The
Aston Martin Vanquish was a
grand tourerA grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
, designed by
Ian CallumIan Callum is a British car designer who currently serves as Design Director for Jaguar and is older brother to fellow car designer Moray Callum. He is married, has two sons and currently resides in Oxfordshire, England.-Early years:...
and manufactured by
Aston MartinAston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
. The Vanquish was unveiled at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show and was produced from June 2001 to September 2004 with the later Vanquish S being produced from September 2004 to July 2007. Its rise to recognition by the wider public came after being featured as the official
James BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
car in the film
Die Another DayDie Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
. The Vanquish was succeeded by the
DBSThe modern Aston Martin DBS is a high performance GT sports car from the UK manufacturer Aston Martin. Aston has used the DBS name once before on their 1967–72 grand tourer coupe...
.
Design
The Aston Martin Vanquish was designed by
Ian CallumIan Callum is a British car designer who currently serves as Design Director for Jaguar and is older brother to fellow car designer Moray Callum. He is married, has two sons and currently resides in Oxfordshire, England.-Early years:...
and bore a large resemblance to the production
DB7 VantageThe Aston Martin DB7 is a grand tourer which was produced by Aston Martin from September 1994 to December 2004. The grand tourer was available either as a coupé or a convertible. The prototype was complete by November 1992, and debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March, 1993, the car was styled by...
. However, the car had a strong influence from the 'Project Vantage' prototype
concept carA concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
which debuted with a V12 engine at the
North American International Auto ShowThe North American International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center, usually in January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...
in January 1998. As underneath the car featured a strong aluminium/carbon composite construction, bonded chassis with a 6.0 L
V12A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
with 450 bhp.
To keep alive the flagship Vanquish name with the introduction of the popular
DB9-DB9 Volante:The Aston Martin DB9 Volante is the convertible version of the DB9 coupe. It is built by hand in limited numbers and has enhanced styling. It is powered by the same 6.0 litre, DOHC 48 valve V12 as the DB9 and is completed with 470 bhp and a top speed of 186 mph...
, Aston Martin upgraded the Vanquish to 514 bhp, uprated the suspension and improved the cars aerodynamic efficiency. The Vanquish production ended on 19 July 2007, coinciding with the shutting of the company's
Newport PagnellNewport Pagnell is a town in the Borough of Milton Keynes , England. It is separated by the M1 motorway from Milton Keynes itself, though part of the same urban area...
factory after forty nine years of operation.
Engine
The Vanquish is powered by a 6.0
Lpic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
(5935 cc, 5.9L Actual) 48-valve 60°
V12A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engine, which produces 456 PS and 540 N.m of
torqueTorque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
. It is controlled by a drive-by-wire throttle and a 6 speed
Electrohydraulic manual transmissionElectrohydraulic manual transmission is a type of semi-automatic transmission system, which uses an automated clutch unlike conventional manual transmissions where the driver operates the clutch. The clutch is controlled by electronic computers and hydraulics...
. The
Vanquish S upped the power to 521 PS and 576 N.m.
Performance
| Model |
Power |
Torque |
0–100 km/h
(0–62 mph) |
Top Speed |
| Vanquish |
456 PS @ 6,500 rpm |
540 N.m @ 5000 rpm |
4.3 secs |
189.5 mph (305 km/h) |
| Vanquish S |
521 PS @ 7,000 rpm |
576 N.m |
4.0 secs |
204 mph (328 km/h) |
Brakes
The standard Vanquish model had 355 mm (14 in) drilled and ventilated
disc brakeThe disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
s with 4-pot calipers, ABS, with electronic brake distribution, while the Vanquish S featured larger 378 mm (14.9 in) front discs with 6-pot calipers and 330 mm (13 in) rear discs.
Aerodynamics
As part of its improvements, the Vanquish S featured a slightly improved coefficient of drag of 0.32 (from 0.33), with help from a redesigned splitter and boot lid. It's front and rear track were 1524 mm (60 in) and 1529 mm (60 in), respectively.
Vanquish S
The S model of the Vanquish debuted at the 2004 Paris Auto Show, with increased power and performance and slight styling revisions. The engine was bored and stroked slightly, increasing displacement to 6.0 litres, with power increased from 450 to 514 horsepower. Visual changes included new wheels, a slightly different nose shape, a new raised bootlid with a larger integrated spoiler incorporating the third high level brake light (in the rear window on the original Vanquish), a Vanquish S badge on the bootlid (the original Vanquish had no rear model designation) and the addition of a small front splitter (although this was mainly done for aerodynamic reasons).
It also incorporated the features of a 2004 option package, the Sports Dynamic Pack, which incorporated sportier suspension, steering, and brake features. This model was sold for the 2005 (alongside the base Vanquish) and 2006 (as a stand-alone) model years in the United States with only minor running changes; it was not sold in the United States for 2007.
The end of the Vanquish's production run was celebrated with the
Vanquish S Ultimate Edition. Aston Martin announced that the last 40 cars built would have a new 'Ultimate Black’ exterior colour, upgraded interior, and personalised sill plaques. More significantly, the Ultimate Edition was the first Vanquish to be offered from the factory with a conventional manual gearbox
manual transmissionA manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
. The semi-automatic gearbox in the original Vanquish had been widely criticised (notably by
Jeremy ClarksonJeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
on the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's
Top GearTop Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
program), so this change was greeted with approval by the automotive press.
Aston MartinAston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
offered to retrofit the new engine to any Vanquish, for a cost of £13,250.
Conceptual variants
Aston MartinAston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
was frequently rumoured to be considering a convertible version of the Vanquish, especially in response to the
FerrariFerrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
550 Barchetta Pininfarina, but no such version ever emerged. The Vanquish was the basis of two concept cars, both shown at the International Geneva Motor Show in 2004, the
ZagatoZagato is a design consultancy and engineering services company situated just outside Milan, Italy.The company's premises occupy an area of , of which are covered....
Roadster (a 2-seat convertible) and the
Bertone Jet 2 (a 2-door shooting brake).
Appearances in Media
In April, 2008, its appearance in the 2002
James BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film
Die Another DayDie Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
(driven by Bond who was being played for the final time by
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
) earned the Vanquish the number three spot on the list of Best Film Cars Ever, behind the
MiniThe Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
s from
The Italian Job, and
KITTKITT is the short name of two fictional characters from the adventure TV series Knight Rider. While having the same acronym, the KITTs are two different entities: one known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand, which appeared in the original TV series Knight Rider, and the other as the Knight...
from
Knight RiderKnight Rider is an American television series that originally ran from September 26, 1982, to August 8, 1986. The series was broadcast on NBC and starred David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a high-tech modern-day knight fighting crime with the help of an advanced, artificially intelligent and...
.
External links