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The fastest road car in the history of Aston Martin. A car that fuses hand-crafted tradition with the highest calibre of automotive technology. Appropriately it is our flagship car - the Vanquish S - the ultimate Aston Martin.
Aston Martin’s hand-built 6.0-litre V12 is renowned as one of the finest engines in the world: enormously powerful, smooth and beautiful. It can also lay claim to being the world’s best-sounding high performance car engine. In the Vanquish S, it reaches its zenith. Maximum power is 520 bhp (388 kW) at 7000 rpm, with maximum torque of 425 lb ft (577 Nm) at 5800 rpm.
Such power delivers sterling performance. Indeed, this is the fastest-ever road going Aston Martin. Top speed is more than 200 mph (321 km/h), the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) dash is accomplished in only 4.8 seconds while 0-100 mph (160 km/h) takes just 9.8 seconds. But it is the mid-range acceleration that is truly sensational; 50-70 mph (80-112 km/h) takes only 6.5 seconds in sixth gear. Overtaking is effortless
Despite the high-technology specifications, the Vanquish S is built in the same manner as other Aston Martins before it, one at a time, by hand. An individual craftsman takes responsibility for the creation of every car.
In preparation for production of the Vanquish, the factory at Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, England, received a multi-million-pound refurbishment that included an all-new assembly line, paint shop, rolling road and water test facility, which simulates monsoon conditions to ensure a watertight interior. Today, technicians who used to hold old-fashioned welding guns now wield dual-feed adhesive guns to bond together composite components, crash structures and aluminium panels.
The Vanquish S has one of the most advanced construction techniques of any road car, using composite materials and processes familiar to the aerospace business but rarely seen in the motor industry.
Each car starts as a heat-cured aluminium bonded monocoque, known as the ‘tub’, which uses a combination of extruded and folded aluminium panels that are bonded and then riveted together. The tub is bonded to a nine-layer carbon fibre tunnel, which gives the Vanquish S an extremely rigid yet lightweight backbone.
The benefit of a carbon fibre tunnel over aluminium is its high strength-to-weight ratio. To provide the same levels of strength and rigidity, an aluminium tunnel would be approximately twice as heavy.
The Vanquish S is full of technological innovation, designed to improve strength and safety. The advanced aluminium and carbon fibre body is replete with world firsts. One example is the specially developed braided carbon-fibre used for the ‘A’ posts and the engine bay cross brace. Engineers from Aston Martin invented a novel braiding process that encases a polyurethane foam core with triaxial carbon fibre. The result is an immensely strong yet light structure capable of withstanding the force of a crash or rollover.
Passive safety is only part of the equation. Equally vital in any car, and especially one with the performance of this Aston Martin, is dynamic safety. The Vanquish S epitomises this with superbly responsive handling, giving the driver every chance to avoid any dangerous obstacle or situation.
Specification
Body
Two door coupe with 2+0 or 2+2 seating
Extruded aluminium and carbon fibre bonded body structure
Composite front and rear crash structures
Aluminium and composite body panels
Extruded aluminium door side impact beams
Engine
All alloy, quad overhead camshaft, 48-valve, 5935cc 60° V12. Front engine, rear-wheel drive.
Twin PTEC engine management system controlling fuel-injection, ignition and diagnostics.
Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active by-pass valves.
Compression ratio: 10.8:1.
Maximum power: 388 kW (520 bhp) at 7000 rpm
Maximum torque: 577 Nm (425 lb.ft) at 5800 rpm
Acceleration: 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds
Maximum speed: Over 200 mph
Transmission
Six speed manual transmission with Auto Shift Manual/Select Shift Manual (ASM/SSM) electro-hydraulic control system.
SCP/CAN interface to engine management control system
Limited slip differential. Final drive ratio 4.30:1
Steering
Rack and pinion, variable power assistance, 2.1 turns lock to lock.
Column tilt and reach adjustment.
Suspension
Front: Independent double aluminium wishbones
Coil springs, monotube dampers and anti-roll bar
Rear: Independent double aluminium wishbones
Coil springs, monotube dampers and anti-roll bar
Brakes
Teves vacuum assisted Antilock Braking System (ABS)
Electronic brake and engine intervention traction control system
Front: Ventilated and grooved steel discs 378 mm diameter with six piston calipers
Rear: Ventilated steel discs 330 mm diameter with four piston calipers and separate handbrake caliper
Wheels & tyres
Lightweight aluminium alloy wheels
Front: 9J x19
Rear: 10J x 19
Tyres: Front 255/40 ZR19/Rear 285/40 ZR19
To be continue>>>
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