This Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S is Now in Our Garage

by Mike Gulett –

For those of you who follow My Car Quest you know that I try to document my experiences with cars and my search for the next one. You will also have read that in May 2022 I sold the 1971 Lamborghini Espada after more than 6 years. And then in July 2023 I sold the 1987 AC Cobra Mk IV after more than 8 years. I have written about “What’s Next” and many of you have sent in your advice and suggestions either by email or in the Comments. I do appreciate the help.

Last year I wrote,

The thoughts are running along the lines of: a cool car that is already now, or will someday, be a “classic” that can be used as a regular driver (if not daily at least reliable enough for local fun driving or even routine driving). It should also have modern features like: fuel injection, disc brakes, air conditioning, other modern safety features, and is easy to drive and live with but also fun and rare.

I went through months of agony trying to narrow it down to one model that fit the needs. Then the task of finding the right example began.

Well about 3 months ago we decided on an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish from the early 2000s. After more research I decided on the V12 Vanquish S model. Then the search for the right V12 Vanquish S began and ended a few days ago when this beauty arrived in Carmel, CA. By coincidence it was delivered on Saturday 19 August 2023 on the last weekend of Monterey Car Week. I had to cancel my appointment to ride in the new Bizzarrini Corsa Revival because this Aston was being delivered on that day.

Why the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is a special modern collector car

Road & Track magazine called the V12 Vanquish the “The ultimate Grand Tourer”. Car and Driver wrote the V12 Vanquish as “worthy of the marque’s heritage and a serious alternative to the top Ferrari.”

It was the car of James Bond in the movie Die Another Day in 2002.

Production Years: 2001–2007
Vanquish: 1,492 units
Vanquish S: 1,086 units
Assembly: Newport Pagnell, England
Designer: Ian Callum
Body: Aluminum
Chassis: Bonded aluminum composite with a carbon fibre backbone
Engine: 5.9 liter V12
Power (S): 520 hp
MSRP: $258,445 (for this one)

As Aston Martin’s flagship car for that time, the V12 Vanquish was designed to deliver new performance benchmarks for Aston Martin. In addition to delivering impressive figures including an acceleration of 0–60 mph in under 5 seconds and a top speed exceeding 190 mph (200 mph for the Vanquish S), the first-generation V12 Vanquish was well received by the motoring press. Road tests included wide praise for its powertrain, chassis, advanced engineering, and design.

The V12 Vanquish would become the last all-new model to be made in Aston Martin’s famed Newport Pagnell facility. The Vanquish represents both the end of an era as the last model assembled at Newport Pagnell, and the beginning of another with its advanced engineering and performance.

The production of the V12 Vanquish ended in July 2007, coinciding with the closing of the Newport Pagnell factory after 49 years of operation.

Despite ongoing enthusiasm for the original V12 Vanquish and V12 Vanquish S, the fact they were handmade limited production to levels consistent with earlier cars assembled at Newport Pagnell. This results in the Vanquish and Vanquish S being made in low numbers meaning they are more rare and more collectable than higher volume models.

I have read the owner’s manual, all service receipts and the original window sticker in detail. After a few days of driving and exploring this Vanquish S we are thrilled and believe we could not have made a better choice. The really good news is that Rebecca loves it as much as I do.

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

Summary

Article Name

This Aston Martin V12 Vanquish S is Now in Our Garage

Description

Road & Track magazine called the V12 Vanquish the "The ultimate Grand Tourer". Car and Driver wrote the V12 Vanquish as "worthy of the marque's heritage and a serious alternative to the top Ferrari."

Author

Mike Gulett