The Brits have several reasons to be proud of their automotive fabrication prowess and the production of the Vanquish by Aston Martin is one of those reasons. Designed by legendary British car designer, Ian Callum, the Vanquish was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2001 as the production version of the concept car known as “Project Vantage.” In 2018, for the second time in its production cycle, Aston Martin put a halt to the production of Vanquish. However, it's been rumored they'll revive the nameplate soon.
For its era, the Vanquish remained Aston Martin’s flagship car. The company adopted the best automotive technologies and materials in the fabrication of the high-performance sports car – these include electronic brake distribution, automated transmission, drive-by-wire throttle, Alcantara, and carbon fiber body among others. The Vanquish uses a front-engine layout but the next-gen might come with mid-engine and manual transmission. There are just so many reasons to love the Vanquish.
10 Incredible Power
Developed as an offshoot of the 1998 “Project Vantage” concept car, the Vanquish has always had a worthy representative under the hood. Upon launch in 2001, the Grand Tourer came fitted with the same engine from the 1999 DB7 – a naturally aspirated 60° DOHC 4 valves per cylinder V12 engine that produces 460 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque.
This powerful engine shows the performance intent of the Vanquish and in 2016, Aston Martin introduced the new Vanquish S which features the AM29 V12 engine that produces an insane 595 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque.
9 Awesome Acceleration And Top Speed
The Vanquish has never been built as a slow car. Hence, when behind the wheel of any of its models, one can rest assured of a thrilling performance on- and off-track. Upon introduction, Aston Martin Vanquish delivered a startling speed figure of 5 seconds for 0-60 mph acceleration.
It quickly became a darling of the press, with Road & Track magazine calling it “The ultimate Grand Tourer.” The 2018 model of the Vanquish S for comparison goes from rest to 62 mph in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 201 mph.
8 Heightened Performance
Immense time and effort is devoted to making the Vanquish an ideal performance car. From its engine facility in Cologne, Aston Martin engineers worked assiduously to produce the monster engine fit for the company’s flagship car. This quest birthed technically advanced engines with features such as completely machined combustion chambers, enlarged throttle bodies, and the introduction of dual variable valve timing.
Also, brake fade and heat dissipation is greatly reduced in the Vanquish by the adoption of Carbon Ceramic Matrix braking technology while custom-made tires also improve performance.
7 Luxurious Interior
There’s no better place to display luxury in the crafting of a car than the interior. Hence, Aston Martin didn’t hold back on the Vanquish. Devoting special resources into its fabrication, Aston Martin provided the Vanquish with an interior that uniquely balances comfort with intimacy.
On all models, the car boasts of an inside space that is replete with all-new components and brand-new materials and features which includes advanced electronics as well as choice leather upholstery with metallic details which distinguishes the car from other company marques such as the DB7 that uses wood trim.
6 Dynamic Styling
The Vanquish is an exquisitely crafted sports car. As a Grand Tourer, it’s built to deliver a great mix of performance and premium luxury. The Vanquish is crafted using aerospace standard carbon-fiber. This material possesses the qualities needed to create the purest of surfaces and makes the implementation of stunning designs achievable.
In comparison, the Vanquish is also 25% lighter than the preceding DBS due to the use of carbon-fiber while the second generation Vanquish has styling cues such as the elongated side stakes which are generally believed to have been inspired by the One-77.
5 Volante
Aston Martin decided to add a tweak to the Vanquish model in 2013. Hence, just as it did with the DBS, the company introduced the Volante – a convertible variant of the Vanquish model. Notably, several upgrades and model-specific features came with the Volante.
These include the adoption of a full carbon-fiber body and use of third generation Brembo brakes consisting of a 398 mm x 36 mm front and 360 mm x 32 mm rear Carbon Ceramic Matrix discs. Also, the car has a bigger trunk than its predecessors and it uses a triple-skin lightweight fabric roof.
4 Zagato
In 2017, Aston Martin collaborated with Zagato, a highly distinguished independent Italian design-house for the production of the Vanquish Zagato. The carefully crafted luxury sports car was among the neoclassical special projects carried out by the Italian company mostly for coupes with two doors. It featured other premium brands such as the Bentley, Ferrari, and Maserati.
However, the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato was produced in four body styles of a coupe, speedster, convertible, and shooting brake. Relying on power from the AM29 V12 from Vanquish S, 99 units of each body style were built while the speedster got just 28 units.
3 The Bond Effect
For sports car enthusiasts who are movie freaks, there’s almost nothing as cool as owning or driving a Bond’s car. In 2002, V12 Vanquish was featured as the official James Bond’s car in the Hollywood big-budget spy movie, “Die Another Day.”
It was the 12th Bond movie and the appearance of the V12 Vanquish earned the sports car third spot on the list of the Best Film Cars Ever, giving it an incredible marketing advantage. However, for the curious minds, here is what happened to James Bond’s Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.
2 Reliability
Critics could fault the Vanquish for several reasons, but reliability won’t be one. Initially powered by a proven 6.0-liter V12 engine – ending the use of the over thirty years old Tadek Marek 5.3 liter V8 due to stringent environmental regulations, the V12 held the fort till 2007 when Aston Martin halted the car’s production.
When production resumed in 2012, a more reliable and completely re-engineered AM11 with the same displacement as the old V12 was introduced. Carbon-fiber and Alcantara dominate the interior and Aston Martin’s claim that 58% of the cars it’s ever built still being roadworthy is also re-assuring.
1 Safety
As a standard feature, Aston Martin Vanquish adopts the Positive Torque Control and Dynamic Stability Control helping it keep the massive power generated from the engine in check.
Asides from adopting carbon fiber bodywork which provides it with great tensile strength, the car incorporates several other safety features which include dual-stage front airbags, curtain side head airbags, front and rear parking sensors, and seatbelt load limiters among others. For all these and more, Aston Martin even once claimed the Vanquish to be its safest production car.