New Car Show: Aston Martin

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

New Aston Martin V12

Aston Martin claims the bonnet louvres extract air from the fully ducted cooling pack and the trunk lid features a deployable spoiler that rises automatically at high speeds to increase rear down force. Director of design, Marek Reichman, said the new design centre is an important part of creating any new model: "Our new dedicated design centre will take this [car design] process to a new level and I am delighted that the V12 Vantage RS is the first car to stand on the turntable in the studio."

The V12 engine features a dry sump lubrication system, forged pistons and steel con-rods, tuned length exhaust manifolds, revised lift and duration camshafts and modified cylinder heads to increase response. Peak torque is 690Nm @ 5000rpm.

The zero to 96km/h dash will takes the V12 Vantage RS less than 4.0 seconds says Aston Martin, which would make it one of the fastest cars in the Aston range. It is expected to weigh around 1588kg (3500lbs), which would also make it one of the lightest cars in the Aston range.

The zero to 160km/h (100mph) sprint takes an astonishing 8.5 seconds, which about the same amount of time it takes a Holden Commodore to reach 100km/h (62mph).

In other Aston Martin news, the company has signed a deal with MGM/Columbia pictures that will see Aston Martin cars appear in the next James Bond 007 movie, which is code named 'Bond 22' at present.

The new movie has a November 2008 release date, and Aston Martin and EON Productions have confirmed the DBS will again be driven by agent 007 (Daniel Craig).

In the last James Bond 007 movie, Casino Royale, Aston Martin's flagship car, the DBS, took out a Guinness World Record for "The Most Cannon Rolls In A Car". If you haven't seen the movie, the spectacular stunt sees the Aston Martin DBS fly through the air, rolling seven times.

We can only imagine what the DBS will be employed to do in 'Bond 22' (fingers crossed it involves transforming into a submarine).

Aston Martin's CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez, said: "Aston Martin is proud of our long association with James Bond. The DBS has its own unique character which equals that of James Bond. It is explosive power in a black tie.

"It is the perfect car for James Bond as it delivers the complete driving experience and bridges the gap between our road and track cars – the DB9 and DBR9. It is equally at home on a twisting mountain circuit as on the open road and we are all very excited at the prospect of seeing it on the big screen again," said a very happy Dr Bez.