New Aston Martin Vanquish unveiled

Aston Martin has launched a new range topping car to replace the five-year-old DBS V-12, and named it the Vanquish. Prices start from £189,995 (about 1.67 crore rupees), and deliveries of the car will begin in the UK and Europe in late 2012.

The Vanquish borrows heavily in terms of design, production techniques, interior trim material and drive assists, from the limited edition One-77 supercar. Many design elements, both inside and outside the car have been improved on from the One-77. The most noticeable exterior features include the side profile which features an elongated strake, LED rear lights. The rear bootlid has a new aero duct, which acts as a wing creating downforce at high speeds. The Vanquish gets a revised version of the VH (Vertical Horizontal) chassis, 75 per cent of which is made of new parts. 

The Vanquish is powered by a front mid-mounted 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine, belting out 573PS of power and 620Nm of torque which, according to the company, can propel the 1.7-tonne car from 0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds going all the way up to a top speed of 295km/h. It has a revised block compared to the DBS, and uses dual variable valve timing to improve its performance. The engine is mated to a six-speed automated manual gearbox. The car is light despite its proportions because all the body panels of the car are made of carbon fibre, which also increases the car’s torsional rigidity. The Vanquish is equipped with a launch control system, a first on any car from the company’s stable.

The latest version of Aston Martin’s Adaptive Damping System (ADS) allows the driver to switch between three damping modes, Normal, Sport and Track. The car uses Brembo carbon ceramic brakes all around, the front brakes use 398mm x 36mm discs and six-piston brake callipers, while the rear brakes use 360mm x 32mm discs with four-piston callipers.

The Vanquish can be configured as a 2+2- or a 2+0-seater and comes with a spacious 368-litre boot. As with all Aston Martins, the interior trim of the car can be customised to one’s taste. The instrument panel is also derived from the One-77, with new detailing and improved ergonomics. The Vanquish gets a new Driver Information Module (DIM) which gets a more futuristic typeface. The speedo is now fully digital and so is the trip computer, which details the remaining range and the odometer. The centre stack is a direct descendent of the One-77 centre stack which is manufactured from a single piece of material, and retains familiar elements such as the ECU engine start button and gear selection buttons, while featuring a new infotainment system. The centre stack gets capacitive glass buttons with illumination and haptic feedback, more commonly found in touchscreen mobile phones.

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The original Vanquish, launched in 2001, changed the fortunes of the company; it featured Aston’s new design language and became quite popular when it appeared in the 2002 James Bond movie ‘Die Another Day’. The British car maker hopes to replicate the success of the earlier Vanquish with this new car.