Aston Martin Vanquish - Brave New World (Part 2)

On the move the Vanquish feels instantly alive, and very obviously front-engine/ rear-wheel drive. Its steering is heavy but direct, the ride firm but somehow soothing at the same time. Even at low speed and low revs, the engine and exhaust dominate the experience. Everything the Vanquish does, in fact, all of its energy, seems to flow from a point halfway down its long bonnet. Even the way it loads up mid-corner and gives you so much feel from the rear end is determined by the engine being mounted as far back as possible but still in front of the driver, just where it should be in a GT car.

On the move the Vanquish feels instantly alive, and very obviously front-engine/ rear-wheel drive.

And when you do eventually put your foot down, or throw it towards a corner with some gusto, it really does deliver. This car feels every inch as rapid as I remembered in a straight line, and in corners I am genuinely surprised by how fast and composed it still seems, even alongside its 2012 namesake, which just so happens to be here on the day in question.

The only true downside to the Vanquish as a car to own, rather than merely drive, is the same one that blighted it from the word go. Cost. The simple truth is that it was expensive to buy in the first place, is still expensive to buy today, and will be expensive to run tomorrow and beyond.

On the move the Vanquish feels instantly alive, and very obviously front-engine/ rear-wheel drive. Its steering is heavy but direct, the ride firm but somehow soothing at the same time.

Being realistic about running costs, Mee estimates that to do 6000 miles in one will cost approximately $7,500 – assuming that nothing major goes wrong or needs replacing in the meantime. If a clutch goes and after 25-30,000 miles they generally do – that’s another $8,100. Replacement discs and pads cost $3,750 and last 7-15,000 miles depending on use. A set of plugs and coils is $3,075 and ideally worth looking at annually, while a major service ($3,150) is required every 15,000 miles or so, with a minor ($1,500) every 6000 miles.

What there does not appear to be, however, is a great long list of items that regularly go wrong. The V12 engine Mee describes as “bulletproof”. Beyond the clutch of the paddle-shift ’box, which needs to be reset electronically by specialists in order to avoid wear, there are no obvious skeletons in the closet. As long as you’re realistic about the knowledge that running a Vanquish is not something that can be done on the cheap, there’s no reason why buyers should come unstuck.

But even as it stands, this car is special, very special actually. Not least because it represents the end of an era – as well as the beginning of another – as far as Aston Martin, the company is concerned.

Indeed, it’s hard to see the Vanquish becoming anything other than a classic in the long run, a car that will cross that magic line and begin to go back up again in value. And at that point it will warrant even more respect than it commands today.

But even as it stands, this car is special, very special actually. Not least because it represents the end of an era – as well as the beginning of another – as far as Aston Martin, the company is concerned.

Aston Martin Volante back

Ford, Bloxham and beyond

1987 Ford Motor Co takes a 75% share of AM and later becomes sole owner

1989 AMR1 racer takes AM back to Le Mans. Virage, styled by John Heffernan and Ken Greenly, replaces ageing V8 range. Volante follows in a year, 6.3-litre version in ’92; restyled and renamed V8 in ’96

1991 Walter Hayes succeeds Gauntlett as chairman. Four ‘Sanction II’ DB4GT Zagatos go on sale

1993 Ian Callum-designed DB7 unveiled at Geneva Salon, with supercharged Jaguar-derived ‘six’. Twin-supercharged 550bhp Vantage range-topper arrives

1994 DB7 goes on sale, with production from a new factory in Bloxham, Oxon. Developed with Volante from 1996, V12 Vantage from ’99, plus Zagato-styled coupé and DB AR1 roadster

2000 Dr Ulrich Bez made chairman/CEO

2001 V12 Vanquish launched, developed from Callum’s Project Vantage concept of ’98; 460bhp V12 uprated to 520bhp for 2004 Vanquish S

2003 AM opens new headquarters in Gaydon

2003 DB9 goes into production, using the new ‘VH’ architecture

2004 Engine plant opens in Cologne

2005 DBR9 racer launched; achieves class wins at Le Mans in 2007 and ’08. ‘Entry level’ V8 Vantage goes on sale (later available as a Roadster, a turnkey racer, and with V12 power)

2007 DBS name revived. AM returns to independence, Ford selling to Investment Dar and Adeem Investment consortium led by incoming chairman David Richards

2009 Rapide name returns for a four door, this time badged AM not Lagonda

2011 V12 Zagato unveiled, plus 750bhp, 220mph One-77 hypercar, new Virage and rebranded Toyota IQ – the Cygnet – to bring down the firm’s emissions

2012 Vanquish returns as flagship. Invest industrial buys 37.5% stake in Aston Martin

Specification