Aston Martin's big V12 grand tourer will soon be replaced – or better said extensively refreshed – by the Vanquish. If this name sounds familiar, that's because Gaydon's favorite son used it a few times already, beginning with the original V12 Vanquish and the slightly more refined V12 Vanquish S.
Then came Project AM310 Concept, a DB9-based show car that ultimately morphed into the second-generation Vanquish in 2012. Come 2016 for the 2017 model year, the Vanquish S moniker was resurrected for a punchier and more aerodynamic take on the second-generation Vanquish. It didn't sell in large numbers, which prompted Aston Martin to reassess the Vanquish within the model lineup.
Enter the Vanquish Vision Concept from the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, a mid-engine supercar with a V6 that was eventually canned by the British automaker. The carbon-bodied supercar could have launched before Ferrari's 296 and McLaren's Artura, but the project was canceled altogether in December 2023 due to a combination of poor financials and Lawrence Stroll's absolute focus on improving the company's existing models.
That should have been the bitter end of the Vanquish nameplate, yet Aston Martin has revived it once again for the successor of the DBS Superleggera. Recently spied testing on the public roads near the Nurburgring racetrack in Germany, the new Vanquish could be confused with the V8-powered Aston Martin DB12 at first glance.
Look a little closer, and you'll notice a larger front grille and more aero trickery going on there. Under the camo wrap on the hood, you'll also notice larger vents than those of the DB12. Pictured on Pirelli hi-po rubber as opposed to the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 S tires of the DB12, the Vanquish further differs from the Vantage's grand touring-oriented brother by means of a quad-piped exhaust system and completely different taillights from the DB12.
Photo: SH Proshots
The rear aerodynamic diffuser also reveals that we're dealing with a more driver-oriented car. As it stands, the soon-to-be-revealed Vanquish is the most driver-oriented car in the lineup after the V12-powered Valkyrie and the V8-powered Valhalla hypercars. To whom it may concern, those aero monsters develop 1,160 and 998 horsepower.
Gifted with a similar cockpit to that of the DB12, which includes a touchscreen rather than Merc's COMAND rotary controller knob infotainment system, the Vanquish packs a new V12. The force-fed engine was teased at the beginning of May 2024, but Aston Martin did not explain how new it actually is compared to the outgoing AE31 of the DBS Superleggera and the DBS 770 Ultimate.
On the other hand, the British marque was kind enough to confirm 835 ps and 1,000 Nm of torque, numbers that convert to 824 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of tire-shredding torque. In other words, Aston Martin intends to challenge Ferrari's naturally aspirated 12Cilindri with a more powerful and torquier grand tourer.
Expected to be revealed in August 2024 during the Monterey Car Week, the latest incarnation of the Vanquish won't be the last-ever Aston Martin production vehicle with V12 oomph. Big kahuna Lawrence Stroll has recently said that hybrid assistance is coming to the brand's twin-turbo V12, and in order to keep fossil-fuel models alive beyond 2030, hybridization will extend to the automaker's V8 models. The aforementioned Valhalla is a plug-in hybrid affair with three electric motors assisting the FPC V8 supplied by Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News