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Vanquish (1998-2007)
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  The flagship of the Aston Martin range for the new Millennium is the V12 Vanquish. Whilst the Project Vantage was first seen in 1998 - a prototype designed to show the potential future direction of Aston Martin, the finished production car was finally unveiled at the 2001 Geneva Salon, The Vanquish is by far and away the most advanced car AML, or parent company Ford, have ever made.
The extremely stiff chassis of the Vanquish is formed from both extruded aluminium sections and carbon fibre. The body, designed by Ian Callum, famous for the DB7, is formed from superformed aluminium, which is then finished and fitted by hand. Under the bonnet is a more powerful version of the 6.0 litre V12 first seen in the DB7 Vantage, with 450 bhp. This will allow the Vanquish to reach in excess of 190 mph and achieve acceleration from rest to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. It is true to say that this sort of performance appears to be only just on par with the previous flagship Aston Martin, the V8 Vantage V600. But these figures hide the enormous advance that the Vanquish has made over the V8's.
By late 2002, the Vanquish became all the more desirable after a starring role in the recent James Bond film, Die Another Day. Almost 40 years has elapsed since Bond received a much modified DB5, now Q branch has excelled itself with a Vanquish, not just with an essential ejector seat, but with so many more 'hidden' talents.
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Apr 09, 2012
