RE: New Aston Martin AM 310 Vanquish revealed

RE: New Aston Martin AM 310 Vanquish revealed

Wednesday 20th June 2012

New Aston Martin AM 310 Vanquish revealed

573hp AM 310 Vanquish replaces DBS and officially "represents the latest take on Aston Martin's iconic visual language"



After a teasing appearance at the recent Villa d'Este concours show, Aston Martin has confirmed details for its all-new (mostly) AM 310 Vanquish with a fresh batch of official photos and further details on its latest 'super GT.'

Now with added One-77 influence
Now with added One-77 influence
There's been a degree of sniggering at Aston playing it safe on the styling front and, reading between the lines of the press release, it's clear this has been noted and, in true PR fashion, spun into a 'good news' story. So the official version includes lots of "latest take on Aston Martin's iconic visual language", "unmistakably an Aston Martin", "clear and coherent lineage from its heritage" and the rest but the clear subtext is a recognition that recent Astons have all looked a bit samey.

Indeed, Ulrich Bez is quoted as saying "AM 310 Vanquish is the ultimate expression of Aston Martin design ethos" while elsewhere the press material says it "represents the zenith of current Aston Martin design and engineering." Which could imply change is round the corner.

Vanquish name revived for new model
Vanquish name revived for new model
For now thought the AM 310 Vanquish could be said to represent business very much as usual. But who's to complain about that, when all's said and done! Under that swoopy, One-77 inspired skin - more heavily contoured and, perhaps, fussier than the DB9 and its derivatives - is the latest generation of Aston Martin's 'Vertical Horizontal' architecture, now clothed entirely in carbon fibre body panels following on from the DBS's forays into this must-have tech.

This makes it considerably more exotic than the aluminium used by obvious rivals like the Mercedes SLS AMG, the new Vanquish's £190K pricetag and 573hp seemingly pitched very much with the £170K, 571hp Gullwinged Merc in mind.

Opulent and distinctively Aston Martin
Opulent and distinctively Aston Martin
That power comes from an updated version of Aston Martin's long-serving 6.0-litre V12, an increase of 56hp over the DBS's 517hp while torque climbs from 420lb ft to 457lb ft. It's a couple of tenths quicker to 62mph at 4.1 seconds and tops out at 187mph, actually 3mph shy of the manual DBS as it happens but a little quicker than the 183mph of the equivalent Touchtronic 2 version. Indeed, there's no word on whether the Vanquish will be offered with a manual but you'd have to say it would be unlikely, the ZF-based Touchtronic system as crisp and as quick as you'd like and more appropriate to the Vanquish's GT pretensions. As is the much larger boot, 60 per cent bigger than the DBS at 368 litres in fact and apparently able to, in Aston's words, "carry sufficient luggage for even the most ambitious grand tourist." What that really means, of course, is space for golf bags but credit to them for at least alluding to more romantic ideas of what cars like this really get used for.

Integrated rear wing is a new touch
Integrated rear wing is a new touch
Deliveries for the new AM 310 Vanquish start at the end of the year in the UK and Europe, Bez boasting that it represents "the perfect way to signal the beginning of our centenary celebrations next year."

Author
Discussion

The Beaver King

Original Poster:

6,095 posts

194 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Lots of want....

BallsOfTitanium

36 posts

180 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
So not a brand new model after all much as i suspected the old floorplan has had a vajazzle!!

IMHO what Aston needs right now is investment because it is obviously sorely lacking... Good looking tho and probably worth the 20k hike over the SLS

Toffer

1,527 posts

260 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Lots of brown paint...they will be also offering beige.

PaulieMafia

3,321 posts

222 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
I can't believe that of all the colours in the entire universe, someone in marketing at Aston said "Yep, that's the one. Do it."


Krikkit

26,500 posts

180 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Brown is the new in-colour, but I can't help hoping for a dark grey or black one surfacing. At the moment I'm not convinced - it's too fussy and laden with CF tinsel for my tastes, the DB9 was the best shape for me, nice and clean.

g3org3y

20,606 posts

190 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Not too keen on the front skirting, quite inelegant and a bit too showy.

stuckmojo

2,955 posts

187 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
g3org3y said:
Not too keen on the front skirting, quite inelegant and a bit too showy.
I agree. It looks lovely overall, but that front lip does not work for me. Perhaps it will suit a full-black livery.

stephen300o

15,464 posts

227 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Looks nice, glad they haven't put the one77's nose on it.

MonteV

363 posts

259 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
The Vanquish name is too good to let go. Good decision. The 310 I don't understand. At the moment though the most desirable Aston model is the V12 Vantage, to me. Best design, the V12 sound, manual gearbox.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
I like brown on the road, but in renderings it always seems to look awful.

On the car itself - some of the detailing looks too aggressive for such an effeminate shape, IMO - most notably the front air dam, side skirts, and rear spoiler.

GTiFrank

625 posts

183 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
hmmn nice shiny diarrhea

tongue out

adambcvg

70 posts

172 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
BallsOfTitanium said:
So not a brand new model after all much as i suspected the old floorplan has had a vajazzle!!

IMHO what Aston needs right now is investment because it is obviously sorely lacking... Good looking tho and probably worth the 20k hike over the SLS
I think you should find out info before deciding on things. People see vh platform and think its the same chassis. Its not, its just a way of creating a chassis. This car is 99% brand spanking new.

nickfrog

20,872 posts

216 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Yes brown was in a couple of years ago when white went out of fashion...rolleyes

Seriously, what a beautiful car...

Griffithy

929 posts

275 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
I love it cloud9

Makes the old Vanquish looking very dated.

(If they only would stop the headlight Christmas tree garlands)

MiniMan64

16,863 posts

189 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Wrong colour and far too fussy in the details.....

Hmmm.

jon-

16,496 posts

215 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Integrated rear wing looks a bit exige :|

Front is lovely.

SSCooperS

1,394 posts

163 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Is it just me, or does it look like a slightly elongated Toyota GT-86 in profile?

George H

14,706 posts

163 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
The front splitter is truly awful hurl

And a spoiler should not be present on a road going Aston imo.

MiniMan64

16,863 posts

189 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
Where does the 310 come from by the way?

PascalBuyens

2,868 posts

281 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
quotequote all
The colour redcard

The car underneath... yes please smile