Aston Martin V12 Vantage revealed ahead of Geneva
By Andrew C., 30 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
Aston Martin V12 Vantage
The latest Aston Martin V12 Vantage, which will be debuted this coming March at the Geneva Auto Show and will be on sale by May, has been dubbed as the most powerful sports car in Aston Martin's 95-year car manufacturing history. There will be about 1000 units planned by Aston, the price of which has not been finalized as of yet, but expect a $140,000 price tag to come with the AM V12 Vantage. The sports car comes with a 6-speed manual V12 which can generate 510bhp and 420lb-ft of torque on tap from its 6.0-liter powerplant. The acceleration claimed for the car is 4.1 seconds from 0-60mph and a 190mph maximum speed.The Aston Martin V12 Vantage has a hardcore appearance and specs but is looked upon as quite different from the DBS and V8 because it is more focused on the driver while remaining usable and takes advantage of outstanding levels of grip.
The V12 Vantage concept, which initially came out in December of 2007, has received wide-ranging styling modifications, as well as a fresh engine lid, grill, front splitter, sill extensions, rear bumper and trunk cover.The greatest challenge the project encountered was the installation of the longer and heavier V12 powerplant onto the smaller V8 chassis. This resulted in the relocation of the cooling pack, and changes to the powerplant and structure of the chassis in front of the front suspension towers. The lower hood line and ride height compared to the DB-series was achieved by slimming down the sump depth by 15mm. The internal baffles of the sump were also reengineered to compensate for the Vantage's ability to pull 1.2 to 1.3 lateral g-forces during hard driving.
Although a bigger engine in a smaller compartment would have resulted in overheating, a combination of the vents on the hood and the absence of an undertray helped in making heat management less of a problem. Furthermore, changes in the castings in the front end of the chassis were modified to provide more space and permit extra cooling for the carbon-ceramic brake discs plus a grill that comes with lesser slats. Spring rates for the V12 Vantage have been increased by 80 and 45 percent for the front and rear, respectively. The Vantage received a larger oil cooler for the transmission mounted at the back and cooling is enhanced further by the new rear-end air diffuser. With experience accumulated from running the N24 race cars at the Nurburgring, exterior design functionality is improved with the use of a trunk mounted spoiler that improved downforce by 47 percent at a speed of 150mph with an overall total of 64 percent at the same speed.
Gallery: Aston Martin V12 Vantage
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