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This is the new Aston Martin V12 Vantage, a car that Aston has described as “the most potent sports car in this marque’s 95-year history”.

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage will make its public debut at the Geneva show in early March, ahead of an on-sale date in May. Although the final price has not been fixed, it’s expected to cost around £140,000. Aston is aiming to build a total of 1000 examples.

The six-speed manual Aston Martin V12 Vantage has 510bhp and 420lb ft on tap from its 6....Read the full article

Nice wheels. Look familiar. Are they not the spit of the lovely 20" rims just launched on the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia? See: http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/TestGallery.aspx?RT=235202&ED=55526&IM=193645

Looks amazing and that engine will be awesome, but it needs more than 510bhp if it is to cost £100K +

Nice looking car, apart from the bonnet.

What with this and the DBS I'm growing increasingly concerned that the new owners of Aston Martin are Max Power readers.

Agreed. The wheels are truly nasty, and the bonnet slats look very aftermarket. Yuk! It is also unbelieveably heavy for such a small car. What is the point? Who is going to buy it in the current times?

Yep, the wheels look very aftermarket, the big engine sounds nose heavy and the price seems plain silly. I like the overall look but I think this will fall down next to a Scuderia or GT2.

The weight indicates its more of a GT car than an outright supercar, The Gallardo LP560-4 is vastly lighter but usable everyday, and the same power and weight Audi R8 V10 only comes in at £99k in the UK, but scarily (and I do seem to be relating everything back to Jaguar at the moment) the new 5.0 XKR seems its closest competitor - it has very similar horsepower, looks, weight, intended role etc for £72k, that's HALF PRICE, and is likely to be built better and have a higher list of std equipment than the Vantage too.

This, along with the DBS and the Rapide shows Aston has its head in the clouds with its current pricing structure. This car needs to be under £100k to have any chance at all.

There was some speculation (admittedly by TopGear ) that this car would be called the Vanquish. I guess not though.

 

It's really the details of this car which makes it interesting.

While power is up, weight isn't by as much as you'd expect.   Weight has been saved somewhere so that it's less than the difference in engine weight.

Spring rates are up substantially.   This is seriously hardcore.

Downforce is also up.   Given that many cars seem to develop rear end lift this is impressive.

Brakes are large carbon discs.   The car has extra cooling everywhere, including the rear diff.   This is meant to be driven, hard.

Still got comfy seats - although race types are an option.   Certainly very Aston Martin.

Only 1,000 will be made.   Limited numbers will keep the value of the car high.

Overall it's very much an Aston Martin without it's gloves on, but don't compare it with other cars such as the Ferrari and Porsche.   It's going for a different type of person, one who wants power & performance but also a touch of class that other marques aren't providing.   Ferrari and Porsche just do different products from what Aston are trying to do, and so much the better for us all.

 

fioravanti:

Agreed. The wheels are truly nasty

Yip, they look very after-market.   I've seen adverts for a company who do similar wheels for various cars such as Jaguar and Range Rover / X5.   They just look....   Cheap.

Symanski:

Only 1,000 will be made.   Limited numbers will keep the value of the car high.

Are there 1000 foot ballers out there to buy this car?

TegTypeR:

Are there 1000 foot ballers out there to buy this car?

You'll only need 500; I imagine they'll all crash at least one.

Symanski:

fioravanti:

Agreed. The wheels are truly nasty

Yip, they look very after-market.   I've seen adverts for a company who do similar wheels for various cars such as Jaguar and Range Rover / X5.   They just look....   Cheap.

Maybe it's just me, I like them, but the 'louvre doors' on the bonnet are ridiculous.