V12 Vantage a sell-out success
Aston Martin has announced details of its last ever twinturbocharged V12-powered Vantage.
The Gaydon-based marque will produce only 333 examples of the specially honed variant.
With outputs of 515kw at 6500rpm and 753Nm between 1800-6000rpm from its 5.2-litre mill, the final V12 Vantage is the most powerful yet.
It is said to accelerate from zero to 100kmh in 3.4 seconds and go on to a top speed of 320kmh.
The engine is paired exclusively to an eight-speed Zf-sourced automatic transmission driving the rear wheels via a mechanical limited-slip diff.
Aston Martin says it has worked to deliver ‘utmost performance and unmatched enjoyment’ from its widebody model, of which the order book is already closed.
Since the model’s confirmation in December 2021, there has been unprecedented demand for its ‘future icon’ and an ‘oversubscribed register of interest waiting in the wings’.
The use of carbon-fibre in the front bumper, bonnet, front guards and side sills, a lightweight battery as well as a composite rear bumper and boot lid, trim the V12-engined Vantage’s kerb weight, while the tuned stainlesssteel exhaust is said to emit a soulful soundtrack.
For optimal dynamism, in addition to a wider wheel track, the V12 Vantage is equipped with a newly calibrated adaptive damping system, larger anti-roll bars, firmer bushes and uprated springs and dampers.
Aston Martin says the model’s spring rates are firmer, combined with top-mount stiffness increasing by 13 percent and anti-roll bars that are five percent stiffer at the front and a staggering 41 percent softer at the rear.
Additional front and rear sheer panels, a rear suspension tower strut brace and fuel-tank bracing increase body stiffness by eight percent and lateral stiffness by 6.7 percent. The changes are supported by a recalibrated steering setup and stopping power courtesy of 410mm carbon ceramic rotors up front and 360mm discs with fourpiston clamps.
The final V12 Vantage is available with a choice of two 21-inch alloy wheel designs shod with Michelin Pilot 4S rubber.
To improve cooling, the front grille of the V12 Vantage is 25 percent larger than before.
It is complemented by a horse-shoe
shaped vent set into the bonnet and a unique diffuser built into the rear bumper. The rear wing contributes to a maximum downforce pressure of 204kg at top speed, though this can be deleted from the build sheet if it is not to the customer’s taste.
The interior of the V12 Vantage is unchanged from that of the model it is based upon, apart for the inclusion of Aston Martin’s Sport Plus Seats trimmed in semi-aniline leather with Wings quilt and perforation pattern.
Six-way adjustable exposed carbonfibre performance seats, which further reduce the vehicle’s overall weight, are optional.
Aston Martin chief executive Tobias Moers said every great sportscar brand had a hero car.
“For Aston Martin, in more recent years, that car has been the V12 Vantage,” he said.
“Right from the moment the first V12 Vantage RS Concept was shown back in 2007, our customers and fans around the world fell in love with the idea of fitting our biggest engine into our smallest and most sporting model.
“The recipe has been refined over the years with great success, but the essence has remained the same.
“Now it is time to bring this bloodline to a close, fittingly with the most spectacular example yet – the fastest, most powerful and most dynamically capable V12 Vantage ever.
“A celebration of its forebears and an embodiment of Aston Martin’s intensifying focus on driving dynamics, it ensures the V12 Vantage goes out on the highest of highs.”
Production of the V12 is due to start in this quarter, with first deliveries scheduled to begin shortly after.
The next-generation Vantage, which is slated for arrival in 2025, will be purely electric.