From the arrival of the first RS concept in 2007 to the very special V600s more than a decade later, there has been a whole lot of love for the Aston Martin V12 Vantage. It wasn’t hard to see why: the V12 combined the most stylish form of Aston with the best sounding engine, had a manual transmission (at least initially), and didn’t complicate the recipe much further. While early cars were a little intimidating to drive fast, and the automated manual gearbox that came later wasn’t far from the best, the appeal of the Vantage was evident. And hear.
Now it looks like the V12 Vantage will return as this development module is certainly not a normal V8. Note the gaping front inlet, the V12 Speedster-style bonnet, the DBS wheels, a redesigned rear, and the central exhaust systems – the latter just like the Speedster. There are also chunkier rear arches that hide a wider track. Of course, this could all be for another GT8-style Vantage, but our sources seem to believe in a V12.
In addition, we must not forget the effort that must have gone into the 5.2-liter twin turbo in the Vantage-derived Speedster; It seems very unlikely that Aston would have gone to this level of engineering for just 77 cars (with a lot of DBS grafted onto the front of the Vantage).
The DBS look on the front splitter and grille gives this idea further credibility. A V12 makes sense. We convinced ourselves of that hours ago. Especially when you consider that the track-oriented V8 version is covered well enough (for now, at least) with the F1 edition, leaving a sizable gap between that car at £ 140,000 and the £ 750,000 Speedster for a little more V12 stupidity.
This is also meant silliness in the best sense of the word, because this engine never produced less than 600 hp, and that was in the original DB11. It was upgraded to 640 hp for the AMR and then to 725 hp for the DBS Superleggera, from which it was only turned back slightly for the Speedster (to 700 hp). Could this coupe match the drop-top in terms of performance? Probably not if this is to become a production car, but even 600 hp – and the enormous torque that 12 cylinders and two turbos offer – would be a lot in a car that already has 300 km / h potential with the V8.
Given the rough and ready condition of the prototype, don’t expect the V12-powered Vantage – if it is – to go on sale too early. Especially not with the recently launched F1 Edition and the V12 Speedster not yet with customers. But once the hype surrounding these two cars subsides a bit, don’t be surprised to see a car that combines the best elements of both emerge from Gaydon. And the admiration to resume five seconds later.
Photo credit | S.Baldauf / SB Media
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