>>Aston Martin Vanquish

Aston Martin Vanquish

Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

Manufacturer	Aston Martin
Production	2001-2007
Model years	2002-2007 2002-2006 (United States & Canada)
Assembly	Newport Pagnell, England
Predecessor	Aston Martin Virage/Vantage (twin supercharged)
Successor	Aston Martin DBS V12
Class	Grand Tourer
Body style	2-door coupé
Layout	FMR layout
Engine	5.9 L V12
Transmission	6-speed manual
Wheelbase	2,690 mm (105.9 in)
Length	4,666 mm (183.7 in)
Width	1,923 mm (75.7 in)
Height	1,318 mm (51.9 in)
Kerb weight	1,835 kg (4,045 lb)
Related	Aston Martin Vantage Aston Martin Rapide Aston Martin DB9 Aston Martin DBS

The Aston Martin Vanquish is a grand tourer, designed by Ian Callum and manufactured by Aston Martin. The Vanquish was unveiled at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show and was produced from June 2001 to September 2004 with the later Vanquish S being produced from September 2004 to July 2007. Its rise to recognition by the wider public came after being featured as the official James Bond car in the film Die Another Day. The Vanquish was succeeded by the DBS.

Design

The Aston Martin Vanquish was designed by Ian Callum and bore a large resemblance to the production DB7 Vantage. However, the car had a strong influence from the 'Project Vantage' prototype concept car which debuted with a V12 engine at the North American International Auto Show in January 1998. As underneath the car featured a strong aluminium/carbon composite construction, bonded chassis with a 6.0 L V12 with 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS).

It was available in 2+0 and 2+2 seating configurations.

To keep alive the flagship Vanquish name with the introduction of the popular DB9, Aston Martin upgraded the Vanquish to 514 bhp (383 kW; 521 PS), uprated the suspension and improved the cars aerodynamic efficiency.The Vanquish production ended on 19 July 2007, coinciding with the shutting of the company's Newport Pagnell factory after forty nine years of operation.

Specification

Engine

Aston Martin Vanquish rear view

The Vanquish is powered by a 6.0 L (5935 cc, 5.9L Actual) 48-valve 60° V12 engine, which produces 456 PS (335 kW; 450 bhp) and 540 N·m (400 lb·ft) of torque. It is controlled by a drive-by-wire throttle and a 6 speed Electrohydraulic manual transmission. The Vanquish S upped the power to 521 PS (383 kW; 514 bhp) and 576 N·m (425 lb·ft).

Performance

Model	Power	Torque	0–100 km/h (0–62 mph)	Top Speed
Vanquish	456 PS (335 kW; 450 bhp) @ 6,500 rpm	540 N·m (400 lb·ft) @ 5000 rpm	4.3 secs	189.5 mph (305.0 km/h)
Vanquish S	521 PS (383 kW; 514 bhp) @ 7,000 rpm	576 N·m (425 lb·ft)	4.0 secs	204 mph (328 km/h)

Brakes

The standard Vanquish model had 355 mm (14 in) drilled and ventilated disc brakes with 4-pot calipers, ABS, with electronic brake distribution, while the Vanquish S featured larger 378 mm (14.9 in) front discs with 6-pot calipers and 330 mm (13.0 in) rear discs.

Aerodynamics

As part of its improvements, the Vanquish S featured a slightly improved coefficient of drag of 0.32 (from 0.33), with help from a redesigned splitter and boot lid. It's front and rear track were 1524 mm (60 in) and 1529 mm (60 in), respectively.

Vanquish S

The S model of the Vanquish debuted at the 2004 Paris Auto Show, with increased power and performance and slight styling revisions. The engine was bored and stroked slightly, increasing displacement to 6.0 litres, with power increased from 450 to 514 horsepower. Visual changes included new wheels, a slightly different nose shape, a new raised bootlid with a larger integrated spoiler incorporating the third high level brake light (in the rear window on the original Vanquish), a Vanquish S badge on the bootlid (the original Vanquish had no rear model designation) and the addition of a small front splitter (although this was mainly done for aerodynamic reasons).

Black Aston Martin Vanquish S

It also incorporated the features of a 2004 option package, the Sports Dynamic Pack, which incorporated sportier suspension, steering, and brake features. This model was sold for the 2005 (alongside the base Vanquish) and 2006 (as a stand-alone) model years in the United States with only minor running changes; it was not sold in the United States for 2007.

The end of the Vanquish's production run was celebrated with the Vanquish S Ultimate Edition. Aston Martin announced that the last 40 cars built would have a new 'Ultimate Black’ exterior colour, upgraded interior, and personalised sill plaques. More significantly, the Ultimate Edition was the first Vanquish to be offered from the factory with a conventional manual gearbox manual transmission. The semi-automatic gearbox in the original Vanquish had been widely criticised (notably by Jeremy Clarkson on the BBC's Top Gear program), so this change was greeted with approval by the automotive press. Aston Martin offered to retrofit the new manual gearbox to any Vanquish, for a cost of £13,250.

Conceptual variants

Aston Martin was frequently rumoured to be considering a convertible version of the Vanquish, especially in response to the Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina, but no such version ever emerged. The Vanquish was the basis of two concept cars, both shown at theInternational Geneva Motor Show in 2004, the Zagato Roadster (a 2-seat convertible) and the Bertone Jet 2 (a 2-door shooting brake).

Appearances in media

In its appearance in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day (driven by Bond who was being played for the final time by Pierce Brosnan) earned the Vanquish the number three spot on the list of Best Film Cars Ever, behind the Minis from The Italian Job, and DB5 from Goldfinger & Thunderball. This car also appears in the 2002 video game Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2.

Revival

On June 4, 2012, Car Magazine obtained a spy shot of the successor to the Aston Martin DBS which reveals the flagship will be called the Vanquish once again. The car was previously unveiled as the Aston Martin AM310 concept.