Revisiting the original Aston Martin Vanquish – car pictures of the week
We get reacquainted with the first-generation Aston Vanquish in evo issue 318. Here are some of our favourite shots
The original Vanquish is the genesis of Aston Martin’s modern era. With an aluminium chassis, a 5.9-litre V12 and a newfound sporting focus, it set the tone for a truly great run of Astons that included the DB9, V12 Vantage and, of course, the second-gen Vanquish.
How does it feel more than two decades later? We find out by revisiting the car in the latest issue of evo, which you can purchase in-store or online via the evo shop.
The Vanquish still takes our breath away today. The Ian Callum-penned bodywork is strewn with muscle and aggression and it’s impossible not to be seduced by that magnificent V12. The cabin is a bit of a disaster by modern standards, but few cars from this era have stood the test of time in this respect.
What really matters, and what the Vanquish was built for, is the driving experience. We tested the later Vanquish S, and with its uprated 520bhp V12, quicker steering rack and tauter suspension, it has the ingredients to be the best of the breed. The elephant in the room is the gearbox – in the early 2000s the Vanquish’s robotised manual sounded bleeding-edge, but the reality is that the lethargic, clunky shifts dampened the experience.
Thankfully, Aston Martin Works can offer a traditional three-pedal manual conversion for around £20,000, giving what is one of the world’s great GT cars the timeless feel it deserves.
‘There’s something very noble about the Vanquish,’ said our man Peter Tomalin. ‘It’s the blue-blooded supercar, a machine that could only have been made in England. There’s just enough of the hand-crafted about it to connect with its Newport Pagnell roots, but at the same time it’s tangibly a giant stride on from the DB7 and the old Virage-based monsters that came before it.’
To read the full feature, pick up your copy of evo 318 in-store or online.
