(Guangzhou, 21 November 2013) Luxury sports car maker Aston Martin launches its most extreme sports car – the V12 Vantage S – in China today at 8.1 Hall at the 11th Guangzhou International Auto Show. The famous British brand reveals its most impressive model range ever at Guangzhou, with the exclusive and limited production Centenary Edition Vanquish, luxury four-door sports GT Rapide S, timeless GT DB9, and the iconic One-77 hypercar.
The V12 Vantage S, which is now available to order in China, is the brand’s fastest accelerating series production car to date – with the exception of the iconic, limited-production, One-77. Taking just 3.9 seconds to sprint from 0-100 km/h the sports car underlines its position as the most potent Vantage in Aston Martin’s 100-year history.
2013 is a global celebration for the luxury British sports car maker – which is marking its centenary – as it reflects on 100 years of iconic sports car manufacture with landmark events across the globe. While the centenary festivities continue in China, show-goers at this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show will see a brace of new models with both the stunning V12 Vantage S and the limited production Vanquish Centenary Edition making their China debuts.
China launch of Aston Martin’s most extreme sports car – V12 Vantage S
Aston Martin debuts its most extreme sports car to date – the V12 Vantage S – in the Chinese market at this year’s show. The new car replaces the outgoing V12 Vantage in markets around the world and, with the exception of the One-77 hypercar, arrives as the fastest road-going Aston Martin to date.
Equipped with the new 573 PS Aston Martin AM28 6.0-litre V12 engine, featuring latest generation Bosch engine management, the car is capable of reaching 205 mph. Peak- and low-rev torque improve appreciably, too. With 620 Nm available at 5,750 rpm – up from 570 Nm previously – the V12 Vantage S packs a considerable punch. Crucially, too, low-rev torque – measured at just 1,000 rpm – leaps from 440 Nm to 510 Nm. This serves to both flatten and fatten the torque curve, thereby significantly improving driveability. The debut of three-stage adaptive damping – another ‘first’ for the Vantage family – allows the driver to more precisely tailor the car’s dynamic character. Normal, Sport and Track modes provide a broad swathe of dynamic performance that can be tuned to better suit the driver’s requirements.
A whole new exhaust system – derived from that of the One-77 hypercar, no less – is lighter, smaller and, crucially, even more sonorous than that of the outgoing car. The ZF Servotronic power-assisted steering is new, too. With a quicker 15:1 ratio, it is linked to the adaptive damping button and offers two-mode steering assistance designed to best match the Sport or Normal settings generated by the Adaptive Damping System. The new V12 Vantage S is available to order in the Chinese market starting from the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of 3,468,800 RMB (excluding tax).
With sporting DNA drawn from Aston Martin’s 100-year history, the Vantage range is at home on road or track The Vantage series’ performance has been honed from racing successes on the track. Aston Martin Racing leads a total of five championships after finishing in first and second place in the GTE pro class and third in the GTE Am class in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) Six Hours of Shanghai on 9 November, while the victorious #97 Vantage GTE climbed to the top of the table for GTE Pro Teams.
Christian Marti, Aston Martin Global Sales Director, said: “The new V12 Vantage S is, simply, pure Aston Martin. It is extreme in its nature yet truly timeless in its design language. Learning from our successes on the track feeds the development of this type of car and I’m proud to launch such an exciting sports car in this, our centenary year.”
Race car technology runs right through the DNA of the V12 Vantage S with, for instance, CNC machined combustion chambers and hollow cam shafts just two examples of track technology feeding through to the road. Another clear example is the new car’s new gearbox. The Sportshift™ III AMT (automated manual transmission) is a major development of the automated manual gearbox that appears in the current V8 Vantage S.
Designed and engineered to exploit the full sporting potential of the V12 engine, the new Sportshift™ III hydraulically actuated automated manual transmission provides motorsport-style paddle shift changes for optimum performance delivery and efficiency. The unit is also appreciably lighter than the outgoing six-speed manual gearbox – saving 25 kg.
This race-derived and motorsport proven technology – used routinely in Aston Martin Racing’s race-winning Vantage GT4, GT3 and GTE competition cars – provides for great driver control, with only milliseconds of torque interruption, and delivers precise and swift gear changes.
The Sportshift™ III transaxle joins an extensive array of new sport- and track-focused developments that ensure the V12 Vantage S is fully equipped to exploit the huge performance potential of its 6.0-litre naturally aspirated AM28 engine.
Centenary Edition of ultimate GT Vanquish debuts at Guangzhou marking the brand’s 100 years The limited production Centenary Edition Vanquish makes its Chinese debut in Guangzhou. Featuring a unique graduated paint finish, solid sterling silver Aston Martin wing badges with tailored ‘trans flux’ enamel inlay and a special Aston Martin hallmark, the exterior represents an exclusive celebration of the company’s 100-year history.
Centenary Edition Aston Martin models are identified inside by their luxurious treatment. Semi-Aniline Chancellor Red leather with contrasting silver stitching, a special silver thread embroidery of the Aston Martin wings in the head restraints and solid sterling silver sill plaques individually numbered with an Aston Martin hallmark are among the features unique to the car.
The luxury brand’s ultimate GT showcases a painstakingly created Centenary Edition specification that will be available worldwide on just 100 examples of each of the car maker’s model lines: V8 Vantage, DB9, Rapide S and Vanquish.