Vanquish bows out in style

[Pebb]

It seems no one has posted this news up yet.

Source: Auto Express

To mark the end of its production run later this year, the firm is building 40 Ultimate Edition versions of the Vanquish S. And the good news is the special model won't cost a penny extra. Unique black paintwork marks the car out, while the cabin features a raft of additions. Leather upholstery with coarse stitching features on the seats and headlining, complemented by black chrome fittings.

Each car also boasts its own personalised sill plate bearing the car's limited edition number. And with Aston Martin choosing not to charge customers for the extras, the Ultimate Edition, which is mechanically unaltered, will cost the same £182,095 as the standard V12 car.

There's also a boost for owners of the firm's flagship model who don't like the standard-fit semi-automatic gearbox. Aston's Works Service division has devised a new transmission conversion for the Vanquish, allowing owners to swap to a conventional manual set-up.

For £15,568, buyers can ditch the paddleshift box for a normal manual. However, the change is only available as a retro-fit option.

 

[lmracer]

thats pretty neat. i would like to see one go at Barret Jackson, or taken for a ride. it seems to look a little sleaker since the last iteration of the vanquish. oh yeah, only in black? six speed swap?

 

[Eric.]

It would be nice to see some performance upgrades on these special edition exotics...

 

[V1P3R]

That's too bad... this was the best AM out of the bunch hands down.

 

[Jay]

My Favorite current Aston, but I knew it was on the way out.

 

[1X83Z]

To this day I've never seen a Vanquish on the road. That fact still stuns me to no end.

The Vanquish is still my favorite current Aston Martin - possibly my favorite ever - and I hate Ford for selling out owners and destroying resale values by releasing three lookalikes with similar capabilities, though I sympathise with their reasons. The Vanquish remains Aston's only modern supercar.

Maybe someone in Denver can get an Ultimate Edition?

 

[Slicks]

The Vanquish is still my favorite current Aston Martin - possibly my favorite ever - and I hate Ford for selling out owners and destroying resale values by releasing three lookalikes with similar capabilities, though I sympathise with their reasons. The Vanquish remains Aston's only modern supercar.

Agreed.

A Vanquish with a manual would....Just...*Drools*.

 

[Tornado]

Oh poo. Now that the only different looking (and best of the three) Aston is gone, we have only the twins left.

 

[Milliethemutt]

Manual Vanquish? Yes please.

To this day I've never seen a Vanquish on the road.

Only one for me ever. I saw it coming up behind and he sat behind for a few miles, I pulled over and we sat for a while at reasonable speed. He backed off after a couple of miles and we slowed to pass a police car on a overhead bridge. I guess he had a radar detector or something as he backed off ages before. they look so much more nails than the other 2 on the road.

 

[Philly]

Great spot.

I'm sad that the vanquish is leaving (apparently like everyone else around here.) Maybe a replacement is somewhere out there in the next few years?

 

[Dave A]

I've seen a few Vanquishes, and I see a DB9 and DB7 daily, the DB7 and DB9 both look nicer imo. The Vanquish has a more agressive and wider stance, but thoes rear arches kill it for me, they don't flow with the rest of the car imo.

 

[YSSMAN]

Best Aston ever? Really?

...I'm certainly not in that camp, but as the car that re-defined the company as we see it today, it is by no means an unimportant car. I have absolutely loved this car from day one, and when Car and Driver first tested it against the Ferrari 550 and it lost, I was devastated.

It certainly is a loss, but I'm more than happy with the DB9 taking the top-spot at Aston. It will be interesting to see how, or even if, the new bosses at Aston decide to replace the Vanquish, but I'm sure that won't happen for a while.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

I'm another who's sad to see it go, and when I saw news of this final edition, I realized I only have a couple years to save up to hopefully find one second-hand and get that manual box installed .

In all seriousness, this was also my favourite modern Aston, but I've got a different opinion from YSS on this one; I don't consider the DB9 a worthy replacement for it, especially this "DBS" stuff. The bodykit looks like a ricey DBR9 knockoff, the taillights are awful, and it'll end up weaker than the Vanquish S anyways. Aston needs a bespoke flagship... actually, I suppose technically not, since it would share the current platform, but at least have a new design, not just throw some new pieces on a current one.

 

[Dave A]

The DB9 isn't mean to replace the Vanquish, it replaced the DB7. Aston needed a new flagship because the Vanquish is dated in it's capabilities. A DB9 can keep up with one with little fuss, in effect th DB9 being as good as it is, has killed the Vanquish. Aston will probably have a new flagship in the near future.

 

[Speedster502]

....Cough....... I like the Vanquish as much as I like Stilton Cheese which isnt a lot. It is a good car no doubt about that but It never appealed to me. This one is exactly the same just another special edition. Personally I prefer the
DB9. But I still stand by my motto......
"Aston Martin Rule. FULL STOP"

 

[YSSMAN]

will probably have a new flagship in the near future.

It will be interesting to see how that one turns out now that they are under the realm of Louis Vuitton (etc). Will they shovel enough money into the fire to let them build the 599 rival they deserve?

 

[1X83Z]

Best Aston ever? Really?

...I'm certainly not in that camp,

Which do you prefer?

 

[Eric.]

I'm not a big Vanquish fan myself. I like the DB9 a little better, especially with near-identical performance.

 

[Tornado]

Which do you prefer?

I would say the V8 Vantage, or the Virage.

 

[1X83Z]

I would say the V8 Vantage, or the Virage.

You prefer the V8 Vantage to the Vanquish?

 

[Tornado]

Of course. That raw, stupid amount of power (in the Virage Vantage), the allusions to the muscle car days of yore (of both Vantages), the fact that the car was still silly fast despite weighing more than 2 tons (Virage Vantage). Hell, the Zagato of the 80's was even faster than both the flagship Lamborghini and the Flagship Ferrari. I even prefer the styling of the older V8 Vantage to pretty much every Aston since, barring the DB7.

 

[1X83Z]

Oh - you're referring to the original V8 Vantage. That I can sympathise with, though I disagree.

The Virage? Lord. How big are those, really?

 

[SlipZtrEm]

The DB9 isn't mean to replace the Vanquish, it replaced the DB7. Aston needed a new flagship because the Vanquish is dated in it's capabilities. A DB9 can keep up with one with little fuss, in effect th DB9 being as good as it is, has killed the Vanquish. Aston will probably have a new flagship in the near future.

I know it was meant to replace the DB7, I guess I wasn't clear enough about how I don't agree with the DB9-based DBS replacing the Vanquish. I'm saddened by it because when the Vanquish was unveiled, it was a seperate model from the DB7. The DBS is just a go-faster DB9, not a bespoke car in any way. It has a detuned Vanquish S engine.

Personally, I think the problem with the DB9 keeping pace with the Vanquish could've been solved by making the S engine standard on all Vanqs and keeping the price the same. It would've made it slightly easier to justify spending so much on it when it was coming with 520 horses versus the DB9's 450.

 

[dylansan]

That thing looks pretty cool 👍 Like a slicked-back version of the other.


OT: With one less car in the AM lineup, how many different cars are there now? It seems all Astons are way to similar, if one of their cars appeals to someone, all of them will... or so I would think. Why don't they try some less sporty cars, and get some new edge.

 

[Eric.]

That thing looks pretty cool 👍 Like a slicked-back version of the other.


OT: With one less car in the AM lineup, how many different cars are there now? It seems all Astons are way to similar, if one of their cars appeals to someone, all of them will... or so I would think. Why don't they try some less sporty cars, and get some new edge.

Try some less sporty cars? How will that help Aston? They sell mostly off their style I would assume.

 

[Dave A]

Aston Martin should not step below the V8 Vantage, they sell largly on prestige, being classed by many as the finest sportscar automobile manufacturer in the world. It's this prestige and this image that they pride themselves on. They arn't all show and no go either.

 

[Tommi]

In My opinion it is the best looking aston on sale today (new) it may have a reputation for a naff gearbox but i can't wait for this final model!