By LAWRENCE TAN
Making its bow in Geneva is the new Aston Martin V12
Vantage, a car which first debuted as the concept Vantage RS just slightly over
a year ago.
Aston Martin Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez hails
the new V12 Vantage as “the ultimate performance interpretation of the Vantage
range, combining our most agile model with our most powerful engine”.
Bez is referring to the 6.0-liter V12 engine that outputs
510bhp, and 420 lb-ft of torque on tap. The V12 Vantage is expected to sprint
to 60mph in 4.1 seconds, and top speed is capped at 190mph.
To house the larger engine, engineers at Gaydon revise the
internal front structure of the car while keeping to the external dimensions of
the V8 model.
The increase in kerb weight has also been minimized to 50kg
through clever use of carbon ceramic brakes, lightweight aluminium wheels and
fittings, despite the V12 weighing some 100kg more than the standard V8.
Other notable enhancements include a revised front splitter,
bonnet louvers, new side sills derived from Aston’s N24 race car, and new rear
diffuser made of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber-kevlar composite seats come as an
option.
Tweaks have been made to the rear suspension to accommodate
the huge 19” alloy wheels and Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires. Ride height is
lowered by 15 mm while spring rates and anti-roll bars are stiffened to lower
the V12 Vantage’s center of gravity and reduce the amount of roll during
cornering.
Aston Martin will build 300-500 models of the V12 Vantage
per year, and first deliveries are slated for the latter part of 2009.
All images are taken from Jalopnik.
Aston Martin