Autocar

It rides flat and firm and now has much better turn-in and grip

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emits four distinct but harmonisin­g sounds at once: treble and bass lines, a classic rustle from the valve gear and a faint, refined whine from the camshaft drive system. Also, a new exhaust box forms part of the large and effective underbody diffuser.

Callum and Donfrances­co say the idea is to enhance the grand touring capabiliti­es and driving quality of the Vanquish, and that’s most definitely what they’ve achieved. The engine isn’t obtrusive until it’s really pulling (which it can rarely do on a public road) and always sounds wonderful. The car rides flat and firm and has much better turn-in and grip than before, thanks to its modern hardware. It stops beautifull­y, too, using Aston’s latest-specificat­ion – and large – carbon-ceramic brakes.

However, two things really stand out for me from the dynamic package. One is the new excellence of the steering, whose impressive precision and deliberate effort levels are now far more appropriat­e and deliver a whole new level of sophistica­tion. The upshot is a much more directiona­lly stable car.

The other is the ride quality: f lat, controlled and beautifull­y damped, accompanie­d by a refreshing lack of tyre noise, because so much work has been done to suppress the original obtrusive road roar. In all, the twin aims of enhancing driver reward and grand touring ability have both been impressive­ly achieved.

Callum and his friends are distinctly coy about what they might do next. After all, at their level of detail, this run of modified Vanquishes will take many months to complete. But it’s apparent that there might be an even more special Vanquish on the stocks and that other projects, automotive and otherwise, are already in the frame. Callum was once merely a designer. Now he’s a brand as well.

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 ??  ?? Aston V12 is now more potent – and prettier
Aston V12 is now more potent – and prettier

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