Aston Martin Vanquish (2012)

The second generation of the Aston Martin Vanquish, a grand touring car, was manufactured and marketed by British carmaker Aston Martin between 2012 and 2018. It succeeded the DBS, resurrected the name of the 2001–2007 model, and was available as both a coupe and a convertible, the latter known as the Volante. It would later itself be succeeded by the DBS Superleggera.

Designed by Marek Reichman, Aston Martin presented a concept car called the Project AM310 at the 2012 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Lombardy, Italy. The production version was presented at a sneak preview at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July; a presentation to a group of guests at the London Film Museum also in July; and an appearance at the Monterey Car Week in August. The Vanquish is based on the DB9's architecture, namely the vertical/horizontal platform. Extensively incorporating aluminium in its construction, the Vanquish was assembled in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England.

Aston Martin presented the Vanquish Volante at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, with deliveries starting in late 2013. In 2014, the company made minor modifications to the Vanquish's engine performance. A more significantly modified version, called the Vanquish S, was launched in 2016; its Volante version was released the following year. The Vanquish S introduced such updates as increased horsepower and torque, and a new body kit. Aston Martin produced the Vanquish Zagato—a special edition—in various body styles, including a coupe, convertible, shooting brake, and a roadster, the latter dubbed the Speedster.

History

Aston Martin presented the DB9, initially designed by Ian Callum and completed by Henrik Fisker, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003. The DB9 was the first car to employ Aston Martin's " vertical/horizontal" (VH) platform and the first production model built at Aston Martin's factory in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. At the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show, Aston Martin debuted the Vantage, a sports car designed by Callum and Fisker. Built on the VH platform, the Vantage was engineered to compete with the Porsche 911 and other premium sports cars. In 2007, Aston Martin began producing the DBS, which succeeded the V12 Vanquish.

At the May 2012 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, Aston Martin presented a concept car called the Project AM310. In June 2012 the company announced that the production version of the car would be called the Vanquish, resurrecting the name of the 2001–2007 model and succeeding the DBS as the company's flagship car. The Vanquish was shown at several events in 2012: a sneak preview at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, a presentation to a group of guests at the London Film Museum in the same month, and an appearance at the Monterey Car Week in August. Official manufacture of the car began in the same year at Gaydon, which produced the Vanquish until 2018, when it was succeeded by the DBS Superleggera, which also used a V12 engine.

Design and technology

The Vanquish, designed by Marek Reichman, is based upon Aston Martin's VH platform. The Vanquish's aluminium structure is thirty per cent stiffer and lighter than that of its predecessor, and its bodywork is made of carbon fibre. The car has 25 percent more torsional rigidity than its predecessor due to the carbon fibre subframe and a large, extruded cross-member. The Vanquish features anti-roll bars and double wishbone suspension supported by coil springs. The aluminium structure of the Vanquish is mostly unchanged from the DBS, DB9 and Rapide, except for a redesigned front-end that is significantly lighter. This allows the engine to be mounted lower than in the DBS.

The Vanquish has been described as both a sports car and a grand tourer. It is a two-door coupe available in both two- and four-seating configurations. The Vanquish has a front-mid mounted engine and a rear-wheel drive configuration. The braking system has ventilated carbon ceramic discs. The Vanquish has a three-stage adjustable adaptive damping system which allows the driver to choose between normal, sport, and track modes. The vehicle incorporates Pirelli P Zero tyres. The United States Environmental Protection Agency reported that the Vanquish has a fuel consumption rating of . According to ''The Sunday Times'', the car has a emission rating of .

The Vanquish uses a 5.9-litre V12 engine that produces a power output of at 6,750 revolutions per minute (rpm) and a torque output of at 5,500 rpm, sufficient to give the car a 0 to acceleration of 4.1 seconds and a top speed of . The vehicle was initially available exclusively with a six-speed ' Touchtronic' automatic transmission manufactured by ZF Friedrichshafen. In 2014, Aston Martin introduced technical updates to the Vanquish model. The modifications included a new eight-speed automatic transmission, known as 'Touchtronic III', and an upgraded engine that produces and of torque, sufficient to give the car a 0 to acceleration time of 3.6 seconds and a maximum speed of .

The Vanquish's design incorporates a tilt-telescoping steering wheel, bi-xenon headlamps, LED tail-lights, leather and Alcantara, power front seats with memory, and cooling and heating systems. Its connectivity features include Bluetooth, satellite radio and compatibility with USB. Other standard features include a thirteen-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system. The cargo space of the Vanquish—the cabin and boot—measures , which is more than 60 percent larger than that of the DBS.

Variants

Vanquish Volante

Aston Martin presented the Vanquish Volante—the convertible version of the Vanquish—at the 2013 edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and it began deliveries in late 2013. It exclusively has four seats. Its maximum speed remains unchanged, but its 0 to acceleration decreased to 4.2 seconds. Weighing , the Vanquish Volante is heavier than the coupe and heavier than the DBS Volante. The suspension system was adjusted to accommodate the added weight. The convertible top of the Volante, which is made of triple-layer fabric, can open in fourteen seconds. The car has a boot space capacity of . As with the coupe, its standard three-stage adaptive damping system offers normal, sport, and track modes, which also adjust the electronic stability control and throttle response.

Vanquish S

Aston Martin introduced the Vanquish S, an updated version of the Vanquish, at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2016. Its power output was increased to whilst its torque output remained at . Aston Martin improved the response time of the transmission. The Vanquish S can accelerate from 0 to in 3.5 seconds and the top speed remains unchanged at . The Vanquish S also features a new body kit composed of exposed carbon fibre, diamond-turned alloy wheels and carbon bonnet louvres. The seats can be upholstered in Bridge of Weir Caithness leather. Andy Palmer, the chief executive officer of Aston Martin, stated that the Vanquish S "ookthings a step further, confidently asserting itself within the Aston Martin range and distinguishing itself from the new DB11".

Vanquish Zagato

Aston Martin produced four versions of the Vanquish Zagato, a collaboration between Aston Martin and the coachbuilding company Zagato, comprising such body styles as the coupe, convertible, shooting brake, and "Speedster". Aston Martin introduced a concept version of Vanquish Zagato at the May 2016 edition of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. On June 21, 2016, Aston Martin announced plans to produce a Vanquish Zagato coupe in a limited series of 99 units. The first vehicles were delivered in early 2017.

Aston Martin debuted the convertible version—called the Vanquish Zagato Volante—at the 2016 edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance; deliveries also began in 2017 and 99 units were produced. At the 2017 edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Aston Martin unveiled the Vanquish Zagato Speedster, a roadster version of the car; 28 units were manufactured. In August 2017, Aston Martin announced the final model of the series, the shooting brake, of which 99 were produced. In comparison to the normal Vanquish, the Zagato incorporates a larger grille with integrated fog lamps, a more prominent rear spoiler and circular tail-lights.

Reception

The journalist Jeremy Clarkson appreciated the Vanquish’s performance and styling, noting that "it's a lovely car ..flowing and smooth when you want it to be, raucous and mad when you don't and utterly, bewitchingly beautiful always." Clarkson also praised its "delightful" interior, though one of his contemporaries, A. A. Gill, disagreed, complaining that " 's like being in one of those executive-desk drawer dividers ..I feel like I'm a roll of Sellotape". ''The Independent''s John Simister criticised the car's two small rear seats, describing them "largely pointless", but he noted that the engine sounded "magnificently crisp and rich". Jaclyn Trop, writing for ''The Boston Globe'', described the Vanquish S as a "bone-shaker" and "the Mother of God", praising its "thunderous" engine. The car reviewers Edmunds noted that its "acceleration is impressive, though not as terrifying as similar supercars", while noting that its performance was incongruous with the high price.

Mike Duff of the magazine ''Car and Driver'' stated that the interior of the Vanquish S features "beautiful materials and nelegant design mostly distracting occupants from the reality that there really isn't very much to play with". Duff also held concerns with the Vanquish's usage of the VH platform, noting that "plenty of the stuff you'd find on a mainstream car costing a tenth of the ricejust isn't there". Philip King of the newspaper ''The Australian'' praised the Vanquish's "sweetly precise" throttle and brakes but criticised its ageing design, stating that "next to the DB11, the Vanquish looks muscular but old-fashioned".

Notes, references and sources

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{{Aston Martin timeline 2000 to date

Vanquish
Cars introduced in 2012
Cars discontinued in 2018
Coupés
Convertibles
Flagship vehicles
Grand tourers
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
2010s cars