Aston Martin V12 Vantage

By Jay Williams - 5/February/2009

Gaydon, England – There are now 12 reasons to buy an Aston Martin Vantage, one of the world's most alluring sports cars.

Aston Martin's most popular model, the Vantage, has been given a bold power increase which finally provides the exotic car enough gusto to run with the stallions and the bulls from mainland Europe.

Aston Martin has changed a lot over its history. In 1913, when it was founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, the company made slow, ungainly vehicles.

Today is a different story, with the likes of such beautifully hand-crafted machines as the DB9S and of course the Vantage making mouths water the world over. 

But is it just me or do all of Aston Martin's vehicles, though pretty, look the same? Even the new 4-door Rapide looks like a stretched version of this car...

Anyway, the people over at Aston Martin have either come to their senses or gone completely mad (depending on how you see it) by stuffing a powerful 390 kilowatt V12 engine under the Vantage's hood, which sees a big 75kW gain over the more sedate V8 Vantage model.

The new model will be launched at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March.

While most car makers are heading down the supercharged or turbocharged path to increase power, Aston is doing things the old-fashioned way by going for more cubes. 

Check out the engine and performance specifications:

Power: 390kw @ 7000rpm
Torque: 570Nm @ ????rpm
Top speed: 305km/h (190mph)
0-100km/h: 4.2 seconds

This is what the fans have been crying out for - some real grunt to back up Aston's universally acclaimed design prowess and as the figures attest, it's not as slow as the V8's 4.7 second dash, taking just 4.2 seconds to do the woah to go.

Now the power figures may not sound as impressive as they should (Ferrari's V12 is significantly more beastly) but the 6.0-litre V12 will however ensure one ultra-sonorous engine note.

Aston Martin's boss man, Dr Ulrich Bez, said: "This is the ultimate performance interpretation of the Vantage range, combining our most agile model with our most powerful engine. It represents the definitive driving package; providing spectacular performance to ensure a dynamically thrilling and everyday useable driving experience.

"The V12 Vantage has a unique character, one unlike our other cars. This will appeal to different people with different tastes, allowing more people to enjoy the Aston Martin experience.

"This also illustrates one of Aston Martin's key strengths – the ability to act quickly and turn concepts and ideas into reality," said the Doctor.

In the looks department the Aston Martin V12 Vantage has a few exterior differences to the V8 Vantage model, like a new front bumper with larger air intakes, a lower carbon fibre lip and new alloy wheels .

These minor changes give the overweight luxury sports car a more aggressive look.

Aerodynamic side skirts, new wheels, and a ventilated hood (which improves the engine bay's thermal dynamics) will also be spotted by eagle-eyed Aston followers. 

A quick tour around the rear of the vehicle and you will notice a slightly larger rear spoiler, a sweet-looking rear diffuser, a new dual exhaust system with larger tips which look awesome (insert high-pitched voice here) and clear taillights that add just a little more class to the overall package.

The name Aston Martin has always been synonymous with class, elegance and style: let me introduce you to Bond, James Bond. Sound familiar? The Aston Martin has been renowned as a Bond car and the DB model range has always had that finely-crafted class about it, and the Vantage comes from the same mould with hand stitched leather covering almost every surface.

The folks over at Aston expect to begin delivering the new V12 Vantage to customers later in the year and have planed to limit production to just 1,000 units, keeping things nice and exclusive. Though in today's economic climate, I'm not sure if that counts for much anymore.

Related Links:
- Aston Martin One-77: Leaked (2009)
- Aston Martin One-77 (2009)
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2009)
- Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS (2008)
- Aston Martin DBS (2008)
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster (2007)
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2005)
- Aston Martin DB7 Zagato (2003)