The Aston Martin V12 Vantage has arrived and yes, you want one. Evolving the styling and engineering exercise Aston unveiled in 2007 and set for a Geneva Motor Show debut, the blokes Gaydon claim the V12 Vantage is the most driver-focused sports car the automaker has ever produced.
Power is provided by a 6.0-liter V12 putting out 510 hp at 6,500 rpm and 420 lb.-ft. of torque at 5,750 rpm. The Vantage's new-found grunt is sent through a carbon fiber driveshaft to a rear-mounted six-speed manual gearbox. The transmission benefits from an oil cooler and a new rear diffuser helps cool the standard limited slip differential. Aston claims a 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds and top speed of 190 mph.
Independent double wishbones are mounted fore and aft, while six-piston calipers squeeze 398mm (15.67-inch) carbon ceramic discs in front and four-piston units clamp down on 360 mm (14.17-inch) ceramic rotors in the rear. The front wheels measure 19x9-inches and the rears 19x11-inches, each wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber sized 255/35 and 295/30, respectively.
Inside, carbon fiber door pulls join a host of standard features, while lightweight, carbon-kevlar seats, personalized sill plates and a premium audio system are optional.
The V12 Vantage features spring rates 80% stiffer in front and 45% stiffer in the rear, allowing the coupe to hit up to 1.3 lateral gs. The V12 mill weighs almost 200 pounds more than the V8, but after the Aston got done tweaking the Vantage, the overall increase was a paltry 110 pounds. Pricing hasn't been announced, but expect each of the 1,000 V12 Vantages Aston plans to produce to fetch a princely sum.
