It takes a special car to make a V12-powered Ferrari look modest by comparison. But the Aston Martin Vanquish is most definitely a special car.
Aston Martin’s striking new addition has arrived in Australia to take the fight directly to Ferrari and its potent 12Cilindri. Despite the Italian machine making 611kW of power and 678Nm of torque, the Vanquish blows it away thanks to its twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 punching out a whopping 614kW and staggering 1000Nm.
Aston Martin Australia chief, Nathan Lowe, described the Vanquish as the “apex” of the brand, designed to be its flagship above the DB12 and Vantage with its “Ferrari-beating power.” It’s the only V12 left in the British brand’s line-up (now that all the Valkyrie’s have been accounted for), with the others relying on the AMG-built twin-turbo V8.
The V12 engine features a unique titanium exhaust and is paired to an eight-speed automatic transaxle that drives the rear wheels. The combination is enough to propel the Vanquish to a top speed of 345km/h, enough to make it the fastest production car the brand has ever produced.
Befitting its role as the brand’s flagship the Vanquish has a clear visual link to the brand’s heritage, and has the largest grille of any Aston Martin for both tradition but also to feed enough air into the massive engine.
While it has some visual similarities to the DB12, the Vanquish is 80mm longer, with the extra length added between the front wheels and A-pillar in order to set the engine as far back as possible. To keep weight down on what is a sizeable car, the entire body is made from carbon fibre.
Sales of the two-seat machine have already begun, with customers not deterred by the $737,000 starting price. However, Lowe made it clear that there is a cap on the amount of Vanquish that will come to Australia in order to keep them exclusive.
“There’s limits to what we can do, and will do, in this country,” he said.
So if you want one of these to either replace your Ferrari or to join it, you better act quickly.
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