2007 Aston Martin

Conceived and constructed during Aston Martin’s modern golden era by the company’s discreet engineering “Skunk Works” division, the V12 Vantage RS Concept was unveiled on 11th December 2007 at the official opening of Aston Martin’s new Design Centre at Gaydon. Presented personally by CEO Dr Ulrich Bez to an invited audience of more than 700 VIP guests, the car immediately conveyed that something significant was taking place. Aston Martin had taken its smallest, most focused model and installed its most powerful engine, a bold statement, developed quietly and revealed without compromise.

At its core lies a race-derived 6.0-litre V12 drawn directly from the DBRS9 GT3 racer and engineered in collaboration with Prodrive. Producing 580 bhp at 6,250 rpm and 690 Nm of torque at 5,000 rpm, the engine featured dry-sump lubrication, strengthened internals, revised camshaft profiles and carefully developed cylinder heads. Effectively identical in architecture to the DBRS9 unit, it represented an increase of some 70 horsepower over the standard road-going V12 of the period.

Installing this engine within the compact V8 Vantage platform was a serious engineering undertaking. The DB9 engine cradle was grafted into the chassis to accommodate the V12, and revised suspension settings compensated for the altered 52/48 front-to-rear weight distribution compared to the V8 Vantage’s 48/52.

Power is channelled through a six-speed manual transaxle with a limited-slip differential, mounted within Aston Martin’s aluminium VH architecture. The RS was comprehensively re-engineered to manage its performance. Carbon fibre featured extensively throughout the body and the stripped-back, race-derived interior. Carbon ceramic brakes were fitted as standard, delivering exceptional stopping power. Despite housing the heavier 12-cylinder engine, the Vantage RS contrived to be lighter than the standard V8 Vantage, tipping the scales at approximately 1,500 kg, around 200 kg lighter than the later production V12 Vantage. The car was also first presented, featuring, for the first time on an Aston, a deployable spoiler that rose automatically at high speeds to increase rear downforce. We now know that this was totally non-functional and was replaced with the incorporated ducktail spoiler that made its way into the full production V12 Vantage.

Weight reduction was central to the project. Meaning things like ABS, traction control and satellite navigation were omitted. Yet the cabin was far from sparse. Surfaces are trimmed extensively in Alcantara, creating a balanced motorsport focus with a touch of luxury.

At approximately 1,500 kg, the RS delivered a power-to-weight ratio of 375 bhp per tonne. Aston Martin claimed 0 to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph, numbers that placed it at the very top of Aston Martin’s road car performance at the time.

Its distinctive blue paint was named “Mako Blue” following an internal competition. Design Director Marek Reichman explained that the name referenced the Mako shark, the fastest and most agile shark known. The Maori translation for ‘Mako’ is ‘Blue Lightning’ which obviously is a very fitting name.

In early 2008, the RS appeared on the Aston Martin stand at the Geneva Motor Show before being transported directly to Circuit Paul Ricard for the company’s pre-season “Winter Test.” There, alongside the DBR9 GT1 racer, V8 Vantage GT2 development car and LMP1 sports prototype, the RS demonstrated extraordinary pace. Through the speed trap it recorded 175 mph, matching the GT1 DBR9 and exceeding the V8 Vantage N24s, GT3 DBRS9s and AMR Vantage GT2 cars present that day.

Journalists were unequivocal in their praise. Richard Meaden reported that the Vantage RS was attracting more admiring glances than any of the other cars present:‘Take a look at the timing screens in each and every pit garage and it’s obvious why: despite being the only non-race car present it is consistently outrunning the V8 Vantage N24s, the GT3 DBRS9s and the AMR Vantage GT2. Most impressively, its 175mph peak is identical to that of the GT1 DBR9.’

Top Gear’s Bill Thomas even found it possible to stay with Heinz Harold Frentzen’s DBR9 GT1 racer:‘He’s running the same engine, see, but is loaded with a shedload more downforce, which equates to more drag. So I was just as fast, if not faster, in my clean, drag-free, road-going RS. What a moment, on the back straight at Ricard, slipstreaming Frentzen’s Le Mans car comfortably in a road car… watching the speedo needle clock up toward 200 mph.’

Autocar’s Steve Cropley, testing at Silverstone, singled out the carbon ceramic brakes as phenomenal, describing them as‘simply eliminate speed like nothing I’ve ever experienced, squeezing the car into the road and making you hang forward on the straps.’

In June 2008, chassis RS01 attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed taking to the hill and subsequently featured prominently in EVO, Autocar, Motor Sport, Car and Vantage magazines. Between 2009 and 2010 it was displayed at the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust Museum at Gaydon.

Internally, there was genuine debate about whether a car of such focus and capability should be offered to customers in this uncompromised form. Interest, however, was immediate and overwhelming. Two potential production routes were explored, one a pared-back, track-oriented machine and the other a refined high-performance road car. The latter emerged at Geneva in 2009 as the production V12 Vantage, albeit powered by the 510 bhp wet-sump V12 shared with other Aston Martin models. Production commenced in mid-2009, and the model remained in production until 2018, becoming one of ‘the’ defining driver’s cars of the era. It would take a further eight years after RS01 was built for Aston Martin to produce something approaching the harder-edged vision previewed by the RS, ultimately realised as the Vantage GT12 in 2015, available with only the SportShift gearbox. In many respects, the Vantage RS Concept represents the only GT12 ‘Touring’ that will ever be officially built.

Unlike many manufacturers, Aston Martin has historically preserved its prototypes wherever possible such as the Development Prototypes of the 60’s, occasionally selling them once their factory duties were complete rather than consigning them to destruction. In keeping, RS01 was retained by the factory and, in 2013, Aston Martin was persuaded to release the car to join the collection of one of its most significant VIP clients.

In October 2017, RS01 returned to Aston Martin’s Special Projects, Q Advanced Operations department at Wellesbourne for extensive recommissioning and work to achieve UK road registration. The car now carries full type approval, a current MoT certification, a V5C registration document and an accompanying spares package.

The car was subsequently sold in 2021 to help fund the owner’s purchase of another Aston Martin and was acquired by its current custodian, who went on to commission the final V12 Vantage built in matching specification to the RS, a fitting and deliberate continuation of the original concept.*

More recently, the RS01 has continued to occupy an important place within the company’s narrative. It featured in the launch campaign for the second-generation limited-production V12 Vantage and was displayed at the launch dinner hosted by CEO Lawrence Stroll. Subsequently positioned in the foyer of the Gaydon factory, it received unmistakable recognition of its role in the model’s evolution.

In 2023, RS01 was invited to participate in the Aston Martin 110th Anniversary Celebration at Silverstone Circuit, where 110 of the marque’s most important cars were assembled and paraded, confirmation of its established position within Aston Martin’s heritage. In 2026 it also featured in Octane magazine’s top 20 greatest-ever Aston Martins.

Offered with a comprehensive history file, period photography, factory-prepared documentation outlining its history, and a spares package, chassis RS01 represents the true origin point of one of Aston Martin’s most admired modern models. It remains the original and most focused expression of the V12 Vantage, technically significant, genuinely rare, and a unique opportunity to acquire a factory concept of high importance.

“It’s fantastic. It’s wonderful, wonderful, wonderful”are the words of none other than Jeremy Clarkson when summing up the final production version of the V12 Vantage, in what became one of Top Gear’s most memorable and passionate automotive videos ever created.

Available now for viewing and demonstration.

*The matching second-generation 2023 Aston Martin V12 Vantage is available by separate negotiation.