Autoblog

Vantage Point: Aston Martin Vantage V12 prototype spied

Noah Joseph — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:19:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Supercars, Aston Martin, UK

Automotive paparazzi have spotted the first piece of evidence verifying that Aston Martin is indeed going ahead with production, however limited, of the outrageous V12 Vantage RS. The concept was first shown when the newly-independent Aston cut the ribbon on its new facility in Gaydon, where the exclusive V12 Vantage RS is anticipated to be produced sometime next year.

The test mule seen in spy shots is wearing largely unmodified bodywork from its standard V8 Vantage counterpart, with a rear diffuser standing out as the only obvious modification. Although the show car's hood had more slats than the back of an A/C unit, the mule's hood has only the standard louvers from the V8 version, which makes us wonder how much of the ventilation was required and how much was for show. Although the concept featured a full-fat 600-hp V12 from the DBR9 racer, the production version is expected to be slightly de-tuned to 550, which will still make it the most powerful production Aston ever made, beating out the 520-hp Vanquish S and the current 510-hp DBS flagship, while being both smaller and lighter than those cars as well, we presume.

Gallery: Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Concept

[Source: World Car Fans]

Vantage Point: Aston Martin Vantage V12 prototype spied originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aston Martin CEO confirms production for V12 Vantage RS and DBS Roadster

Damon Lavrinc — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:25:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Supercars, Aston Martin

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS.

Rumors began swirling late yesterday that Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez, had confirmed that the V12 Vantage RS was headed to production. Unfortunately, the cited sources spanned from the totally obscure to the remarkably unlikely, and now, the path leads back to Dutch car Magazine Autovisie, which doesn't seem to have any article about the V12 Vantage online, except for its official unveiling.

Regardless, the reported stories say that the 600 hp, V12 Vantage RS will go on sale sometime next year as a limited production model, tipping the scales at a little over 3,500 pounds, and coming equipped with plenty of carbon fiber bits and a rear spoiler that deploys automatically at high speeds. Bez supposedly also confirmed that the DBS Roadster is on its way to production, expected sometime towards the middle of 2009.

Gallery: Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Concept

[Source: World Car Fans]

Aston Martin CEO confirms production for V12 Vantage RS and DBS Roadster originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aston Martin Racing takes a bitchin' family portrait

John Neff — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:26:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Aston Martin

Click above to enlarge (1,980 pixels wide)

It's pretty incredible to think that three years ago there were no Aston Martin race cars. Now we can watch them in the European Le Mans Series, American Le Mans Series, FIA GT racing, as well as endurance races like the 24 Hours of Nurburgring and the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans. To celebrate both the factory-backed and privately-owned teams, Aston Martin hosted all of its racing cars at the Paul Ricard circuit in France for a little preseason test. The product of that event, aside from many famous drivers taking their turn behind the wheel of each and every car, was this family portrait of Aston Martin Racing. Front and center is the Gulf livery DBR9 flanked by the new Vantage GT2 on its left (our right) and one of many V8 Vantage N24 cars on its right. See that white car being left in the dust way in the back? That's the V12 Vantage RS concept that just got off a plane returning from the Geneva Motor Show. Since we know you want to make this pic your desktop wallpaper, we've included an extra special 1,980-pixel-wide version for you to download, and there are more Aston Martin Racing galleries after the jump.

Gallery: 2008 Aston Martin Racing Gulf DBR9

[Source: Aston Martin]

Continue reading Aston Martin Racing takes a bitchin' family portrait

Aston Martin Racing takes a bitchin' family portrait originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pics Aplenty: Aston Martin serious about V12 Vantage RS

John Neff — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:51:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Supercars, Aston Martin

click above image for big high-res gallery of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS we told you about yesterday is the real deal. Though officially referred to as a "Performance Concept Car" during its debut at the opening of Aston Martin's new design center yesterday, it's fully functional like all of Aston's concepts and Ulrich Bez, the automaker's CEO, said if the interest is there, they'll build it. We don't know about you, but we're pretty interested in a 3,527-lbs. car with a race-derived V12 motor producing 600bhp. Performance for the car has been conservatively quoted as 4.0 seconds to 62 mph and 8.5 seconds to 100 mph.

Today we can better analyze the design of the V12 Vantage RS thanks to a bevy of high-res images released by Aston Martin this morning. What would you call that color, Cornflower or Baby Blue? Either way, we're not big fans of it for softening the demeanor of this British-born supercar. Despite that, the rest of the Vantage's already gorgeous exterior gets down to business with new carbon fiber pieces for the hood and trunk lid, as well as enough louvers on the bonnet to cool a nuclear reactor. A carbon fiber chin spoiler keeps things steady at high speed and out back the V12 Vantage RS has also been fitted with a retractable spoiler. The interior has also been wrapped entirely in grippy suede, including the heavily-bolstered though comfortable-looking seats.

What we love about the V12 Vantage RS is that it's not just a hat-tip to the recently defunct V12 Vanquish. It is its own car, and a fierce one at that. Though development of the car likely began before Aston Martin had been sold by Ford, we're glad the new owners didn't kill this concept to save some money.

Check out Aston Martin's official press release after the jump.

[Source: Aston Martin]

Gallery: Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Concept

Continue reading Pics Aplenty: Aston Martin serious about V12 Vantage RS

Pics Aplenty: Aston Martin serious about V12 Vantage RS originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BREAKING: Aston Martin shoehorns V12 into Vantage RS

Noah Joseph — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:22:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Performance, Supercars, Aston Martin

UPDATE: New high-res gallery of images added

Good keeps getting better over at Aston Martin, who never seem to tire of making their sports cars faster and faster. The latest in the speed wars from their new headquarters in Gaydon is this adrenaline-dripping special-edition V12 Vantage RS.

Into what could very well prove to be the fastest, hottest Aston Martin yet, the newly independent British automaker has dropped the V12 reactor not from the recently demised Vanquish, nofrom the road-going DB9 or Bond-tastic DBS derivative, but from the DBRS9 race car. With somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 horsepower (!) pushing 3500 lbs, the V12 Vantage RS is anticipated to clock a 0-60 time in the 3's on its way to a 200-mph top speed. Performance target: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. That's highly ambitious, considering that the Fiorano is widely acclaimed as one of the most competent supercars on the planet, but with that kind of juice in such a brilliant package as the Vantage's, it might not be so far-fetched.

At the time of writing, AutoWeek was the only source carrying the information, and we hope to have more details soon on the special Vantage which was unveiled earlier today on the occasion of the company's new design center. Although it was launched as a concept, sources suggest it could very well find its way into limited production and slot into the Aston Martin line-up above the current flagship DBS. We certainly hope so.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Gallery: Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Concept

BREAKING: Aston Martin shoehorns V12 into Vantage RS originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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