rapide S

[jonby]

car magazine has spyshots of the new rapide S on it's website

full story in tomorrow's magazine including a test ride

over 500 bhp - one assumes that means the new db9 engine with 510bhp and teh torque from new vanquish

visually a large gaping mouth and more pronounced rear spoiler

all exactly as predicted by me & others several months ago......not rocket science ! :-)

[mikey k]

Yep hopefully it will help them sell more
That engine is going to start popping up all over the range me thinks

[Vantagefan]

Mikey, are you hinting at the likes of a V12 Vantage S with the Vanquish engine?

[jonby]

Vantagefan said:

Mikey, are you hinting at the likes of a V12 Vantage S with the Vanquish engine?

and 2 pedals.........

[Jockman]

Vantagefan said:

Mikey, are you hinting at the likes of a V12 Vantage S with the Vanquish engine?

I bez you it'll never happen.....

[Neil1300R]

to save people googling

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Secret-new-cars/Searc...

[Cockernee]

jonby said:

Vantagefan said:

Mikey, are you hinting at the likes of a V12 Vantage S with the Vanquish engine?

and 2 pedals.........

[jonby]

Cockernee said:

jonby said:

Vantagefan said:

Mikey, are you hinting at the likes of a V12 Vantage S with the Vanquish engine?

and 2 pedals.........

I know nothing. No seriously, I really don't. I'm putting 2+2+2+2 together from lots of snippets here and there over the last 12 months - twitter, factory, dealers, works, tinternet, etc and adding it to some of my own thoughts. But I get the impression one or two on here, using a different set of snippets or perhaps some far better 'proper info' than I have, are perhaps thinking something similar

My thoughts are (only very partially) based on the fact that vanquish engine has only been produced with 2 pedals and that's the engine I see going in a V12 Vantage replacement

[AdamV12V]

jonby said:

My thoughts are (only very partially) based on the fact that vanquish engine has only been produced with 2 pedals and that's the engine I see going in a V12 Vantage replacement

Surely the number of pedals is a feature of the gearbox and not a engine issue. I thought the Vanquish engine was just the same engine as in the V12V but with a few tweaks such as knock sensors and therefore should still work with the existing V12V gearbox?

That said I do suspect there wont be another manual Aston V12 after the current models end their run, but I reckon it will be marketing who decide this rather than a techincal constraint???

[yeti]

jonby said:

My thoughts are (only very partially) based on the fact that vanquish engine has only been produced with 2 pedals and that's the engine I see going in a V12 Vantage replacement

My info also says V12 Vantage with 310quish engine and ZF 8 speed transmission. Basically an astonomically expensive version of the F-Type I suppose

[jonby]

AdamV12V said:

Surely the number of pedals is a feature of the gearbox and not a engine issue. I thought the Vanquish engine was just the same engine as in the V12V but with a few tweaks such as knock sensors and therefore should still work with the existing V12V gearbox?

you are absolutely correct. Theoretically no reason they wouldn't work. All I was getting at is I assume they will have optimised power delivery & other characteristics to work with the ZF box and if they did a V12V with that engine, it would make sense if it had the same ZF box as all other iterations of the engine (including DB9 and new Rapide which have a marginally detuned version) only come with the ZF box - in the instance of V12V, they had already developed that engine with the manual box in the DBS

If that was the only reason though, I wouldn't have suggested what I did - yeti has just commented above he has simialr thoughts and I am fairly certain they aren't based on the same stuff I've heard or the same people that I've heard it from, especially as mine is all conjecture based on a wild leap of an assumption from various things I've heard - all the people I know reasonably well that might know something won't even give a tiny hint away

Edited by jonby on Tuesday 15th January 15:14

[jonby]

yeti said:

jonby said:

My thoughts are (only very partially) based on the fact that vanquish engine has only been produced with 2 pedals and that's the engine I see going in a V12 Vantage replacement

My info also says V12 Vantage with 310quish engine and ZF 8 speed transmission. Basically an astonomically expensive version of the F-Type I suppose

It will delight me if it does happen because of what it means for existing V12V Coupe & roadsters. But I think it will be a mistake - once it's an auto, I don't get what a Vantage with the same engine AND gearbox as Vanquish will offer that's better than a Vanquish but I do see -ves

The way I see it, a lot of the stuff about 'biggest engine, smallest car' is massively overhyped - the total weight difference bewtween DBS & V12V with like for like spec (i.e. lightweight seats, no rear seats, manual box, same stereo, etc) is minimal. Vantage however is a little more agile & twitchier than DBS from being shorter and very few DBS have the lightweights which give feel or these days, the manual box. If you get absolutely identical spec, there isn't a lot in it, but you rarely get a DBS with that spec

So once you are putting an auto box in a V12 Vantage, you have a heavier vantage, that will have a ZF box with a really sporting chassis - it just doesn't make sense. V12V is in relative terms, the rawest Aston, the naughty boy, the handful, etc - it won't be those things with a ZF box. Just my two penneth of course

[V41LEY]

Loving that exhaust on the silver one !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Zod]

jonby said:

yeti said:

jonby said:

My thoughts are (only very partially) based on the fact that vanquish engine has only been produced with 2 pedals and that's the engine I see going in a V12 Vantage replacement

My info also says V12 Vantage with 310quish engine and ZF 8 speed transmission. Basically an astonomically expensive version of the F-Type I suppose

It will delight me if it does happen because of what it means for existing V12V Coupe & roadsters. But I think it will be a mistake - once it's an auto, I don't get what a Vantage with the same engine AND gearbox as Vanquish will offer that's better than a Vanquish but I do see -ves

The way I see it, a lot of the stuff about 'biggest engine, smallest car' is massively overhyped - the total weight difference bewtween DBS & V12V with like for like spec (i.e. lightweight seats, no rear seats, manual box, same stereo, etc) is minimal. Vantage however is a little more agile & twitchier than DBS from being shorter and very few DBS have the lightweights which give feel or these days, the manual box. If you get absolutely identical spec, there isn't a lot in it, but you rarely get a DBS with that spec

So once you are putting an auto box in a V12 Vantage, you have a heavier vantage, that will have a ZF box with a really sporting chassis - it just doesn't make sense. V12V is in relative terms, the rawest Aston, the naughty boy, the handful, etc - it won't be those things with a ZF box. Just my two penneth of course

I spoke to Reichmann and the engineering guy (forgotten his name) at Gaydon on a very wet day last summer. They said there would be no manual box for the Vanquish, but that they expected that they would produce a future Vantage replacement with a manual box for people like you and me.

[jonby]

Zod said:

I spoke to Reichmann and the engineering guy (forgotten his name) at Gaydon on a very wet day last summer. They said there would be no manual box for the Vanquish, but that they expected that they would produce a future Vantage replacement with a manual box for people like you and me.

Ian Minnards I guess ? Past experience has taught me not to necessarily believe what I'm told

Having said that, I too understand that the 'base' Vantage, which one assumes will have a 6 or 8 cylinder engine, will continue to be offered with a manual. I imagine Jag's confirmation that they will offer one on the F type, along with Porsche's 911, makes that even more likely. My observations were specifically in connection to V12 Vantage

[Zod]

They were hinting at a future V12V, because I made clear that was my chief interest.

[Cockernee]

2 pedals is fine as long as it is an automated manual. If I am honest I prefer automated manual for a number of reasons

1. It is quicker at changing and therefore quicker for getaways.
2. It feels more special than a gear lever. I have one of those in my Turbo Diesel Audi.

Not that I am disappointed with manual, because I am not, I just would have the ASM2 over a manual box. Never an auto though. NOT EVER.

[Zod]

We did also talk about DCTs. They didn't feel they were right for the Vanquish (they really need to get the 8 speed ZF though), but were interested in them for future Vantages.

I like automated manuals (I even like BMW's SMG boxes) and DCTs, but I am very much enjoying a "proper" manual box in teh V12V.

[jonby]

Zod said:

They were hinting at a future V12V, because I made clear that was my chief interest.

ah I see, I read into your post that you were talking about vantages in general

there is definitely an element of wishful thinking in my thoughts - I'd like mine to be end of an era. I certainly think it would be smarter for them to produce a manual new v12v than a 2 pedal but I'm not sure they will do both (in the base vantage yes, but not necessari;y in the smaller production v12). It's a very similar scenario to the forthcoming 991 GT3

[jonby]

Zod said:

We did also talk about DCTs. They didn't feel they were right for the Vanquish (they really need to get the 8 speed ZF though), but were interested in them for future Vantages.

I like automated manuals (I even like BMW's SMG boxes) and DCTs, but I am very much enjoying a "proper" manual box in teh V12V.

On the first point, even Mr Harris has recently been extolling the virtues of the latest 8 speed ZF.

On the second, even doing just 50 miles on Saturday, it was so great to get back to the interaction of a manual gearbox !

BTW, there has been a mention somewhere of a Vantage S with a manual box, I think I read it on a site where an American buyer had seen one in his local dealer, or possibly ordered one

my dealer has confirmed that whilst it has never been the subject of a product bulletin and I think even the website doesn't show it as an option on the S, they have noticed that you can now order one on the system i.e. a vantage S with the 6 speed 3 pedal manual - one assumes it's cheaper than the 3 pedal but I didn't ask and hey, who knows with AM ! :-)