2007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Concept
It's been 8 months now since a messy divorce from Ford, and finally the
papers
are signed and the future of Aston Martin appears clear. This
is thanks in no small part to Prodrive, the company that includes
Subaru's World Rally Championship program, Ferrari's 550 GTS Le Mans
efforts and most recently, Aston Martin's Le Mans class winning DBR9
program in its impressive resume, and now holds a controlling stake in
the British company.
Astonophiles,
then, have Prodrive CEO Dave Richards to thank for taking over the
Aston Martin brand and redefining its image by bringing back fond
memories of beasts like 1996's manic twin-supercharged V8 Vantage. Last
December we gave you a news story featuring a V12 powered V8 Vantage in
its concept stage. The thing about Aston Martin is that they are a
company whose concepts, more often than not, make it to production.
And we're not talking a production car that is “based on x-year's
concept”, but one that differs very little.
Enter the V12
Vantage RS. Aston Martin has just made a slew of details
available
regarding the technical accomplishments found in the car, and you don't
have to read too far between the lines to see that this car is destined
for production, perhaps best illustrated by a plaque on the center
console that proudly states "Vantage RS - HANDBUILT IN ENGLAND". It
marks the third time the V8 Vantage has undergone some hefty tuning,
after last year's track-ready Vantage N24, and the road version
released alongside it, called the N400, both named after the car's
success at the 2006 edition of Germany's grueling Nürburgring 24 hour
race. After those two came the V12-powered, Agent 007-piloted DBS, a
heavily massaged version of the DB9, built with hopes to fill the
hardcore-void being left by the outgoing V12 Vanquish flagship. The
release of both cars suggests that the company, under Richards'
guidance, is out to prove that they can do extreme performance just as
well as competitors from Maranello or Stuttgart, an effort that will
culminate with the inevitable release of the Vantage RS, a car that
stands head and shoulders above both the N24 and the
DBS when it comes
to demonstrating Aston Martin's ability to create a purpose-built road
racer.
You see, the RS has the heart of Aston's DBRS9, a
customer-ready version of last year's Le Mans class winning DBR9. The
engine is sourced, unmodified, directly from the racer; the DB9, fitted
with its own V12, doesn't even receive that distinction. What you've
got is a 6.0-liter monster that pumps an eye-watering 600 hp and 509
lb-ft of torque straight to the back wheels. Also featured is dry-sump
lubrication, allowing the engine to be mounted lower in the chassis,
thus improving the car's center of gravity and handling characteristics.
What
does all that translate to? Well, we'll start with the estimated
4-second 0-60 mph time, which earns the RS the distinction of being the
fastest road-car ever built by Aston Martin. Next, Aston has done
everything in it's power to reduce the weight of the car; a carbon
fiber hood with no fewer than 38 cooling ducts slashed out, a
carbon-fiber trunk lid with a retracting spoiler
that automatically
deploys at 70 mph to help keep things copasetic on the stability front,
and an interior bathed in the same lightweight material with a
smattering of grippy Alcantara where soft surfaces are needed, such as...
well, pretty much the seats, steering wheel, gearshift lever doors and
A-pillars. The result is a Le Mans racer for the road in the purest of
forms, weighing in at just under 3,500 pounds. When one
considers the mantra behind RS models from other companies, designing a
car with a strong power-to-weight ratio in mind, that 4.0 second 0-60
figure seems almost modest, especially when we consider that the
power-to-weight-figure is little different from, say, that of a Ferrari
F430 Scuderia, a car that hits the 60 mph mark in a scant 3.5
seconds. Equally impressive is the RS' 51-49 percent weight
distribution, as engineers at Gaydon managed to shove the huge engine
under the hood so that it almost sits aft of the front axle, giving the
car a near front-mid engined layout. We'll worry about whether or not
mechanics can reach the flywheel at a later date.
Chances are
they will have to, as the Vantage RS is only going to be made available
with a classic six-speed transmission. No flippy-flappy
steering-column mounted paddles here, just a trusty H-pattern shift
lever—music to many a purist's ears. The clutch package will be beefed
up as well, but not matter which way you slice it, it's gonna take a
lot of grip to be able to neutralize such a free-revving powerplant.
But
can it turn? Well, a race-tuned suspension setup should help, while
pizza-sized brake discs made of, you guessed it, a carbon-ceramic
material, borrowing technology from the company's current DBS flagship,
should make pulling previously unattainable speeds back to reality a
simple, seemingly effortless task. Even the safety features are
extreme. Of course, the deep racing seats with five-point Schroth
harnesses are carved out of carbon fiber, but what of those braided
hoses behind the passengers head? Well, in the event of a serious
crash, they actually cut the fuel supply from the FIA-approved bag fuel
tank to the fire-breathing V12. Conclusion: customers will have to do
little more than add a rollcage and choose the most comfortable crash
helmet if they want to go racing. Extreme to a ‘T'.
The
company's CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez, is confident, saying that “new models
like [the V8 Vantage RS] will establish Aston Martin as the ultimate
independent luxury sports car company”. I think he's being modest, as
if all goes as planned, this car will have the ability to take the
fight right to the doorsteps of manufacturers like Ferrari and
Lamborghini, much larger companies with worldwide motoring magistrates
(Fiat and Audi) as parents.