New Aston Martin V12 Vantage delivers 690bhp

BRITS won’t own their dream car until they are 47 if they are lucky and it must be a black sports car – preferably an Audi or Aston Martin says a new study.

Aston Martin has sought to offset the weight of the larger engine with a front bumper, bonnet, wings, sills, rear bumper and deck lid made from carbonfibre and lightweight battery and exhaust systems, the latter of which saves 7.2kg alone.

Price starts at from £120,900!! The company claims a power-to-weight ratio of 385bhp per tonne – a 20% increase over the standard model. That puts the V12 Vantage at roughly 1795kg, some 165kg heavier than the V8 car but with a 20% greater power-to-weight ratio.

It’s stiffer, too: the suspension’s spring rates have been increased by 50% at the front and 40% at the rear, while the top mounts are 13% stiffer and the anti-roll bars 5% stiffer at the front (but 41% softer at the rear). The body itself has been made more rigid courtesy of a new strut brace and fuel-tank brace at the rear, which boosts stiffness by 8%.

Aston Martin claims the V12 delivers sharper turn-in response courtesy of a newly calibrated steering system, while lightweight, high-durability carbon-ceramic brake discs boost stopping power while also saving 23kg.

The transformation is most immediately obvious from the V12’s visual makeover, though. Its track has been widened by 40mm at each end to boost cornering stability, there’s a radical new front-end treatment with a bespoke (25% larger) grille and full-width splitter, the bonnet now hosts a massive horseshoe-shaped cooling intake and the rear end houses a new centre-exit exhaust, a race-style diffuser and a sizeable rear wing that adds 204kg of downforce at top speed.

The revamp is subtler inside, with the V12 car marked out mostly by its carbonfibre seats – claimed to save another 7.3kg over standard.

However, Aston Martin has emphasised that the personalisation options offered by its Q bespoke service mean that “it wouldn’t be a surprise to see no two cars the same”.

Moers has previously hinted that Aston Martin’s V12 could be deployed in more new models after the new Vantage variant. “The V12 still has a bit of potential”, he told us. “Having the V12 Vantage shows there’s still room for a V12 in our sports car generation.”