After the BMW Z3, 750iL and Z8, James Bond had already had enough impressions of the Bavarian car factories in 2002. The British spy returned to the UK brand in the film "Die Another Day". Aston Martin has long been one of his favorite official cars.
How good that just a year earlier, a magnificent car that really pleased 007 was presented at the Geneva Motor Show: the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. Meanwhile, the Super-GT has been on the back of… excuse me: on the noble royal silhouette for 25 years. With a total of three generations, the “conqueror” still holds a firm place in the history of the British brand today.
Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark describes the model's name in retrospect as a symbol of ambition, difference and courage. At the time, it was a challenge to competitors such as the Ferrari F550 and Jaguar XKR. With its symbolic name, it was intended to "beat" all supercars and "stun" customers with its power and confident design language.
If a British secret agent had personally chosen an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, many other buyers would have followed suit. The first generation rolled off the production line at the Newport Pagnell factory between 2001 and 2007. It was, incidentally, the last model to leave that production facility before the company moved to Gaydon.
The first Vanquish was powered by a 6,0-litre V12 engine with 460bhp. Yes, by today’s standards, when horsepower numbers keep increasing, that may not sound very impressive, but trust me – it was back then. The transmission was sequential, controlled by paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
The inspiration for this technology came from Formula 1. The manufacturer also tried something new with the chassis: the structure consisted of glued and riveted aluminum profiles, complemented by a central transmission tunnel made of carbon fiber. At that time, it was necessary to pay 160.000 British pounds for someone to afford James Bond's official car.
The second generation followed in 2012. The car, which visually strongly resembled the limited edition One-77, lost around 25 percent of its weight compared to the previous DBS model thanks to its all-carbon fibre body. The reworked V12 engine now developed 565 hp and delivered 620 Nm of torque.
This allowed the coupé to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4,1 seconds and reach a top speed of 295 km/h. The standard carbon-ceramic brakes provided the necessary thermal stability when braking. The model could be ordered as a pure two-seater or as a 2+2-seater. A total of 250 second-generation models were registered in Germany.
After a hiatus, the Vanquish returned in its third generation in 2024. It is currently Aston Martin's top model among front-engined sports cars. Under the elongated hood is a 5,2-liter twin-turbo V12, which transmits 835 hp and 1000 Nm of torque to the rear axle. According to the British, this is the "most powerful production flagship model" in Aston Martin's history. It accelerates from 0 to 97 km/h in 3,3 seconds, and its top speed is 344 km/h.
Aston Martin once again uses a laminated aluminum structure. The chassis of the British manufacturer relies on a double wishbone front axle and a multi-link rear axle. The braking system consists of carbon-ceramic brake discs measuring 410 millimeters at the front and 360 millimeters at the rear.
Less than 1000 vehicles are produced annually. Anyone who wants to secure one of these flagship models with a V12 engine will have to pay around 400.000 euros.
