ASTON MARTIN UNVEILS LIMITED EDITION VANQUISH ZAGATO

22 June, 2016, Gaydon: Aston Martin today announces a limited series production of the exhilarating Vanquish Zagato Coupe; the latest creation from its long-standing partnership with the prestigious Italian design-house Zagato.

The Vanquish Zagato Concept was unveiled to great acclaim at the prestigious Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este at Lake Como, Italy in May 2016. Thanks to unprecedented customer interest, a strictly limited production run of 99 cars will be built to order at Aston Martin's production facility in Gaydon, England.

Vanquish Zagato is the fifth car to emerge from a collaboration that stretches back over five decades, pairing Aston Martin's acclaimed dynamic and material qualities with Zagato's signature design language. As well as spectacular sporting ability, Vanquish Zagato showcases the very best of Aston Martin's bespoke luxury.

The collaboration with Zagato began with the beautifully muscular DB4 GT Zagato racing car of 1960 – now valued at over £10 million -, and includes the V8 Vantage Zagato launched in 1986, the 2002 DB7 Vantage Zagato and the V12 Vantage Zagato revealed in 2011.

The Vanquish Zagato is a powerful addition to that portfolio; a GT car that blends Aston Martin's inherent refinement and capabilities with Zagato's characteristic design details, born out of racing and honed over many years of creating elegant luxury sports cars. Aston Martin's 6.0L V12 powertrain has been uprated to increase its output to 600PS1, capable of delivering a projected 0-60mph time of 3.5 seconds. This added performance matched to a unique suspension setup will create a unique GT driving experience specific to the Vanquish Zagato model.

The design of the production Vanquish Zagato will be closely related to the concept exhibited at Villa d'Este. With proportions that remain quintessentially Aston Martin. The new bodywork is entirely shaped from carbon-fibre, with the split lines on the body significantly reduced by the use of large one-piece panels.

Other design details include new lights with round tail light reflectors that evoke the classic Zagato rear view, using the same 'bladed' LED technology as the Aston Martin Vulcan, while the wing mirrors are closely related to the units developed for the One-77. The Vanquish Zagato's sculptural rear end has a close relationship to DB11's aerodynamic profile, complete with retractable spoiler and rear hatch for easy access to the luggage compartment. Rippling carbon fibre sills run around the lower body to create a pronounced line from front to rear, with a quad-exhaust nestling within the curvaceous shapes.

The Vanquish Zagato's glasshouse wraps around the bodywork like a visor, enhancing its aggressive stance. A new evolution of the classic side strake runs from wheel arch to door just like the new DB11 and a detail originally showcased on the celebratory CC-100. A sharp crease on the rear wheel arch transforms into the rear flanks, where it meets the cascading roofline.

The roof features the iconic 'double-bubble', its shallow radius dipping into the rear window glass to give the car an unmistakeable rear silhouette. A Zagato trademark since the early 1950s, originally arose from the need to accommodate racing helmets with a minimum impact on the aerodynamic profile.

Inside, the Vanquish Zagato embodies the fine tradition of Aston Martin craftsmanship, replete with many singular touches. Herringbone carbon fibre is paired with shadow and anodized bronze and optional aniline leather to give the facia, vents and rotary dials a rich material quality. The Vanquish Zagato is also defined by the unique 'Z' quilt pattern stitch used on the seat and door sections, as well as the celebrated trademark Zagato 'Z' embossed on headrests and stitched into the centre console.

The Vanquish Zagato is a significant new chapter in the history of the two marques, a truly exclusive sporting GT that promises to be an iconic and highly sought after Aston Martin. Customer deliveries will begin in the first quarter of 2017.

600PS max power output for UK & Europe

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