On 11 December 2007, Aston Martin held a party to mark the opening of their first dedicated design studio at Aston Martin Gaydon headquarters. As part of the celebrations, then CEO, Dr Bez unveiled a concept car based on the V8 Vantage.
Commenting proudly Dr Ulrich Bez said: "This is the ultimate performance interpretation of the Vantage range, combining our most agile model with our most powerful engine. It represents the definitive driving package; providing spectacular performance to ensure a dynamically thrilling and everyday useable driving experience."
The car he was talking about was the V12 Vantage RS concept. Whilst this was a private party, the car V12 was officially revealed to the world at the Geneva Motorshow in March 2008.At both Gaydon and Geneva, the general customer reaction was incredibly positive.
The launch colour for the car was called Mako Blue. It was not hugely different to Concours Blue that was used as the launch colour for the Aston Martin One-77.Both colours were chosen for their ability to show the incredible lines of the respective designs.
The name of the colour drew inspiration from the Mako shark, which is the fastest and most agile shark known to man. The Maori translation for 'Mako' is 'Blue Lightning'.
The V12 Vantage RS as an initial concept was extremely raw and focused. Aston Martin had worked incredibly hard on saving weight. It was stripped of essentials to achieve this - no ABS, traction control, air conditioning, satellite navigation, or sound system.
With such a focused approach, the RS was lighter than the V8 at 1,600kg and enjoyed a power-to-weight ratio of 370bhp per ton. This was also achieved by the fitting of what was essentially the same engine as fitted to the DBRS9 GT racer, producing 580bhp.
Critically, the V12 Vantage RS demonstrated that packaging the largest AM V12 in the smallest body was possible. Nevertheless, the RS concept was just a little too stripped and sparse to be a viable road car but with a little tweaking and finessing, the V12 Vantage was created.
Starting production in 2009, the V12 Vantage was initially on sale for £135,000.It featured the handbuilt AM11V12 engine from the DBS and produced 510 bhp. By opening the bonnet, you could see that every inch of spare space had been utilised to accommodate the 5.9 litre, naturally aspirated V12.
The front crash structure was adapted to accommodate the longer V12 alongside a new cooling pack, revised radiators and a new sump was also developed that allowed the unit to sit low enough to be able to close the bonnet!
Visually, for an extremely fast car, the aesthetics of the V12 Vantage could be described as restrained menace. It had a shorter wheelbase than the DBS (approximately 140mm less) which made it more nimble. For reference, it was a little shorter than a Porsche 911 of the same era.
The first visual clue to spot a V12 Vantage was the four carbon bonnet vents, it also had a carbon front splitter and rear diffuser, more prominent side sills, a larger rear deck-lid spoiler and clear rear lamps. With a new suspension set up, it also sat 15mm lower than the V8 Vantage. It had stiffer springs (by 45%), and the anti-roll bars were stiffened at the front (by 15%) and rear (by 75%).
Whilst it is very easy to simply talk about the engine that dominates the V12, the brakes were a very good match for the performance. It was one of the fastest decelerating cars on the market. Fitted with CCM (Carbon Composite Matrix) brakes as standard which had already been seen on the DBS, they provided ferocious stopping power. The brake sizes were 398mm front/360mm rear with a 6 piston caliper on the front brakes and 4 pistons at the rear.
Autocar's Steve Cropley, was just as impressed by the stopping power: 'The brakes are phenomenal. They simply eliminate speed like nothing I've ever experienced, squeezing the car into the road and making you hang forward on the straps.'
Another interesting feature was the ‘Sport’ button in the cabin which allows the driver to choose between two powertrain modes: default provides a smoother response for everyday conditions and poor weather, while ‘Sport’ will give much sharper throttle-mapping for ultimate performance. In Sport, the exhaust adopts a more strident, sporty note. The throttle mapping in Sport mode essentially shortens the throttle length, giving full power at 50% position and makes the V12 extremely lively!
One of the options on the V12 Vantage was Carbon fibre and Kevlar® composite seats. Not every buyer likes these as they have less padding than the standard Sports Seat set up but they do have a following. They were supplied by a major manufacturer of motorsport equipment and were then hand-trimmed at Gaydon. They saved 17kg over the standard seats and increase feel through the chassis.
V12 Vantage has somewhat cult status. Notable owners have included, Christian Horner and Adrian Newey which was pre the Aston Martin/Red Bull relationship. Guy Martin, the TT racer famously bought a V12 Vantage before he bought a house!
A naturally aspirated V12 engine a small body is special for many reasons but for those that love driving, Evo Magazine give a good overview of why it is so laughably wild as a driving experience:
“Why it has six forward gears is anyone’s guess –four would suffice. With 420lb ft dragging such a dainty aluminium structure, it can pull away in third and obliterate hot hatches from 1000rpm in fourth. It loves to work at high crank-speeds too, and the noise is, shall we say, expensive sounding.”
Between 2009 and 2013 just 1199 V12 Vantages were made, making it a substantially rarer proposition than something like a Ferrari F40.
The V12 Vantage will go down in history as one of the greats.
V12 manual: 1199 coupe and 109 roadster
Aston Martin V12 Vantage: Specification
Body: Two-door, two-seat coupe
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
510bhp (380kW / 517PS) at 6500rpm – V8 420bhp
Maximum Torque
570Nm (420lb ft) at 5750rpm – (V8 346 lb ft)
Acceleration
0-62mph (100km/h) in 4.2 seconds
0-60mph in 4.1 seconds
Maximum Speed
190mph (305km/h)