Aston goes public with new Vanquish

ASTON Martin has held a launch event for its stunning new Vanquish coupe in London, just days after putting the car through its paces at the famous Goodwood hill-climb.

The two appearances mark the first public appearances for the new British-designed and built supercar, which was unveiled in press photos last month and confirmed for an Australian showroom debut at the end of this year priced from $473,000.

As we reported in June, the new Vanquish is based on the latest version of Aston’s vertical horizontal architecture, and features a revised version of the hand-built German 6.0-litre V12 from the previous iteration of the car.

In typical Aston Martin style, the public appearance overnight at the London Film Museum at Covent Garden featured more than 500 Aston owners and enthusiasts from around the globe, as well as batch of film and television stars and company chief executive officer Ulrich Bez.

Onlookers had the chance to paw over a batch of new Vanquish cars, as well as a unique cutaway display designed to showcase the car’s lightweight carbon-fibre skin.

Dr Bez said the new range-topper came at an important time for the iconic company as it headed towards a major milestone.

“As Aston Martin is in its 100th year and prepares for the 100th birthday of the brand in January next year, the debut of this new super grand tourer means we can look forward to the next century with confidence and real excitement.” “I’m very proud of the new Vanquish, and my team that have worked tirelessly to perfect it, and I’m convinced that it will quickly become one of the most sought-after and admired cars on the road.”

With an engine output of 421kW and 620Nm of torque, a top speed of 293km/h and a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 4.1 seconds, the new Vanquish is one-tenth faster than its predecessor and the most powerful road Aston ever (excluding the super-limited, $2.7 million One-77).

These figures put the Vanquish in the ballpark of Italian offerings like the Ferrari 458 and Lamborghini Gallardo, but shy of those brands’ flagship offerings – the F12 Berlinetta and Aventador.

Aston says it will offer the Vanquish with 2+2 or 2+0 seating configurations, with the former allowing the company to call the new model a “super grand tourer”.

As with all Aston models, the Vanquish will be hand-built at the car-maker’s facilities in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

Claimed to represent the “zenith” of current Aston design and engineering, the new Vanquish features signature roofline, grille and haunches, but adds muscular body accoutrements, carbon fibre highlights and rear LED lights pinched from the sold-out One-77.

Befitting its image as a luxury product rather than a hardcore racer, the cabin features lashings of leather and gloss-black trim, plus a 368 litre boot that is sure to swallow an expensive golf bag or two.

The previous Vanquish, made famous by its turn as personal transport for James Bond 007 in the film Die Another Day was sold here between 2003 and 2007, and cost a whopping $110,000 more than the new generation, despite the latest model’s advancements.