BESPOKE ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH VOLANTE NEIMAN MARCUS EDITION SET FOR DEBUT IN LOS ANGELES

• One of just ten examples to be produced and amongst first Vanquish Volante in North America

• Based on recently launched Vanquish Volante; first carbon fibre-bodied convertible in Aston Martin's 100-year history

• Offers 565bhp and capable of 0-60mph in just over four seconds with a top speed of 183mph

Irvine CA, 14 November 2013- A bespoke example of the new 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante – originally unveiled at the Pebble Beach Automotive Week this summer – is set to make its first public appearance at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show next week. The new Vanquish joins the luxury British sports car maker's presence at the show in conjunction with dealer partner, Galpin Aston Martin of California.

The unique Neiman Marcus Edition Vanquish Volante has been hand crafted by the company's bespoke customisation arm; Q by Aston Martin. Inspired by the iconic (1969) DB6 Volante currently owned by HRH Prince of Wales which featured in the Royal wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Kate Middleton, this exclusive car debuted as part of the prestigious 2013 Neiman Marcus Fantasy Christmas Catalogue. Production is strictly limited to ten examples and will form the first Vanquish Volante to enter the US market.

Julian Jenkins, Regional Director for Aston Martin the Americas said: 'Since first being shown as a coupe, the Vanquish has quickly established its Super GT credentials and a loyal following amongst sports car enthusiasts worldwide. We are therefore delighted to launch the new Vanquish Volante, and in particular this very limited edition here at the Los Angeles Auto Show in conjunction with our dealer partner Galpin Aston Martin.

'Not only is this an opportunity for customers and enthusiasts to see a truly unique example of the Vanquish Volante but it also serves as a fitting demonstration in the degree of personalisation now possible via Q by Aston Martin.'

Vanquish Volante is the first fully carbon fibre-skinned Volante in the brand's 100-year history, while also being the stiffest Volante body structure yet created by the engineering team at Aston Martin's global HQ in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England.

The new car's triple-skin lightweight fabric roof can be operated at speeds of up to 30 mph and takes just 14 seconds to fold – meaning the switch from enclosed to open top motoring, or vice versa, can be made effortlessly while on the move.

Alongside its coupe sibling, launched to worldwide acclaim last autumn, the new Vanquish Volante sits at the pinnacle of the luxury British car maker's sports car line-up.

Benefitting from all of the technical, engineering and design advances present in the Vanquish coupe, the new Volante enhances the driving experience still further through the option of exciting convertible driving.

Instantly becoming the most beautiful car in its class, Vanquish Volante crucially retains the coupe's full breadth of dynamic character and sporting capability. It boasts the same new AM11 6.0-litre V12 engine as the coupe and the same blistering performance figures, meaning the top speed stands at 183 mph.

The LA Auto Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center opens to the public on Friday 22 November.

by Aston Martin

Playing a huge role in returning Aston Martin, a classic British carmaker, to both financial success and technological sophistication, the Vanquish surely delivered. Like any proper Aston Martin, the Vanquish not only had drop-dead gorgeous styling, but also a certain spice with muscular fenders and a wide, squat stance. It is considered to be the most masculine of Aston's classic design. Loosely based on the Virage/V8 platform, the V12 Vanquish instead featured thoroughly modern technology.

Founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin was originally called Bamford & Martin when the two had joined forces the previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London. At this location they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at Aston Hill near Aston Clinton and the two men chose to make their own cars.

The first car dubbed Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini. Martin and Bamford acquired premises at Henniker Place in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Unfortunately production couldn't begin due to the outbreak of World War I. Martin had joined the Admiralty, and Bamford joined the Royal Army Service Corps. All machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company.

A grand tourer, the Aston Martin Vanquish was designed by Ian Callum and was manufactured by Aston Martin. Introduced in 2001 the Vanquish was Aston Martin's flagship vehicle. Appearing as the official James Bond car in the movie ‘Die Another Day' the Vanquish rose to worldwide recognition. In 2007 the Vanquish was taken out of production. The Aston Martin DBS V12 temporarily replaced it at the top of Aston's lineup, pending the 2010 replacement.

In the wake of a GT concept car, the Project Vantage concept car let to development of the Vanquish. The Vantage concept was introduced with a V-12 engine at the North American International Auto Show in January of 1998. In 2000 the production model was debuted and the series production began in 2001. It wasn't until 2005 that the car received any major updates when the Vanquish S model debuted at the 2004 Paris Auto Show. The S model came with more power, new wheels and slight styling revisions.

The Vanquish Ultimate Edition was introduced to celebrate the end of the Vanquish production run. Aston Martin announced that the final 40 cars built would have a new ‘Ultimate Black' exterior color, personalized sill plaques and upgraded interior. The Ultimate Edition was the first Vanquish available with a conventional stick-shift manual transmission. In July of 2007 production of the Aston Martin Vanquish was ended and coincided with the company's Newport Pagnell factory after 49 years of operation. The final car was the Vanquish S Ultimate Edition in black.

A high-performance coupe, the Aston Martin V12 was produced from 2002 until 2006. The original model was joined by the more powerful S Variant in 2005, and only the S model was available for the final year of production. The V12 Vanquish main body structure included aluminum sections bonded and riveted around a central carbon-fiber transmission tunnel. To keep the weight down Aston utilized carbon fiber A-pillars, all-aluminum suspension and aluminum body panels. Despite all of this, the Vanquish still weighed in at little more than 2 tons.

Designed at Ford Research in the U.S. was the V12 engine in the Vanquish. The Vanquish's V12 engine shares some of the components and design elements with the 3.0 L Duratec 30 V6. The engine even shares the same bore and stroke dimensions and for this reason many people incorrectly dismiss the V12 as just ‘two Duratecs linked together'. It is correct though that the AM V12 shares components with the ‘Duratec' engine design. The standard Vanquish's 6.0-liter V12 produced 460 hp and 400 lb/ft of torque.

The powertrain of the Vanquish was also quite innovative, with a high-performance 6.0-liter V12 engine that first made 460 hp, and later 520. To get that power to the rear wheels there was an automated-clutch, six-speed sequential-shift manual gearbox that utilized F1-style paddle shifters. The V12 Vanquish also came with 19-inch wheels with performance tires, power seats and a 10-speaker in-dash CD changer audio system. Also standard a navigation system, multi-level heated seats and Bluetooth connectivity on the 2006 V12 Vanquish S, as well as the Sports Dynamic suspension, steering and braking package.

The inside of the V12 was finished quite lushly in the best leather hides and offered a nice variety of color options. The center control stack was revised in 2006 to match the current, newer batch of Aston Martin's. Earlier on the Vanquish had borrowed much of its switchgear from the Ford family parts supply. There was quite a substantial amount of room inside the Vanquish when compared to other exotic sports cars and the Vanquish was available with a choice of 2+2 or strictly two-seat interiors.

Only 300 hand-built V12 Vanquish models were produced each year and each model is fully customizable to the customer's requirements.

by Jessican Donaldson