Speeding into profit?
ASTON Martin this week spearheaded Britain’s assault on the Geneva Motor Show with a new 200 mph- plus Ferrari-beater; part of a hattrick of new cars to boost profitability in these times of Brexit anxiety.
The new Vanquish Vision will go from rest to 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds when it hits the road in three years’ time. Shown as a prototype, it’s designed to be pretty and pack some performance.
Built at Gaydon in Warwickshire, it’s Aston’s first mid- engined series production supercar designed to sell in larger numbers rather than as limited- edition runs, but will still cost customers between £250,000 and £300,000.
The Vanquish was shown alongside the forthcoming £ 300,000 175mph electric Lagonda SUV which will be built at its new factory at St Athan in South Wales from 2022 ahead of a saloon version. And it shared stand space with the £1 million 200 mph-plus AM-RB 003 carbon fibre- clad mid- engined ‘hypercar’, limited to a run of 500 in collaboration with F1 raceoriented Red Bull Advanced Technologies. It will accelerate from rest to 62 mph in less than 3 seconds — a rival to the McLaren Senna from Woking and Italy’s La Ferrari.
Both this and the Vanquish will be powered by a new hybrid V6 engine — most likely 3 litre. But it will have to get its skates on if it wants to keep pace with Ferrari’s latest £200,000-plus F8 Tributo which, powered by a 710 bhp 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, will sprint from rest to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, and up to a top speed of 211mph.
The AM-RB 003 will be the fourth model in Aston’s midengined series following the Valkyrie, Valkyrie AMR Pro and the RB 003.
Using the Vanquish moniker revives an iconic name traditionally reserved for Aston Martin’s flagship production model.
The first-generation Vanquish, built as a grand tourer from 2001, featured the following year in the Bond film Die Another Day.