Aston Martin V12 Vantage arrives!

This is one every Aston Martin lover has been waiting for.

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage promised so much when it was launched. It looked great, it sounded even better, and Aston Martin promised us it would be cheap (by Aston standards) and show the 911 how it was done. Well…

It didn’t quite make it. Yes, it looked gorgeous, it did sound great, but it wasn’t exactly fast. Brisk probably sums it up better. And it really didn’t wipe the floor with the Porsche 911, although the way it looked could make you forgive it most things.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage - The Real Vantage arrives!

But Aston improved things a bit last year with some revisions and a power boost, making the V8 Vantage a better car in the process. Still not ‘blow-your-socks-off’ fast. But better. But we knew the ‘Real’ Vantage was still to come.

Aston announced the concept back in 2007 as the Aston Martin Vantage V12 RS and, with Aston’s track record of making concepts a reality (even if, as with the Rapide, it takes forever), we waited patiently. And now we have it to look forward to at Geneva, as Aston has announced that the V12 Vantage will launch at the show in March.

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage is powered by Aston’s V12, delivering a very decent 510bhp and promising 0-60mph in just 4.1 seconds. That’s better! The manual gearbox sits at the back, drive is through a carbon fibre shaft and a diffuser at the back keeps things cool and planted.

Big carbon ceramic brakes are covered by 19″ wheels (9″ wide at the front, 11″ at the back) and a much stiffer set-up allows the V12 Vantage to pull 1.3g lateral. Carbon fibre abounds inside and out, and the seats are moulded kevlar. The V12 weighs 200 lbs more than the V8, but the carbon fibre weight saving has pared the overall weight penalty to half that.

Aston hasn’t revealed prices for each of the 1,000 cars to be made yet, but our guess is a base price around £140k. And for that you really will get a car that shows Porsche how it’s done.

Roll on Geneva, I say!

Aston Martin V12 Vantage 2009 Specification

Body
Two door, two seat coupe body
Bonded aluminium structure
Aluminium, magnesium alloy, composite and steel body
Extruded aluminium door side impact beams
High Intensity Discharge Headlamps (dipped beam)
Halogen projector headlamps (main beam)
LED rear lamps

Engine
All alloy quad overhead cam 48 valve 5935cc V12
Compression ratio 10.9:1
Front mid-mounted engine, rear wheel drive
Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active bypass valves

Maximum Power
510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS) at 6500 rpm

Maximum Torque
570 Nm (420 lb.ft) at 5750 rpm

Acceleration
0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.2 seconds
0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds

Maximum Speed
190 mph (305 km/h)

Fuel Economy
Urban 11.64 mpg 24.26 l/100km
Extra Urban 24.05 mpg 11.74 l/100km
Combined 17.28 mpg 16.35 l/100km

CO2 388 g/km

Transmission
Rear mid-mounted six speed manual gearbox. Alloy torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft
Limited slip differential
Final Drive Ratio 3.71:1

Steering
Rack and pinion
Column tilt and reach adjustment

Suspension
Front: Independent double wishbone incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube dampers
Rear: Independent double wishbones with anti-squat and anti-lift geometry, dual-rate coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube dampers

Wheels
Front: 9″ x 19″
Rear: 11″ x 19″

Tyres
Front: Pirelli P Zero Corsa 255/35 ZR19
Rear: Pirelli P Zero Corsa 295/30 ZR19

Brakes
Front: Ventilated Carbon Ceramic discs 398 mm diameter with six piston callipers
Rear: Ventilated Carbon Ceramic discs 360 mm diameter with four piston callipers
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Track mode
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
Emergency Brake Assist (EBA)
Traction Control

Length: 4380 mm (172.5″)
Width: 1865 mm (73.5″) (excluding door mirrors)
2025 mm (80″) (including door mirrors)
Height: 1241 mm (49″)
Wheelbase: 2600 mm (107.9″)
Fuel tank capacity: 80 litres (17.6 Imp. Gal. / 21.1 US Gal)
Weight: 1680 kgs (3704 lb)