RE: Aston updates Vanquish flagship

RE: Aston updates Vanquish flagship

Tuesday 13th February 2007

Aston updates Vanquish flagship

Final 40 examples get a new look


Aston Martin Vanquish S
Aston Martin Vanquish S
Aston Martin is offering two new developments for both new and existing customers of the company’s flagship Vanquish S -- the car that starred in the Bond film 'Die Another Day'.

Just 40 examples of a new Vanquish S Ultimate Edition will be handcrafted at the company’s Newport Pagnell production facility in Buckinghamshire -- and they'll be the last off the line.

The Ultimate Edition centres on changes to the Vanquish S’s renowned colour and trim. On the exterior, these changes include a unique Ultimate Black – a new colour only available with this car. Inside, the Vanquish S cabin is trimmed in a semi-aniline leather, with coarse stitching, leather headlining and black chrome finish interior fittings. Each car will also be fitted with personalised sill plaques denoting the limited edition number.

Performance is the same as the standard Vanquish S, and remains the fastest-ever production Aston Martin, capable of a top speed in excess of 200mph -- and the price is the same too: £182,095.

The Ultimate Edition is an end-of-line model, which Aston said would "be available by special request to customers wishing to celebrate the last of a significant car in Aston Martin’s history." The company reckoned initial feedback suggested the whole allocation of this special edition will be sold within weeks of launch.

Manual shifters

For existing Vanquishes, Aston’s Works Service department is offering a transmission conversion from the car’s existing auto shift manual (ASM) system, to a conventional gearstick manual.

Since its launch in 2001, the Vanquish's auto box has been equipped with paddles that change gears in under 250 milliseconds, and works in either auto or manual mode.

Working in conjunction with the company’s special vehicles operations team from Gaydon, AM said it's Works Service department developed the system over the last 12 months, before previewing the conversion to "selected Vanquish customers".

Customer service manager Kingsley Riding-Felce said: “This project underlines our commitment to adapting to customer requests, whether they are for Aston Martins from the past or modern cars such as the Vanquish S.”

The modification is available now, priced from £13,250 (plus VAT).

About the Vanquish S

Aston Martin's top-end model is built in the company's traditional fashion, by hand, one at a time, with an individual craftsman taking responsibility for the creation of every car. It takes just over 396 man hours to create each car, or around six weeks from raw materials to the finished article.

It houses a 6-litre V12 generating 520bhp and 425lb-ft of torque, enabling the luxury 2+2 to hit 60mph from rest in 4.8 seconds.

In preparation for production of the Vanquish, the factory at Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, England, received a multi-million-pound refurbishment that included an all-new assembly line, paint shop, rolling road and water test facility, which simulates monsoon conditions to ensure a watertight interior. Today, technicians who used to hold old-fashioned welding guns now wield dual-feed adhesive guns to bond together composite components, crash structures and aluminium panels.

Author
Discussion

Lord-Flasheart

Original Poster:

6,632 posts

221 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
"For existing Vanquishes, Aston’s Works Service department is offering a transmission conversion from the car’s existing auto shift manual (ASM) system, to a conventional gearstick manual."

What took them so long?

scotty_917

1,034 posts

229 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
The original and best...way better than the 'copycat' DB9 & V8 siblings! boxedin

tony*t3

20,911 posts

254 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
So its a new colour then. Black. Gee. How very 'Henry'. Any colour you want as long as its black..... oops, sorry, its not just black, its "unique Ultimate Black".

And you thought black was just 'black'.....

Nice car. Not sure about spending 184k on a vanquish though..... when the DB9 is quite a reasonable copy for a whole lot less...

forthright MC

8,362 posts

290 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
the Vanquish does look very good in black IMO but seeing as pearl white has become very popular recently maybe they should offer that as an option too. seen pics of a white Vanquish and it looked stunning! (one on the cover of the recent EVO british supercars book) lick
i reckon these updates will be a very worthwhile addition/upgrade!

Edited by forthright MC on Tuesday 13th February 11:44

wayniac

25 posts

223 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
tony*t3 said:
So its a new colour then. Black. Gee. How very 'Henry'. Any colour you want as long as its black..... oops, sorry, its not just black, its "unique Ultimate Black".

And you thought black was just 'black'.....

Nice car. Not sure about spending 184k on a vanquish though..... when the DB9 is quite a reasonable copy for a whole lot less...

There are many different shades of black, some are darker, some are more metallic, some have slight tints of other colours in there. But still, I agree "unique Ultimate Black" is over the bloody top! Love this car though; legendary (and will be iconic)!

stephen300o

15,464 posts

235 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
I thought you could get any colour you wanted anyway on these hand made cars?

Mr Whippy

29,942 posts

248 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Unique ultimate black hehe

I love the car, still the best AM in my view and even better with the new manual no doubt! But their colours always sounded interesting and British, and this one sounds, well, really naff... what are they doing?

Dave

chrisbr68

4,563 posts

255 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Awesome car

If I was in a position to get an aston, it would have to be the daddy vanquish!! Best looking one for me.

williamp

19,567 posts

280 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
The last of the line? What a shame. I'm going around the factory at the beginning of March. I wonder if these will be made then..

wanta996

5,622 posts

214 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Such a beautiful car with the sound to match but shame about the dash, DB9 interior just looks so much better.

iluvmercs

7,541 posts

234 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Certainly a nice car, and they're offering a manual.....FINALLY!

But I think I'd still go for the DB9

Darren

wab172uk

2,005 posts

234 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Surely if you could afford it, you'd have your name down on a DBS instead? The Vanquish will lose money faster than a Veyron can get to 60.

dans

1,137 posts

291 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Kingsley Riding-Felce

What a great name.

Witchfinder

6,250 posts

259 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
I know 0-60 isn't the be-all and end-all, but 4.8 seconds sounds pretty poor for a car with a six-litre, 520 BHP V12. Is it really that heavy?

pd86

59 posts

240 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Today, technicians who used to hold old-fashioned welding guns now wield dual-feed adhesive guns to bond together composite components, crash structures and aluminium panels.

lol i'm sure there was no need for this last comment, I'm leaning toward the old "bet you cant slip the word 'Bond' into the article" haha. Although, of course I could be wrong and indeed it could be a relevant and crucial piece of information.....

:J:

2,593 posts

232 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Witchfinder said:
I know 0-60 isn't the be-all and end-all, but 4.8 seconds sounds pretty poor for a car with a six-litre, 520 BHP V12. Is it really that heavy?


No, it's an Aston Martin, it's not about launching off the line, if you want a faster 0-60, get a Fezza

tomtvr

6,909 posts

248 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Vanquish S with manual gearbox - that would be my favourite aston bar none.

Ashok

608 posts

266 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
Magnificent cars. The DBS is going to have to be very special to replace these. Sadly it seems that old fashioned craftsmanship is simply dying out. Aston should capitalise on their handcrafted heritage as buyers at this level are willing to pay for it.

landmark

119 posts

214 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
williamp said:
The last of the line? What a shame. I'm going around the factory at the beginning of March. I wonder if these will be made then..


I guess you will be going to Gaydon but the Vanquish is made at Newport Pagnall so you'll be seeing Vantage & DB9 only

dvs_dave

9,040 posts

232 months

Tuesday 13th February 2007
quotequote all
dans said:
Kingsley Riding-Felce

What a great name.

I wonder how he pronounces "Felce"?rofl

Surely a joke name?