This Aston Martin has always been a riotous combination of
big power and small chassis, even more so in a new “S” guise.
In 2007, someone over at Aston
Martin’s headquarters must have had a bit of a brainwave. He (or she) decided
it was a good idea to shoehorn the carmaker’s flagship V12 engine into the
relatively small body of the Vantage, which was hitherto available only with a
V8 (early models had a 4.2-litre unit; those built after 2008 had a 4.7-litre).
Originally intended to be just a
concept, the V12 Vantage didn’t see production until 2009, though when it did,
it was quite the live wire, as you might expect a car powered by a 5.9-litre
engine with 517bhp to be.
In 2007, someone over at Aston Martin’s headquarters must have had a bit of a
brainwave.
While it is blindingly quick (touting
a zero-to-100km/h sprint time of 4.2 seconds), the V12-powered Vantage is nose heavy,
no thanks to the presence of a longer, heavier engine, and it doesn’t have the
V8 Vantage’s natural chassis balance. Another gripe was that in addition to
having to work around the nose-led chassis and brutal power delivery, drivers
have to shuffle the gears themselves, as the only transmission option on offer
is a 6-speed manual.
Fast-forward half a decade and Aston
Martin has bestowed upon us the V12 Vantage S, which replaces the original.
Those looking for drastic changes will be disappointed, as for better or worse,
the boy racer vibe of the old car has been largely unchanged. That means the
V12 Vantage S retains its immediate forebear’s enormous ducktail rear spoiler,
vented bonnet and clear tail-lights.
The V12 Vantage S retains its immediate forebear’s enormous ducktail rear
spoiler, vented bonnet and clear tail-lights.
If you’re looking for other exterior
changes, you’ll have to squint a little, because they’re mostly limited to
minutiae such as the carbon fibre grille. The surest way to tell a V12 Vantage
S from its predecessor is to check the boot lid for the presence of a red “S” badge.
Still, despite the extremely mild tweaks, we think Aston Martin didn’t need to
do much to the Vantage’s exterior, because even nine years after its debut,
it’s still one of the best looking coupes around.
What the chaps from Gaydon have
concentrated on with the second generation V12 Vantage was to give it a lick
more power, bestowed upon it a quicker gearbox and trimmed a little weight (at
1665kg, it’s now 15kg lighter than previously).
While these changes seem about as
subtle as the exterior revisions, the reality is a little different. The
5.9-litre V12 now produces an almighty 573bhp (56bhp more than before) and
torque swells from 570Nm to 620Nm, of which 510Nm is available from just
1000rpm.
Helping put all that power to the rear
wheels is the aforementioned gearbox, a 7-speed automated manual sourced from
Graziano, which Aston Martin dubs Sportshift III, a “major development” of the
Sportshift II gearbox used in the V8 Vantage S.
The carmaker didn’t specify exactly
what said developments are, but as with the V8 Vantage S, shifts are delivered
with a bit of a lurch at lower speeds, and when the car is driven in anger,
there’s a thrilling thump in the kidneys.
The 5.9-litre V12 now produces an almighty 573bhp (56bhp more than before) and
torque swells from 570Nm to 620Nm, of which 510Nm is available from just
1000rpm.
The automated manual certainly isn’t
as genteel as a torque converter automatic (found in most of Aston Martin’s
range) or as seamless as a dual-clutch gearbox, but this savagery suits the
personality and butch bodywork of the V12 Vantage S. If you’re looking for
something a little less brutal, you’re out of luck, because an “auto box” is
the only transmission choice on offer.
While some will miss the involvement
offered up by a manual gearbox, the new transmission makes the car
“friendlier”, allowing easier access to the full ferocity of that motor, and
making the car more palatable to a greater audience, though purists might
disagree with that last point.
But whether you’re a purist or not,
it’s undeniable the new transmission has benefitted the V12 Vantage’s
acceleration– the zero-to-100km/h sprint is now taken care of in 3.9 seconds
(0.3 of a second quicker than the preceding model).
