Aston Martin is celebrating 20 years since the original V12 Vanquish was revealed to an adoring public.

There are echoes of Vanquish seen in the new DB11.

It was back at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show that the V12 Vanquish was unveiled. It was chich and classy, and full of cutting edge design. In fact, it was  the most sophisticated and technologically advanced new model yet designed, developed and built by Aston Martin.

Cutting edge technologies such as drive-by-wire throttle control and F1©-style finger-tip controlled gearshift paddles, made the Newport Pagnell-built V12 Vanquish, Aston Martin's flagship model.

It was widely regarded as having sublime design, vast power and brutish performance. The V12 Vanquish gained many positive reviews from the expert media.

Today, Paul Spires, President of Aston Martin Works said: "The original V12 Vanquish represented an important and timely development for our marque. It was, and is, a great super GT with all the character, style and power that is rightly expected of an Aston Martin sports car. 

"20 years on from that debut, the V12 Vanquish remains a proud part of the marque's heritage which we celebrate here at Newport Pagnell. It is an exceptional piece of our history, and a car that we can rightly look back on with considerable pride." 

Above: This Week - 2021 Hyundai i30 N Line Manual - plus manual driving tips

Above: WIN A NAVMAN DASHCAM by watching This Video (email answer to gaycarboys@outlook.com) finishes 31/10/2021

Above: Answer to the Navman question is in THIS VIDEO (email answer to gaycarboys@outlook.com) finishes 31/10/2021

Help Support Gay Car Boys Subscribe to our Youtube Channel 

ABOVE: 2001 Aston Martin Vanquish

Origin of the species

The V12 Vanquish story began with a concept sports car named 'Project Vantage'.

The concept was developed by Aston Martin during the 90s, ready for the 1998 Detroit Motor Show. Project Vantage was claimed to be almost a production-ready supercar designed by then styling chief Ian Callum. 

The car had a new 460 bhp 6.0-litre V12 engine with an F1-Style paddle shift gearbox. It used an aluminum tub, and composite body panels, both of which were a massive jump in both design and technology for Aston Martin.

As development work continued through 2000, favoured media had the opportunity to see a pre-production V12 Vanquish, which clearly owed much to the Project Vantage.

V12 Vanquish design and body engineering

Ian Callum's design came in 2+0 or 2+2 bodies.

The design included Aston's classic radiator grille and lower air intake, flanked by auxiliary driving lamps and indicators. The front panels incorporate a series of finely detailed compound curves which sweep back to the steeply raked windscreen pillars and low curving roof line.

Deeply sculptured sill and door panels added visual appeal, while the prominent rear wheel arches with the short tail section and rear spoiler incorporated in the boot lid complement the classic overall proportions of the V12 Vanquish.

All the exterior body panels were constructed from aluminium, with each individual panel hand tailored to the central structure.

V12 Vanquish engine and gearbox

An all-alloy twin overhead camshaft 48 valve 6.0-litre V12 engine put pout a huge 460 bhp at 6,500 rpm, and 556 Nm of torque at 5,000 rpm. The V12 was used in the DB7, but the Vanquish received new inlet manifolds, camshafts, valve gear, crankshaft and a new exhaust system which together bumped up power by a handy seven per cent. 

Dubbed "flappy paddles" by Jeremy Clarkson, the cutting edge F1©-inspired gearbox debuted in the V12 Vanquish incorporated electronics matched to hydraulics to facilitate faster gear changes. Sophisticated electronics also permitted the manual transmission to operate automatically with the additional facility of a programme for winter driving conditions. 

More recently, a manual conversion package has been engineered by Aston Martin and offered to owners via the brand's in-house heritage centre and new car dealership: Aston Martin Works. 

So far, around 130 original Vanquish models have been converted to manual transmission, with an average of around ten cars per year making their way to Works for the process to be carried out. 

More Supercar at GayCarBoys