Aston Martin unveils its new hero: the Vanquish
Sitting proudly at the pinnacle of the luxury British car maker’s sports car line-up, this breath-taking new super grand tourer represents the zenith of current Aston Martin design and engineering. Vanquish points to an exciting and confident future for the historic brand.
Vanquish is a new Aston Martin featuring the next generation of the renowned VH architecture as well as a significantly upgraded 6.0-litre V12 engine that is considerably more potent than before.
The design represents the latest take on Aston Martin’s iconic visual language. Vanquish unquestionably sees the brand continue its enviable tradition of producing some of the most beautiful sports cars in the world. Styling cues such as the elegant new waist, elongated side strakes and LED rear light blades are derived from the One-77 supercar.
Unmistakably an Aston Martin, the design shows a clear and coherent lineage from its heritage while providing an equally clear pointer to the luxury car brand’s vibrant future. Closer inspection reveals details such as the stunning new Aero Duct on the rear boot lid. This elegantly devised passive engineering feature, which counteracts lift at the car’s rear when travelling at speed, is a triumph of both design and technical ability.
Performance, presence, style and great British craftsmanship – the new Vanquish has all these traits in abundance.
Aston Martin Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “Today’s Vanquish is the ultimate expression of Aston Martin design ethos, engineering innovation and technical ability. It offers luxurious, continent-crossing capability and pure driving excitement without compromise.
“Bearing the same name as the iconic original Vanquish that did so much to cement Aston Martin’s reputation as a maker of great GT cars in the modern era, I believe the car unveiled today once again puts this great British brand at the top of its class.
“The new Vanquish mixes beautiful design with impressive technology such as the superb new infotainment system. This is the latest incarnation of everything we know, informed and developed from One-77. It is the ultimate Super Grand Tourer – confident and assured – and is the newest representation of Power, Beauty and Soul.”
As happy on the streets of a bustling city as it is carving through the countryside or long distance motorway touring, the Vanquish offers a thoroughbred British luxury sports car that’s also suited to everyday use.
Powered by a significantly revised naturally aspirated 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine mated to the proven Touchtronic 2 six-speed automatic gearbox, the new car offers suitably impressive performance figures. The V12’s power peak of 565 bhp (573 PS) makes it Aston Martin’s most potent production model yet, outmuscled only by the strictly limited edition £1.2m One-77 supercar.
The raw statistics speak for themselves: 573 PS at 6,750 rpm, 620 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm, 0-62 mph in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 183 mph place the Vanquish firmly into supercar territory. Yet the brand’s team of engineers have been working towards economy and emissions improvements, too.
The latest engineering methods, innovative technologies and typically understated classic British design come together to make the muscular new Vanquish a true super GT. For instance, each body panel on the car is constructed from carbon fibre because of its high strength-to-weight ratio and flexibility of form. Meanwhile torsional rigidity is improved by more than 25%.
Practical improvements such as a newly designed and significantly more spacious cabin and a boot that, at 368 litres, is more than 60% larger than that of the DBS, ensure the new Vanquish can carry sufficient luggage for even the most ambitious grand tourist.
Designed and hand-built at Aston Martin’s global headquarters at Gaydon in Warwickshire the new Vanquish, available as a 2+2 or 2+0, sits atop a broad line-up of world-class sports cars including the exquisite DB9, sporty V8 Vantage and luxurious four-door Rapide.
Dr Bez said: “The Aston Martin range is stronger now than at any time in our 99-year history. The new Vanquish represents the perfect way to signal the beginning of our centenary celebrations next year.”
Priced from £189,995 RRP first deliveries of the new sports car are expected to begin in the UK and Continental Europe late in 2012.
Aston Martin Vanquish Specification
Body
· Two-door coupe body style with 2+0 or optional 2+2 seating
· New generation bonded aluminium and carbon fibre VH structure
· Aluminium, magnesium alloy and carbon-fibre composite body
· Extruded aluminium door side-impact beams
· Bi-xenon headlamps
· LED light blade rear lamps and LED side repeaters
Engine
· All-alloy, independent quad variable camshaft timing, 48-valve, 5,935 cc V12
· Compression ratio 11.0:1
· Front-mid mounted engine, rear-wheel drive
· Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active bypass valves
· Six three-way catalytic convertors
· Max power: 573 PS (565 bhp) at 6,750 rpm
· Max torque: 620 Nm (457 lb ft) at 5,500 rpm
· Acceleration: 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 4.1 seconds
· Max speed: 295 km/h (183 mph)
Transmission
· Rear-mid mounted, six-speed Touchtronic 2 automatic/sequential manual gearbox
· Alloy torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft
· Limited-slip differential
Wheels and Tyres
· Front: 9J x 20’’ Pirelli P Zero 255/35 ZR20
· Rear: 11.5J x 20’’ Pirelli P Zero 305/30 ZR20
Steering
· Speed-dependent electronically controlled rack and pinion power-assisted steering, 2.62 turns lock-to-lock. Column tilt and reach adjustment
Suspension
· Lightweight aluminium front subframe with hollow castings
· Front: Independent double wishbone incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampers
· Rear: Independent double wishbones with anti-squat and anti-lift geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampers
· Three-stage adjustable Adaptive Damping System (ADS) with Normal, Sport and Track modes
Brakes
· Front: Ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 398mm diameter with six-piston calipers
· Rear: Ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 360mm diameter with four-piston calipers
· Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Track mode
· Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
· Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
· Emergency Brake Assist (EBA)
· Positive Torque Control (PTC)
· Traction Control
· Launch Control
Dimensions
Length:
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4720mm (inc. front number plate plinth)
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Wheelbase:
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2740mm
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Width:
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2067mm (inc. mirrors)
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Fuel tank capacity:
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78 litres (17.2 Imp.galls, 20.5 US galls)
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Height:
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1294mm
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Weight:
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1739 kg
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Standard specification
· Full-grain leather interior
· Alcantara headlining
· Electrically operated front seats
· Memory front seats and exterior mirrors (three memory positions)
· 2+0 seating configuration with flexible rear environment storage
· Powerfold exterior heated mirrors
· Front and rear parking sensors
· Cruise control
· Tyre pressure monitoring
· Alarm and immobiliser
· Remote-control central door locking and boot release
· Automatic temperature control
· Heated front seats
· Curtain side head airbags
· Dual Stage Driver and Passenger Front Airbags
· Pelvis and thorax seat mounted airbags
· Seat belt dual-pretensioners and digressive load limiters
· Trip computer
· Tracking device (UK only)
· Laminated windscreen with clear noise-insulation layer
· Glass ECU
· Titanium bonnet and side strake meshes
· Bright aluminium front grille
· Chrome side strakes and tailpipe trim
· Heated rear screen
In-car entertainment
· New infotainment system with capacitive switching
· 1000W Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 15-speaker audio system
· Garmin satellite navigation system*+
· 6.5” LCD Screen
· iPod® and iPhone® Integration and USB playback
· Satellite radio system (USA only)
· AM/FM radio1
· A2DP Bluetooth® audio and phone streaming
· Wi-Fi Hub5
Options
· Ten-spoke alloy wheel in a Graphite finish
· 20-spoke alloy wheel in a Liquid Silver, Silver finish with diamond turning, Graphite finish with diamond turning, Gloss Black with diamond turning and Satin Black with diamond turning
· Black-vaned grille
· Magnum Silver or Black Mesh finish
· Matt black textured tailpipe
· Black, blue, yellow or red calipers
· Exposed carbon fibre roof panel
· Exposed carbon fibre door mirror caps
· Exposed carbon fibre side strakes
· Exposed carbon door handles
· Protective tape
· Black Luxmil Leather and part-Alcantara steering wheel
· Colour-Keyed Luxmil Leather steering wheel
· Black One-77 leather steering wheel with black Alcantara Inserts
· Colour-Keyed One-77 Luxmil leather steering wheel with black leather inserts
· Centre stack facia in carbon fibre 2x2 twill, carbon fibre 2x2 fishbone, Piano Red, Piano Black or Piano Ice mocha.
· Headrest embroidery – Aston Martin wings or Vanquish logo
· Black hardware pack
· Full carbon fibre gearshift paddles
· Personalised sill plaques
· Rear parking assist camera
· Auto-dimming mirror with garage door opener
· Heated and ventilated seats
· Smoker’s Pack
· Second glass key
· Tracking device**1
· Alarm upgrade (volumetric and tilt sensors)
· Option toolkit
· Six-CD auto-changer
· First-aid kit
Aston Martin Press