Aston Martin unveils new Vanquish - Team VVV

News Aston Martin unveils new Vanquish

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James Allen

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It’s safe to say that, in regards to the name of the brand’s new flagship, Aston Martin is taking quite a big risk by calling it the ‘Vanquish’. After all, the original is a highly important car for the brand (not only has it influenced the design and technology that’s underpinned almost every other Aston since) but, until the One-77 arrived, it was the fastest and most powerful car to wear the fabled winglet emblem.

Essentially, the inaugural Vanquish is one of the firm’s greatest hits, so resurrecting the name brings with it high expectations. So it’s good news that, on paper at least, the new car seems to be a worthy successor.

For starters, the new Vanquish, from these eyes at least, looks absolutely stunning. Yes, it may be a bit too flamboyant and ‘aggressive’ for some tastes (I can see why quite a few like the clean and uncluttered lines of the DB9), and there is a wiff of ‘we’ve seen some of this before’ in some of the design cues, but overall it’s a fab looking machine.

However, it’s not all show and no go, as Aston Martin claim that it’s a superior to the car it replaces, the DBS, in regards to performance and driver involvement. The new ‘Generation 4’ version of the firm’s aluminium chassis design is reportedly 30% stiffer than the ‘Gen 3’, and the all-carbon fibre body – a first for any road going Aston Martin – makes it a wee bit lighter.

Our only major gripe, though, is with the car’s speed. Sure, a 0-60 sprint of 4 seconds is nothing to be sniffed at, and we weren’t expecting it to rival the new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta in a straight line (the Fezza, after all, has the extra oomph from 160 rampant Italian stallions to play with), but the claim top speed of 183mph is a bit disappointing. Yes, it’s fast, but the only other Astons that are slower are the V8 Vantage models and the Cygnet.

Even the most basic new version of the Porsche 911 has a better VMAX rating, which is quite annoying as it’s less than half the price – Aston Martin will charge you £190,000 for the privilege of owning the new Vanquish.

Then again, the Porsche’s cabin is by no means as beautifully appointed (the attention to detail is sublime, and even in bright beige it looks classy and tasteful!) and we’d argue the Vanquish is the more ‘desirable’ car. It’s a drop-dead gorgeous Aston Martin, after all, and it undoubtedly has one of the coolest names ever to grace the boot lid of a car.

It’ll be interesting to see what the press think of it – the new Vanquish has all the hallmarks of being one of the firm’s greatest hits, and we’re certain it won’t end up being a minger, given that there hasn’t been a ‘bad Aston’ for yonks now.

We definitely reckon it’s going to get trashed at some point in an upcoming James Bond car chase, so promise us you won’t cry when the Vanquish gets totalled!

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