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Aston Martin used to hand craft huge cars with huge V8's and huge armchairs covered in huge amounts of leather. Things ain't what they used to be though. The outgoing V8 Vantage is a rare beast, the likes of which we may never see again. Ford are in control now and no longer will Aston Martins be made by old men in brown coats. Aston Martin Lagonda is rapidly joining the mainstream motor industry. The DB7 was the first step on that path and the Vanquish is a sign that the journey is almost over. Profit?! Sadly it's what was needed to bring AML into profit. For much of its life the Newport Pagnell based company didn't make any money, but instead concentrated on producing fine cars. The new 'cheap' DB7 has revitalised the company giving more market presence with the many thousands of cars now on the roads. The stunning good looks of the DB7 have done much to allay the fears of a mass market car devaluing the marque. To follow the V8 Vantage was a tougher call. Replacing a model rather than introducing a new one into the range obviously provokes comparisons with the outgoing car. The new Vanquish bears more resemblance to the DB7 than it does to the brutish V8. Where the V8 was obviously on steriods, the Vanquish appears to have concentrated on body toning. It's smooth lines cleverly disguise the size of the car. 600bhp V12? The muscular V8 is no longer the engine of choice. A more refined V12 does the business up front with all the modern electronics to ensure its a cleaner engine. Generating 410 lb. ft of torque and 450 bhp, this is probably just a hint of what might be on offer though. Adequate to move the 1820kg car around of course, but we were far more interested in the stories of 600bhp development engines!
This is a very different car from the old Astons. Many of the men in brown coats have been replaced with men in white coats. No longer do you change gear with a polished cricket bat handle, the Vanquish features finger tip controlled Formula One style paddles which shift you through the gearbox in a quarter of a second. Out goes the throttle connected by a steel hawser, in comes an electronic drive by wire system. Checking the tyre pressures will never again require one to crease one's slacks as individual tyre pressures and temperatures are monitored through an automatic electronic sensing system. Oak Trees Where the old cars featured oak trees and tonnes of steel, the new cars features carbon fibre, extruded aluminium and composite materials bonded together to form a central monocoque safety cell. There are additional deformable composite structure energy absorbent zones front and rear. Safety standards are very high. With only three hundred cars a year scheduled for production, personalisation is still very much a part of the build process. The bodies are still hand finished to ensure the aluminium panels fit perfectly, whilst equipment levels will be individually specified. The car can be supplied as a 2+2 or without the rear seats to provide extra space for a trip to the south of France or B&Q.
It's a very impressively engineered car, accelerating Aston Martin to a position it could never have dreamed of when independent. Sadly with a few notable exceptions it's the only way for small car companies to survive these days. However, given the exceptional cars that can result, perhaps we shouldn't spend too long looking at the past. Aston Martin Links
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