By squeezing its mightiest engine into its smallest coupe, Aston Martin has made its highest performance car ever. The 600 horsepower two-seat V12 Vantage RS was unveiled as a concept, but prototypes are already undergoing trials and the company says the car is production-feasible.
During the car's unveiling at the opening of the company's new design studio at its central England headquarters, Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez said he would seriously consider selling a few if people were interested in paying. "As ever, if there is sufficient demand then we will seriously consider a low volume production run in the near future with a price that will reflect the exclusivity of the car," said Bez.
That's a 'yes' then. Aston collectors are always interested, and the company regularly makes short-run specials, such as the DB7 Zagato. As for the V12 Vantage RS concept, 'The near future' means around the end of 2008. And it's likely that we're talking at least 100 cars.
The Vantage coupe normally comes with a 380 horsepower 4.3-liter V-8, allowing it to return an MT tested 0-60 mph run in 4.4-seconds.
Now imagine the effect of stuffing a 6.0-liter, semi-race V-12 under that hood. Bez talked of '550 to 600' horsepower as he unveiled the RS concept, but written material handed out on the night listed 600 horsepower, at 6250 rpm, with torque at 509 lb-ft. It also spoke of 0-62 mph in 4.0 seconds, and a sprint to 100 mph in just 8.5. The engine is a dry-sumped unit related to the DBRS9 gentleman racecars.
To heighten the performance, weight has been cut. The concept does without a sound system and has a lightweight interior with race seats in place of electric chairs, trimmed in lightweight Alcantara. A carbon-fiber center tunnel, door trim, and console do their part to up the sport-factor.
The hood and trunk lid are carbon-fiber as with the recent DBS. The wheels are light items, and the high-dollar carbon brakes save weight, too. The car's officially-claimed weight is said to be around 3525 pounds, but those in the know speak of below 3400.
It's claimed the huge motor has surprisingly little effect on weight distribution. The V8 Vantage shows 51:49 front to rear, and the V12 concept is claimed to go little beyond 52:48.
The design changes on the concept are mostly highly functional, aimed at keeping that engine cool. The hood is sliced with no fewer than four rows of louvers, and the front bumper has ducts to the vast carbon-ceramic brakes. Meanwhile to control aero lift, at the rear there's a diffuser in the bumper, and a deployable spoiler rises from the behind the rear windshield.
One of the more amusing facets of the design is the badge. Given Bez' obsession with Porsche - he was once chief engineer there - the RS script bears a striking similarity to the same letters on hot 911s.