby – its chassis 10% stiffer than the pricier DB11’s – with aluminum, steel and composite panels, for a svelte dry weight of 3,366 pounds. It goes down further with optional, weight-saving forged wheels and ceramic composite brakes.
“Combine that with a wicked-fast 13.1:1 steering ratio; an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission (with a carbon-fiber prop shaft); and Mercedes-AMG’s superlative, 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 509 horses and 505 pound-feet of torque, and you’ve got a British-German missile that cracks 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, and reaches a 195-mph peak. The DB11 has adopted this optional V8 as well, which only improves its handling versus the V12, though the Vantage gains more off-the-line advantage with a shorter final-drive ratio of 2.93, versus 2.7 in the DB11.
“Driving the Aston is easy peasy in contrast, but there’s still rewarding effort involved. The Aston’s street-killing, track-worthy intent is underlined by a three-mode drive system – adjusting throttle map, transmission, stability control and that basso-profundo exhaust – with no “Comfort” mode, only “Sport,” “Sport Plus” and “Track.” The steering is bristling with feedback, the chassis supremely balanced. It’s the kind of sports car that likes to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and flogged, and if things get out-of-sorts occasionally, all the better. I’d been on some of these same roads a few weeks ago in a $240,000 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S, and it’s just a different experience. It may be faster than the Aston, as you’d expect from a 640-horsepower 911 with a Bugatti-like 2.6-second launch to 60 mph, but the Porsche is also a more-effortless, surreal traveler, as much spaceship as sports car. If you can afford either or both, the choice is up to you.
“This being an Aston, there are other flaws and quirks. Most interior surroundings, including Saville Row-level tailoring on leather sport seats, appear suitably elite. But faux metal door pulls and plasticky air vents look like they wandered in from a much-cheaper car. The Comand-based infotainment system at least wandered in from Mercedes, but specifically Mercedes’ models from at least five years ago. Compared to Benz’ newer Comand and MBUX units, the thick-rimmed dashtop screen is the equivalent of a dusty Magnavox TV. Its rotary controller is another awkward retrofit in a console whose controls are strewn as randomly as Jackson Pollock’s paint drips. Oh, and the blind spots are a bitch, the suggestively low roofline and pinched glass constricting rearward views, though not as badly as in the Mercedes-AMG GT that shares its engine.”
You’re probably asking yourself, what does it take to win? First of all, according to Omaze, “No donation or payment is necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes.” $10 will get you 100 entries, while $50 will get you 1,000 entries and $100 will get you 2,000 entries.
The donations themselves benefit Rebuilding Together, which Omaze says “is devoted to repairing the homes of veterans, people with disabilities and neighbors with low-income to help keep our communities intact. Long-term projects include revitalizing entire neighborhoods by bringing together local volunteers and leaders to improve parks, schools, community centers and nonprofit facilities. Additionally, Rebuilding Together is instrumental in recovery efforts after natural disasters, helping residents rebuild their homes and lives.”
If you want this combo, and who wouldn’t, enter here. The deadline to enter is January 7, 2022.