When I see a first-generation Aston Martin Vanquish I can’t help but think about James Bond, more specifically the 20th movie in the series, Die Another Day, and while I also remember the red Lamborghini Diablo that got tossed out of an airplane, the hero car in this installment was undoubtedly the Tungsten Silver over a charcoal leather interior Aston Martin Vanquish none other than Pierce Brosnan got to drive, thanks to some ‘invisibility’ add-on by Q-branch, they called her the ‘Vanish’ in the movie.
While the Bond movie was released in 2002, the Aston Martin Vanquish was unveiled at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show, two decades ago this year, and the Vanquish gained both popularity and notoriety in the car collecting world, at the time this model was hand-built in Newport Pagnell she was the most advanced Aston Martin yet, and the drive-by-wire throttle with an F1-inspired paddle shifter made their debut on this model, which is regarded as a collector’s item today.
Safe to say the Aston Martin Vanquish was the top-of-the-line in 2001, the best of the best with an amazing, muscular design, Paul Spires, President of Aston Martin Works states: “The original V12 Vanquish represented an important and timely development for our marque. It was, and is, a great super GT with all the character, style, and power that is rightly expected of an Aston Martin sports car. 20 years on from that debut, the V12 Vanquish remains a proud part of the marque’s heritage which we celebrate here at Newport Pagnell. It is an exceptional piece of our history, and a car that we can rightly look back on with considerable pride.”
Ian Callum actually started working on the Vanquish in the mid-nineties already, at that time called the ‘Project Vantage’, the next-generation supercar from Aston Martin with a 6-Liter V12 engine making 460 bhp using an F1 gearbox with paddles, built on a lightweight aluminum tub wearing a composite body … all very innovative for Aston Martin at that time, the first concept of Project Vantage was shown at the 1998 Detroit Motor Show.
One of the requirements for the new Vanquish was the design of the front grille, it had to be immediately recognizable as an Aston Martin, and Ian Callum succeeded in this perfectly, integrating this hallmark of the brand’s design language, but he added large auxiliary driving lamps on either side, while the fenders and hood boast a series of finely detailed compound curves sweeping back to the steeply raked windscreen only to continue into a low roofline that ends in a short rear section with integrated rear wing, the entire body of the Aston Martin Vanquish is made from aluminum panels.
All body panels, including the roof, hood, wings, and doors were made of Super Plastic Formed pressed aluminum, after which these were individually tailored onto the central structure … by hand, at the Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire factory, each single Vanquish took eight weeks to build from start to finish, and while Aston Martin set out to make 300 units per year, due to high demand, they ended up building about 500 Vanquish every year, between 2001 and 2007 a total of 2,589 units were sold, which includes about 10 pre-production prototype and 1,086 units of the improved Vanquish S unveiled in 2004.
Oddly enough, you could order the Aston Martin Vanquish as a 2-seater, or as a 2+2 version, whichever version you opted for, the car would come with an automated manual gearbox, yes you are reading that correctly, the Vanquish comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, but changing gears is done with paddles fitted to the steering column, with 460 bhp and 556 Nm of torque, this 48-valve V12 put some serious strain on the gearbox, and for those that prefer a real manual shifter with a clutch pedal, Aston Martin has recently been offering a conversion package that can be obtained from the in-house heritage center or the new Aston Martin Works, to date it seems about 130 Aston Martin Vanquish have been officially converted to a fully manual transmission.
This was a heavy car, and with that much power you needed some really good tires to cope with all the force this Aston Martin could inflict on the rubber, so Yokohama was asked to develop a specific tire for the Vanquish, 255/40 ZR 19 for the front and 285/40 ZR 19 for the rear were fitted with a bespoke AML badge from Yokohama, rims were 9 inch for the front with a 10 inch width for the wider rear tires, and not only did tire pressure get measured in the Vanquish, there were even temperature sensors on the wheels.
In 2004 Aston Martin launched the Vanquish S, the fastest production model ever, the S could go over 200 mph (321 km/h) by increasing the power output from the 6-Liter V12 to 520 hp, recognizable by the modified front grille, an aerodynamic front splitter, and a modified rear spoiler, to make sure the ride was still comfortable enough, but sporty at the same time, Aston Martin fitted stiffer springs and revised the steering geometry, six-piston brakes became larger to ensure this latest Aston Martin could stop in a hurry when needed.
In early 2007 Aston Martin announced there would be no more new cars built at the Newport Pagnell factory, as a celebration of this end of an era they created the limited edition V12 Vanquish S Ultimate, only 40 were made, the last 40 cars built at Newport Pagnell, and all of them were finished in ‘Ultimate Black’, a bespoke color for this model, with a semi-aniline leather interior, coarse stitching, a leather headliner and black chrome interior finishes.
Each of these 40 Ultimate editions received a special sill plaque, but next to these European Ultimate models in black, Aston Martin also built a very small number of white cars for customers in the Middle East, today these are considered to be the ultimate collector’s item and will demand a premium over the earlier cars.
In 2007 the Aston Martin Vanquish was succeeded by the stunning DBS V12, a second-generation Aston Martin Vanquish would be unveiled in 2012, this time both as a coupe and as a convertible, with even more power, but we still love the original V12 Vanquish from 2001, heck, it was a Bond car, how can you beat that?
November 22, 2021 / Comments Off on The 20th anniversary of the Aston Martin Vanquish
Aston Martin Works is the home of a great British automotive marque. This month, one of the greatest supercars they have produced is celebrating its 20-year anniversary: the original V12 Vanquish.
In 2001, the V12 Vanquish made its debut in front of eager audiences at the Geneva Motor Show. It immediately made an impact as the newest, most sophisticated, and most technologically advanced automobile designed, developed, and presented by Aston Martin.
Expert media critics were immediately enamored by the V12’s beautiful design, exceptional power, and unparalleled performance.
Motortrend in the United States claimed, “Aston Martin’s new Vanquish is one of the most superbly designed front-engine GTs of all time.”
A British magazine, evo, added, “It devours the straight bits with relish, but it also has a ravenous appetite for corners.” The Sunday Times hailed it as “an automotive masterpiece”.
Today, Aston Martin Works President Paul Spires stated, “The original V12 Vanquish represented an important and timely development for our marque. It was, and is, a great super GT with all the character, style and power that is rightly expected of an Aston Martin sports car. 20 years on from that debut, the V12 Vanquish remains a proud part of the marque’s heritage which we celebrate here at Newport Pagnell. It is an exceptional piece of our history, and a car that we can rightly look back on with considerable pride.”
The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S
The Origin Story
The story of the V12 Vanquish started years before it made its historic debut at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show.
The V12 started with a concept sports car dubbed “Project Vantage”.
The concept car has been in development throughout the mid-90s and in 1998, it made its debut at the Detroit Motor Show. Project Vantage was designed by then styling chief Ian Callum.
Aston Martin continued to develop the program. By autumn of 2000, a group of key media people was allowed to see a pre-production V12 Vanquish, which was clearly greatly influenced by the Project Vantage.
The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S
V12 Vanquish design and body engineering
The two-door sports car’s elegant and classic body was designed by Ian Callum, and it was created to embody the tradition, pedigree, and heritage of Aston Martin. Offered in 2+0 or 2+2 configurations, it was seen as bold and dynamic, with finely detailed features that can be seen in the interior and exterior of the car.
All the design elements were carefully considered and incorporated into the car to showcase the marque’s commitment to quality and craftsmanship.
Some of the key features of the car are the bold and distinct auxiliary driving lamps and front direction turn indicators, in between them is the distinct radiator grille and lower air intake which are the marque’s design signature at the time. The front wings and bonnet panels were also given finely detailed compound curves that sweep back to the steeply raked windscreen pillars and low curving roof line.
Adding visual appeal are the sculptured sill and door panels. The rear wheel arches prominently and the rear spoiler and short tail section in the boot lid matches the overall classic look of the V12 Vanquish.
Aston Martin Vanquish S. Photo by: Max Earey
All the exterior body panels were made from aluminum, and each individual panel were tailored manually to the central structure.
The central transmission tunnel was made completely from carbon fiber while the body structure bonded to it, including the front and rear bulkheads and the floor, were made from extruded aluminum structure.
To create a high strength safety cell, they connected to the central structure a single piece composite inner body side section with carbon fiber windscreen pillars.
To create the structures, they needed a precise, computer-controlled manufacturing process and this was a huge manufacturing undertaking for Aston Martin at the time. These were developed in California’s Silicon Valley in Cupertino and at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.
In front of the driver and passenger compartment is a steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber subframe that houses the engine, transmission, and front suspension which are bolted directly to the front bulkhead. In front of the engine and front suspension is the deformable composite structure that carries the distinct Aston Martin mesh air intake grille. It not only adds crash protection, but it also accommodates the engine, transmission, and air conditioning radiators and intercoolers.
They also developed a completely flat surface for the underbody to allow air to be channeled into a Venturi section at the back to assist high speed aerodynamics.
The composite floor, parcel shelf, and side rails of the luggage compartment were also carefully designed at the rear to give additional deformable crash protection along with the extruded aluminum side impact beams that were in the doors.
All the exterior panels of the V12 including the bonnet, roof, boot lid, doors, and front and rear wings were made from “super-plastic-formed” and pressed aluminum. Each individual panel were then manually tailored and bonded at the marque’s Newport Pagnell factory in Buckinghamshire to guarantee a perfect fit and finish.
It takes eight full weeks to build each V12 Vanquish. Initially, Aston Martin targeted to create around 300 cars each year. As demand continued to grow, and the waiting list ran into years, the marque raised the target to build around 500 cars a year.
In the six years that the car was in production, a total of 2,589 V12 Vanquish were produced, with all the versions.
V12 Vanquish production at Aston Martin Newport Pagnell
V12 Vanquish engine and gearbox
Under the hood of this powerful car is an all-alloy, twin overhead camshaft 48 valve 6.0-liter V12 engine. It can generate 460 bhp at 6,500 rpm, and 556 Nm of torque at 5,000 rpm, enabling it to run at 190 mph.
The DB7 showed engineering enhancements made on the V12 engine like the new design inlet manifolds, valve gear, camshafts, crankshaft, and a new exhaust system. All these innovations gave an additional seven percent power.
The whole exhaust system and front bulkhead was wrapped in a heat resistant material that was first used and developed for the aerospace industry. This was done to ensure that the body structure was protected from the heat of the engine and exhaust system.
A new engine oil to water heat exchanger sped up and helped the operating efficiency, working together with an ionized gas misfire detection system that continuously monitored all of the engine’s 12 cylinders.
The V12 Vanquish’s six-speed close ratio manual transmission is connected to the electronic drive-by-wire throttle of the car. It is controlled through the twin paddles mounted on the steering column.
A cut away created to illustrate the composite construction in V12 Vanquish
Aston Martin recently engineered a manual conversion package that they offered to owners through their in-house heritage center and new car dealership: Aston Martin Works.
Since it opened, there have been around 130 original Vanquish models that have been given a manual transmission. On average, around ten cars are sent to Works every year for the process to done.
Brakes, Suspension, and Steering
The aluminum alloy road wheels were fitted with an anti-lock ventilated and drilled 355 mm (front) and 330 mm (rear) diameter Brembo disc brakes. It also had variable ratio power steering and independent front and rear suspension systems which had forged aluminum wishbones and cast aluminum front suspension uprights.
The rear axle had a limited slip differential that worked with an electronic traction control system which sensed potential wheel slippage and automatically decrease engine power. When necessary, it applies the rear braking system. The V12 Vanquish had exclusively designed Yokohama 255/40 ZR 19 front and 285/40 ZR 19 rear tires that had the AML initials. The tires were mounted on 19-inch diameter wheels with 9-inch width front rims, and 10-inch width rear rims. An automatic electronic sensing system monitors each individual tire pressure and temperatures.
A sketch of the V12 Vanquish S Ultimate Edition
V12 Vanquish S – the fastest
In September 2004, the V12 Vanquish S made its world debut at the renowned Paris Motor Show. At the time, it was the fastest production sports car that Aston Martin has released.
It had a recorded maximum speed of more than 200 mph, which was roughly 321 kph. It was equipped with a 6.0-liter V12 engine with 520 hp. The V12 Vanquish S was designed to be even more powerful, complemented by subtle steering and suspension upgrades, as well as a number of interior and exterior style changes.
When it was launched, the Aston Martin Chairman and CEO at the time, Dr. Ulrich Bez simply described the powerful V12 Vanquish S stating, “It is the ultimate high-performance Aston Martin”.
The elegant yet muscular body of the V12 Vanquish S was given subtle but effective changes. The distinct Aston Martin grille was given a more rounded and open appearance for better cooling. It also had an aerodynamic splitter for better high-speed stability. They redesigned the boot lid at the rear to improve aerodynamics, lowering lift and giving it better balance and stability while also adding a high mounted stop lamp. All the improvements allowed the V12 Vanquish S to get an impressive 0.32 Cd figure.
Other enhancements include shorter steering arms and stiffer springs and dampers. The modified steering geometry allowed it to respond 20% quicker than the ‘standard’ Vanquish, and it also resulted in a lowered required input for steering response.
The brakes were also upgraded to accommodate bigger six piston calipers and bigger grooved and ventilated front discs. The rear discs are 2mm bigger for better heat dissipation. They used floating discs to give drivers the feel of a more consistent pedal during heavy breaking. A revised brake pedal assembly reduced travel and improved pedal feel.
Other innovations include the all-alloy, quad-overhead camshaft 48 valve, 6.0-liter V12 engine that increased the power from 460 bhp to 520 bhp (388kW) at 7000 rpm. The torque was also boosted so it can give 425 lb ft (577 Nm) at 5800 rpm.
Improvements on the engine include new cylinder heads with fully machined inlet ports and combustion chambers for better airflow. They also updated the engine mapping and placed new fuel injectors.
The final V12 Vanquish S Ultimate Edition rolls of the production linein July 2007
V12 Vanquish S Ultimate – the end of an era
In February 2007, Aston Martin announced that they will end new car production at Newport Pagnell. And production stopped until 2017 when the marque developed their successful Continuation program.
This historic announcement in 2007 was marked by the creation of a strictly limited run V12 Vanquish S Ultimate Edition sports cars.
The 40 cars were all made available by special request of their clients who wants to celebrate the last iteration of a highly significant car in Aston Martin’s history.
The cars were given a specific color and trim combination to set these cars apart. The coachwork was given an ‘Ultimate Black’ finish which is a unique metallic shade. For the interior, the cars were trimmed in semi-aniline leather with coarse stitching, leather headlining, and black chrome finish.
Each car also had a personalized sill plaque that displayed its limited-edition number.
A plaque denoting the final V12 Vanquish S Ultimate Edition
Aston Martin also produced a small number of white V12 Vanquish made for the Middle East, along with their European market Ultimate.
Paul Spires added, “Here at Newport we rightly celebrate the heritage of this great British sports car marque, with particular emphasis on icons such as the DB5 which were almost all built in this seemingly sometimes sleepy corner of Buckinghamshire. However, to also be able to lay claim to a ‘modern classic’ such as the original V12 Vanquish is a great honour for us, and I’m sure that in time people will come to view these cars with the same reverence that is afforded to the early DB cars.”
October 29, 2021 / Comments Off on The V12 Vanquish Celebrates 20-year anniversary
The Aston Martin brand has been around for many years, and always been recognized as a high-end, luxury sports car brand, with amazing road cars, but also with at least as impressive race cars, with a Palmares of winning the most prestigious races known to date, like the Aston Martin DBR1 from the Fifties, that not only won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1,000 km of Nürburgring in 1959, but also the latter both in 1957 and 1958.
The Aston Martin DBR1 debuted back in 1956 and become one of the most successful racecars on the scene, with some impressive drivers behind the wheel, for instance at the Spa Sportscar Race (1957, Tony Brooks); the Goodwood Tourist Trophy (1958, Sir Stirling Moss, Tony Brookes; 1959, Sir Stirling Moss, Carrol Shelby, Jack Fairman); and the 1000 Km at the Nurburgring (1959, Sir Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman) in the same year as that famous Le Mans triumph which culminated in Aston Martin taking the World Sportscar Championship.
Back in the late Fifties, this 3-0 Liter straight-six engine was already capable of reaching speeds over 150 Mph, only five were ever made, four of them used by Aston Martin Works themselves, and one as a private entry … none of them were ever legal to drive on the open road, however, this changes today with the introduction of the Aston Martin V12 Speedster DBR1 specification.
For this new limited-edition Aston Martin, only 88 units will be available to customers worldwide, there is only one shade that would be appropriate … Aston Martin Racing Green, complemented with Clubsport White pinstripe and roundels, a Satin Silver anodized grille with Clubsport lipstick graphic, Conker saddle leather, and Viridian Green technical textile/Caithness leather … as a reminder of what made the classic DBR1 the undisputed icon almost seventy years ago.
It seems open-top cars without a windshield are ‘en vogue’ these days, and this new Aston Martin V12 Speedster DBR1 is no exception, there is no protection from the elements inside this purposeful looking car, this car is meant to go fast without compromise, still, Aston Martin gives you the option of wearing a bespoke, color-coded helmet for both the driver and the passenger, sitting under transparent windows.
On the interior, we’ll find a mixture of gloss carbon fiber, Caithness Green leather, and satin silver brushed aluminum switchgear in the V12 Speedster’s open cabin that further underlines the homage to the motoring legend from the Fifties, while the massive 21-inch Satin black diamond polished wheels bring us back to the present day.
Each of the 88 units of this Aston Martin V12 Speedster will be hand-built at the Gaydon headquarters in the UK, after spending over 50 hours to create the perfect paint finish, the lucky customers will receive their car by mid-2021, and they might want to consider wearing those helmets, as this car, with no windshield or roof of any kind, is capable of reaching a top speed of 198 mph, the 700 PS V12 Twin Turbo engine with a capacity of 5.2-Liter puts down an acceleration of 0 to 62 mph in just 3.4 seconds …
April 28, 2021 / Comments Off on The Aston Martin V12 Speedster
