Now Porsche has launched a new 911 Carrera GTS, which arrives as part of a midlife refresh for the 992-generation 911. We’ve come to some great driving roads in Wales to see how it compares with the Aston.

Mostly this latest 911 update follows Porsche tradition by honing the time-honoured two-plus-two, rear-engined flat-six template, but when I accelerate in the 911 Carrera GTS, it’s obvious the evolutionary exterior disguises far greater progress under the skin.

This isn’t only because its 534bhp feels incredibly strong – which it very much does – but because synaptic throttle response combines with midrange urge like you wouldn’t believe. When you drive it there’s no way could you mistake it for the previous model.

It’s all down to the new T-Hybrid system, which comprises a new 3.6-litre flat-six engine boosted by both a permanently excited synchronous motor in the standard eight-speed dual-clutch transmission (it adds 53bhp/111lb ft), and another squeezed in the single turbocharger that adds up to 15bhp and eliminates lag.

So far unique to the GTS, the T-Hybrid powertrain gives the GTS both a more distinct personality and a greater performance advantage than ever before over its also-new Carrera and Carrera S siblings, which evolve the previous 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine for 395bhp and 473bhp respectively.

The Aston shuns hybridisation entirely, but it’s a very significantly altered car compared to the 2018 car it’s based on – outside, inside, underneath… everywhere.

The lines are tauter, the haunches more muscular (the track is 30mm wider), the details more jewel-like from the blade-style front grille to the matrix LED headlights and 21-inch alloy wheels, and the classic Aston Martin beauty that got a little lost last time round is very much restored. Every panel bar the roof and doors is new.

In stunning Podium Green, the Aston makes the 911 in Ice Grey German look rather plain. Then again the Vantage, priced at £165,000, is considerably more expensive than our rear-drive Carrera GTS, at £132,600. To think there was only £10k in it when the GTS first landed in 2010.

Inside, the Aston works hard to justify its premium. I slot down onto comfortable, low-set sports seats and I’m faced by a much-improved dashboard. The previous attempt looked like a middle-aged man bursting out of his sixth-form shirt. That’s been replaced by something leaner, sharper and altogether more convincing.

Complementing traditional Bridge of Weir leather is a more orderly centre console with a mix of capacitive switches and machined rollers for functions that should be operable without looking on the move. Twin 10.25-inch infotainment screens running Linux software replace the previous and pretty woeful Mercedes-Benz hand-me-downs. There are wobbles here and there – small typefaces, some workmanlike graphics – but it is a huge upgrade and a pleasant environment.

A central starter button invitingly pulses red, and when I press it the Mercedes-AMG 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 erupts like a riotous Bullingdon Club dinner.

This always was a strong motor, but it’s been massaged up to 656bhp – a 30 per cent increase – with 15 per cent more torque at 590lb ft from 2750rpm, all of which flows to 325-section rear tyres like water through a fireman’s hose. A seven per cent lower final drive compounds the extra power, encouraging the Vantage to tear through its eight ratios with even greater vigour.

There is a little lag if you look for it but the overwhelming sensation is of a car defined by its rich surplus of performance and never-ending surge of acceleration. The midrange is stuffed full of flexible torque, and while peak power at 6000rpm doesn’t sound particularly generous, the reality is the Vantage always feels hungry to keep pulling. The soundtrack perfectly suits this character – a deep, cultured V8 growl like a hot rod gone to elocution lessons. It has speed and personality in spades.

The auto gearshifts have a slightly soft edge, which keeps the Vantage’s hard-working rear end settled when you’re really pulling through the gears at peak revs, and the refinement underplays just how prompt these shifts actually are. Keep your foot in, pull at the paddles and you’re subject to a constant loop of linear performance.

To help deal with the extra power, there’s a claimed seven per cent more torsional rigidity for the bonded aluminium platform, new Michelin Pilot Sport 5S tyres, Bilstein DTX dampers and new Active Vehicle Dynamics chassis control software to better coordinate everything that feeds into the driving experience – powertrain, chassis, steering, safety aids, the lot.

The Aston is very nicely balanced, in large part thanks to its V8 being pushed far back in the nose and the transaxle putting the weight of the gearbox between the rear wheels, not next to the driver’s feet. It might have 1605kg (dry) to lug about, but it just pivots around you, trimming its line in tune with your right foot and steering inputs.

Flow the Vantage into a corner and the steering combines bright response with a natural, cool sort of precision. Its body is nicely controlled, and there’s strong grip from the front axle and a rear that settles in one clean movement immediately after. Calm the Aston down on just a breath of throttle at the apex and its e-diff palpably tightens, a little nod and a wink that you’re free to steer it on the throttle.

Traction is actually very good given so much torque is available so low down, but multi-stage traction control lets you push beyond it, gradually dipping a toe in the water to discover the Vantage is really quite benign when its rear tyres start to smear.

The Aston’s ride can fuss over pock-marked surfaces and it can start to unravel where roads buck and heave – the damping toughens up in response and it all becomes a bit of a rodeo – but overwhelmingly this is a fluid, intuitive, playful car to hustle.

It’s certainly a high bar, but then it needs to be when it’s in company with a 911.