On show: V12 Vantage S, Vanquish Volante, technical partnership with Mercedes AMG
V12 Vantage S (pictured above)
Aston Martin’s smallest car, the Vantage, helped attract new buyers to the brand. With its pert styling and more efficient V8, here was a sports coupe that was easy on the eye and pocket, relatively speaking.
Now the Vantage has been transformed into what Aston Martin describes as its most extreme model yet and it’s easy to see why. Carbon fibre grilles and panels dominate the exterior, saving weight but giving the V12 S enough visual differentiation to mark it out as special.
Under that vented bonnet is a 565bhp 6.0-litre V12 making it the fastest Aston Martin production model, aside from the One-77 supercar, reaching 62mph in 3.9 seconds.
It’s also bristling with technology from Aston Martin’s GT racing programme with significant modifications to the engine, braking and suspension as well as the introduction of the Sportshift III seven-speed paddle-shift transmission.
Available to order now, the V12 Vantage S costs £138,000.
There’s more information about the Aston Martin Vantage in our review.
Vanquish Volante
Further marking Aston Martin’s centenary year is the luxurious new open-top Vanquish Volante.
Developed from the latest Vanquish coupe, the new Volante is a 2+2-seater with a spacious 279-litre boot whether or not the hood is up. The roof itself is triple-layer fabric arrangement taking just 14 seconds to electrically operate.
Despite being a convertible, an aluminium chassis and carbon fibre body panels ensure it remains both light and stiff and fitted with the same engine as the V12 Vantage S, it’s quick too. Top speed is 183mph while it should reach 62mph in just 4.1 seconds.
Unsurprisingly, the interior a luxurious mix of traditional and modern, with glass switchgear working in a manner similar to that of a touchscreen smartphone.
Priced from £199,995, the Vanquish Volante is available to buy now.
Technical partnership with Mercedes AMG
After a couple of years of public flirting, Aston Martin and Mercedes’ AMG arm have confirmed a technical collaboration which will see versions of the German performance brand’s V8 engines power future Aston Martins.
Exact details of which current or future Aston Martins the engines will appear in are yet to be revealed, as are power and torque figures, but AMG’s expertise promises great performance and a thunderous noise.
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