Aston Martin

Aston Martin Returns to Nurburgring 24-hour race with New V12 Vantage

Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez may sound like a mere suit to some but the passion of his brand gushes through his veins. On May 23 at the 37th ADAC Nürburgring 24-hour race the good doctor will line up against rivals for the fourth time in a row to compete in the new V12 Vantage. The race is seen by Aston Martin as the final engineering durability test for the V12 Vantage programme.

The upcoming standard car has a 6.0-litre V12 engine that produces 510bhp (380kW) and 570Nm (420 lb ft) of torque. Its 0 – 62mph time is 4.2 seconds and the top speed is 190mph (305km/h). The competing car uses this very same engine with no modifications.

The only changes that were made were minimal and were done in order to keep a high safety standard, to reduce weight and improve handling (suspension). The standard car already features carbon fibre components. Pirelli provided the specially selected P Zero Circuit Racing slick tyres.

Track Drive: 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Don’t get me wrong; I love Astons. They’re beautiful pieces of coach-building, featuring stunning exterior styling, flawless interior refinement, and hypnotic engine notes. In other words, an absolute dream ride for a nice Sunday cruise, but that’s it. Since I’ve been at Motor Trend, every Aston Martin I’ve driven has been great at being an exotic cruiser but always fell short when compared to exotic drivers. But that’s about to change with the introduction of the all-new Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

It took a while, but they finally did it. Aston took its smallest car and stuffed its biggest mill — a 6.0-liter V-12 producing 510 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque — into the engine bay. Aston Martin is claiming a top speed of 190 mph and a 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds for the V12 Vantage. The top speed sounds about right, but that 60 time should be better. I tested a V-8 Vantage manual a while back and recorded a time of 4.1 seconds 0-60 and a quarter mile of 12.5 seconds at 115 mph, and that car has only 420 horsepower. I’m guessing the 60 for the V-12-powered Vantage will be somewhere south of 4.0 seconds with the quarter mile disappearing in the low 12-second range.

Aston Martin updates the V8 Vantage for 2010

Aston Martin is preparing to launch an updated Aston Martin V8 Vantage range for 2010. The beady-eyed spies at CAR UK caught a suspicious-looking blue model badged as a V8 but dressed in part like the V12 running around near the company’s Gaydon, Warwickshire headquarters.

It turns out it was a 2010 MY test unit. Changes made include a magnum silver bonnet, new optional 10-spoke forged 19-inch alloy wheels with diamond turned and silver finish, and clear rear lights. The interior can be specified with new optional lightweight seats with kevlar and carbon fibre construction. Weight savings from these amount to 17kg (37 lbs). There is also an optional 1,000W B&O hi-fi system to suit every musical taste.