Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 16 i Aston Martin Driver

“EVERYTHING SHOULD be made as simple as possible,” said the famed theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once, “but not simpler.” That certainly should be the case with Aston Martin’s often-confusing model history. Not only have there only been a handful of model names used throughout the post-war period but since many of Aston Martin’s cars stayed in production for decades at a time, it resulted in several often-complicated updates. Even Einstein would find it difficult to understand their convoluted history. Take the car that started life in 1967 as the DBS but ended 22 years later as the fifth version of the AMV8. Or how since the Fifties, the Vantage name can either mean a faster version of an existing car or a model in its own right. All of this…

Awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) following a competitive process, the government grant will support Project PIVOT, a collaborative five-partner research and development project led by Coventry-based aluminium supplier Sarginsons. Supported by Aston Martin, the project seeks to revolutionise the global casting industry through overhauling the design, weight, carbon emissions and production of cast aluminium, allowing the adoption of 100 percent recycled content. This is another positive step in Aston Martin’s sustainability strategy ‘Racing. Green.’ which incorporates efforts to improve the environmental impact of the company’s supply chain. In August this year, Aston Martin formally joined Drive Sustainability, a partnership of 16 automotive manufacturers working together to improve the social, ethical, and environmental performance of automotive supply chains, facilitated by CSR Europe. Aston Martin is developing alternatives to…

THE DB7 GTA was introduced alongside the GT at the Birmingham Motor Show in 2002. With the DB7 model having been on sale since 1994 (it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 1993), the writing was on the wall at the beginning of the new millennium, so perhaps the GT and GTA could cash in on the back of the high-performance Vantage as a final evolution. The top-spec DB7 GT with its 435bhp 5,935cc V12 engine and manual gearbox needed an auto option, so hence the GTA badge (A for auto). A five-speed Touchtronic automatic gearbox was chosen for the GTA, which rumour has it wasn’t able to cope with the 435bhp from the GT’s engine, so it was de-tuned by 15bhp. Other than the reduced power output…

Born in Genoa on 23 March 1890, Augustus Cesare Bertelli was an Italian engineer who learned his trade at Fiat. He came to the UK before the start of the first world war and began working for an aircraft manufacturer, Grahame White, in Hendon, North London. From there he moved to a West Midlands-based engineering firm, Alldays & Onions that was soon bought out by Enfield Autocar company, which is when Bertelli designed a new 10hp small car. After time as a freelance designer, he was taken on by future Bentley racer and Le Mans winner Woolf Barnato, designing three cars for him based on chassis by Alldays & Onions. In 1924, Bertelli was introduced to another young designer, William (Bill) Renwick, and they quickly set up a new company,…

The first Aston Martin to use Bentley’s straight-six was the DB2 from 1950 that was powered by the same 2,580cc, 105bhp version as the Lagonda 2.6. The body was the work of Frank Feeley (who (Sir) David Brown had inherited when he’d bought Lagonda), and in terms of proportions, its fastback design laid the foundations for Aston Martin’s later and more iconic models. Just as importantly, the same three-grille design as the DB1 was continued, later merging to create the famous shape still used today. It was also the first Aston Martin to have a Vantage option, although this referred to a more powerful engine which was increased to 125bhp. The car was updated in 1953, resulting in the DB2/4 that featured a single-piece windscreen, larger bumpers, and repositioned headlights…

Sir David Brown had always been an enthusiast of the Lagonda brand and so despite the company unable to keep up demand for the DB4, when the 3.0-litre came to an end in 1958 he pushed for another model, this time based on the sports car. The new saloon – later called the Rapide, an old Lagonda name harking back to the Thirties – was again the work of Touring in Milan and also used the Italian company’s Superleggera method of construction. The DB4’s chassis was lengthened by 16in but otherwise only altered to accept a De Dion rear end. At the front, the nose was dominated by a large upright grille that was reminiscent of both the Facel Vega and Edsel while the slanted quad headlight treatment would be…

By the late Sixties, the traditional lines of the DB6 that had first debuted with the DB4 a decade ago were starting to look old-fashioned, especially compared to newer cars such as the Jensen Interceptor, Maserati Ghibli and Mercedes-Benz SL. After once again turning to Touring but rejecting its proposal (which it had called the DBS), it was the work of one of Aston Martin’s own young designers, William Towns, that (Sir) David Brown preferred. Using the DB6’s chassis, which had been widened by six inches, the new car was very different from its predecessor hence it adopted the DBS name rather than DB7 like everyone had been expecting. Not only was it wider and lower, but the crisper styling, squared-off nose, larger grille, quad headlights and fastback tail made…

Other than a long-wheelbase version of the DBS V8 designed by William Towns, which had started as a one-off prototype in 1969 used by Sir David Brown before seven production models were made in 1974, the Lagonda name hadn’t been seen since the Rapide a decade earlier. Having been sold again in 1975, after going bankrupt the year before, Aston Martin’s new board of directors didn’t want to give up on the Lagonda brand. So, in February 1976, plans were made for a new model that had an ambitious target of being ready for the British Motor Show just eight months later. Towns was again asked to design the car but what he came up with was nothing like his previous model, a large, razor-sharp saloon that was the epitome…

Due to its long development time, the Vantage version of the Virage didn’t arrive until 1992. Rather than use the 6.3-litre V8 engine that Aston Martin Works Service was currently offering to Virage owners, the engineers decided to stick with the standard car’s 32-valve 5.3 instead, meaning the extra power had to be found another way. The answer was two Eaton superchargers that increased power to 550bhp and 550lb ft of torque. For the engine to cope with the extra power, a new crankshaft and Cosworth pistons were required. The V8 was then mated to the same ZF six-speed manual box as those Virages fitted with the 6.3-litre. To counteract the axle tramp (or wheel hop) that the early prototypes suffered from (caused by the increased power), the car needed…

In 2009 the-then boss of Aston, Dr Ulrich Bez, stunned the car world when he announced that Aston Martin was going to build a limited-edition supercar that would cost a million pounds, taking on the likes of Bugatti and Pagani. When the finished car made its debut a few months later, the One-77 – so named since just 77 production models would be built–bore a resemblance to the current models (wide grille, swept-back headlights, a prolonged bonnet and cabback stance with a pert tail), but this was definitely not some sort of powered-up, flared-out Vanquish spin-off covered in a bodykit. The car was designed around a race-spec carbon-fibre monocoque with exquisite carbon subframes cradling the front-mid-mounted engine and inboard suspension. Incredibly, the lights, wheels, doors and glass were all tooled…

Created as a way to celebrate Aston Martin and Zagato’s 50th anniversary of making cars together, the V12 Zagato was based on the Vantage, only clad in a handcrafted aluminium and carbon skin. This featured several elements seen on previous cars from the Milanese carrozzeria such as the ‘double-bubble’ roof and short body overhangs. Weighing just 1,680kg and using a 519bhp version of Aston Martin’s V12, the car had a 0-62mph time of 4.2 seconds and a 190mph top speed. Unusually for a car using the Zagato name, it was actually engineered in-house by some of the same team behind the One-77 before being built in the same area of the Aston Martin’s Gaydon factory where the limited-edition supercar had been. The link with Zagato came from the aluminium bodywork…

As the first Lagonda since the William Towns model (which it was clearly inspired by), the Taraf was developed by Aston Martin’s Q division, which specialises in bespoke cars and customising existing models to customer specifications. It used the same third generation of the VH platform as the facelifted DB9, Virage and Vanquish, but with a lengthened wheelbase to ensure it offered more room than the coupes. The body panels were then made of carbon fibre reinforced with plastic. Unsurprisingly, the luxury limousine was powered by Aston Martin’s familiar 6.0-litre V12 which in the Taraf produced 533bhp resulting in a 0-62mph time of 4.4 seconds and a maximum speed of 195mph. Despite its exclusivity, much of the interior was borrowed from other Aston Martin models, such as the centre console…

With the DB10 name being used for a bespoke concept model developed specifically for the 2015 James Bond film, Spectre, the next production car in the range was the DB11. Arriving in 2016 (the Volante the following year), although the radical styling was a departure from the successful DB9-based cars, as a front-engined 2+2, it didn’t stray far from Aston Martin’s well-proven GT recipe. There were, though, two other major differences over its predecessor; not only was the V12 now a 5.2-litre twin turbo but for the first time in the DB range’s history, there was a V8 option, a Mercedes-Benz sourced 4.0-litre twin turbocharged unit, as used in the C63 AMG, marking the start of Aston Martin’s long-standing and still-current technical partnership with the German company. With 503bhp, this…

With the likes of Bentley, Porsche and Rolls-Royce all producing SUVs, it was a market Aston Martin could no longer ignore and so following a 2015 concept, in 2019 the British company revealed a production model, the DBX, which was (and still is) built at a new factory at St Athan in South Wales. Despite off-roaders having totally different proportions to the sort of sports cars Aston Martin was famed for, it still kept several of the company’s styling cues such as the radiator grille. The result was a handsome car that despite its svelteness still offered a spacious interior which included 632 litres of boot space. The DBX was based on a dedicated bonded aluminium platform and powered by a new version of the 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine first…

Putting everything Aston Martin learnt from the track, the company describes the Valour as “the most extreme front-engine road car ever.” An evolution of the one-off 836bhp Victor from 2020, it was masterminded by Aston Martin’s Q division, the marque’s special vehicle and personalisation task force. Limited to just 110 units, each one costs a cool £1.5m. The design clearly harks back to the company’s V8 models from the Seventies, but having a modern edge which Aston Martin calls ‘Retro Futurism’. Yet despite the high price, the Valour is a concoction of bits, the result of Aston Martin raiding the parts department from a number of models. The resultant cocktail is akin to an old-fashioned, classic recipe, albeit covered in a bespoke body, crafted entirely from carbon fibre. The car…

ISSUE 1 COVER STORY DB6 buying guide INSIDE DB7 history, DBS Superleggera test, DB11 Volante ISSUE 2 COVER STORY Vantage N430 INSIDE The Aston Martins of 007, Victor Gauntlett profile, V8 model history ISSUE 3 COVER STORY V8 Vantage prototype INSIDE DB4 Vantage Series V, DB7 vs Jaguar XK8, DB9 buying guide ISSUE 4 COVER STORY Virage INSIDE 1948 Lagonda 2.6 show car, DBS convertible, DB7 across the Dales ISSUE 5 COVER STORY V8 Vantage vs DB9 INSIDE DB MkIII profile, DB7 vs BMW 840i, Tadek Marek biography ISSUE 6 COVER STORY DB7 at 30 INSIDE V8 Oscar India, DB2/4 by Vignale, DB6 drive story, DBS buying guide ISSUE 7 COVER STORY 75 years of DB INSIDE DB4 at 65, Vanquish, DB7 buying guide, Ian Callum biog, V8 Evolution ISSUE…

Although they were few in number, they played a crucial role in spurring the progress of GT cars globally, not least at Ferrari which was quick to recognise them as a threat and responded accordingly. Despite these achievements, and their impact on the development of motorsport, these project cars, the last of the David Brown racing team, have been significantly under-represented in motor racing literature. Until now with this new book, The Aston Martin Project GT Racing Cars, which brings these truly great cars out from the shadows to acknowledge and celebrate their influence and legacy. Aston Martin historian, Stephen Archer, and motor sport writer, David Tremayne, explore in-depth this seminal period of motor sport history, which includes Aston’s final racing years. Featuring over 400 pages and containing over 400…

The first car after (Sir) David Brown had bought Aston Martin in late 1946 was the 2-Litre Sports (now commonly known as the DB1). Designed by Aston Martin’s lead engineer, Claude Hill, the car was based on a new tubular chassis (a development on that used by a pre-war prototype called the Atom, which was one of the reasons why Brown bought the company) and powered by a new 1,970cc four-cylinder engine. The combination proved its worth when a prototype featuring a basic body won the gruelling 24 Hours of Spa with St John ‘Jock’ Horsfall and Leslie Johnson at the wheel. Although the design of the production version was relatively conservative even for the period, it’s still important since its centre radiator grille was flanked on either side by…

Understanding the importance of motorsport was an excellent way to promote Aston Martin in the early Fifties. (Sir) David Brown employed an Austrian designer, Robert Eberan von Eberhorst, who had worked on the pre-war Auto Unions, to develop a racing car. Although the resultant DB3 used some parts of the DB2 – such as the 2.6-litre engine which produced 133bhp and independent front suspension – much of it was new including a De Dion rear axle and aluminium body. However, by being heavy and unreliable, even in the hands of such luminaries as Peter Collins and Reg Parnell the car was unsuccessful. Uprating the engine to the 2.9-litre version didn’t help either. And so, to make the DB3 more successful, Eberhorst’s assistant, Willie Watson, redesigned the car which featured a…

The DB5 isn’t just the most famous Aston Martin in the world but, thanks to its starring role in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger and the British spy’s car being kitted out with guns, an ejector seat and many other gadgets, it soon became the most famous car ever built. It was perhaps due to the car’s part in the film rather than just its good looks, high speed and great handling why 1,021 DB5s were produced in a mere three years (898 being coupes, the remaining 123 convertibles). Yet the model was actually a simple development of the DB4 Series V Vantage, featuring the same basic Touring-designed body shape, cowled headlights and Superleggera method of construction. The main aesthetical differences between the two were twin fuel fillers and…

Essentially a DBS V8 but with a new nose, the new AMV8 model from 1972 featured a smaller grille and dual round headlights. Originally fitted with Bosch fuel injection (cars with this are recognisable by an open-air intake that was lower than those of the later cars fitted with carburettors), this was found to be troublesome and so in 1973 it was replaced by a more traditional set-up of four twin choke 42mm Webers plus a much larger air scoop. Although it dropped power to 310bhp, it was still very quick, reaching 60mph in 6.2 seconds. Following Aston Martin entering receivership in 1974, when production finally restarted two years later, one of the first tasks for the new owners was to update the AMV8. The result was the unofficially named…

As Aston Martin’s first arguably mainstream model, the DB7 is important in the company’s history. Yet ironically, the car started life as a Jaguar project, the XJ40-based XJ41, in 1980. When Ford cancelled the car in the late Eighties after buying the company, its designer, Keith Helfet, quickly realised the project’s hard points matched those of the XJS’ chassis meaning it could be reborn at a much cheaper cost. Tom Walkinshaw from the company’s performance partner, JaguarSport, agreed to build the car at its Kidlington-based facility as a replacement for the XJ220 supercar, which it had been producing since 1992. However, unbeknown to Jaguar, with Aston Martin also owned by Ford, the Scot approached the company’s then chairman, Walter Hayes, saying if the car was made into an Aston Martin…

Arriving in 2005, the Vantage was the second Aston Martin to use the VH platform. Heavily based on the AMV8 Vantage concept that was revealed at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2003, although the family resemblance was clear, by being smaller, lighter and much more muscular in appearance, if the DB9 was a yacht then this was a nimble speedboat. It was powered by a new-to-Aston 4.3-litre which, although related to Jaguar’s 4.2-litre AJ unit, was repackaged with a dry sump to drag down its mass and the car’s centre of gravity to the benefit of its handling while the inlet-only variable valve timing was unique to Aston Martin. The engine produced 380bhp and through a six-speed Graziano manual gearbox the car could reach 60mph in as little as…

The final all-new model to use the VH architecture was the Rapide, Aston Martin’s first four-door saloon since the Lagonda 30 years earlier. Although designed under Aston’s current chief creative officer, Marek Reichman, it was clearly influenced by the earlier Ian Callum- and Henrik Fisker-designed models. Only the different-shaped lower air vents set the trio apart for the casual observer. Yet it was still a handsome and elegant car, looking more like an elongated coupe with close-to-perfect proportions than a frumpy saloon. This meant, though, interior packaging was tight for a four-seater, especially in the rear. Power came courtesy of Aston Martin’s always magnificent 6.0-litre V12 that pumped out the same 470bhp as that in the DB9. Mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox (there was never a manual option), it…

Perhaps the strangest Aston Martin you’ll find in our guide is the diminutive Cygnet, since it started life as the Toyota iQ. Legend has it, the car’s origins stem from when the chairman of Aston Martin, Ulrich Bez, and Akio Toyoda, the-then president of Toyota Motor Co and grandson of its founder, met at the 2009 Nürburgring 24-hour race. During a late-night party, Bez admitted to Toyoda that Aston Martin needed a small car to lower the company’s CO2. After Toyoda replied that he’d been disappointed by the sales of the iQ, a plan to help each other out was quickly hatched. When the Cygnet reached production the following year, completed iQ donor cars in black, white, or silver, were shipped from the Toyota factory in Takaoka, Japan, to Gaydon…

Following the Ferrari FXX and McLaren P1 GTR, in 2015 Aston Martin joined the market for exclusive track cars with the Vulcan. Designed by Aston Martin’s creative officer Marek Reichman, the two-door coupe took inspiration from the company’s then-current models such as the Vantage, DB9 and One-77. Just 24 of these supercars were produced, one for each hour of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, priced at $2.3 million each. The Vulcan was powered by a 7.0-litre version of Aston Martin’s normally aspirated V12 that produced a staggering 820bhp and 575lb ft of torque resulting in a 208mph top speed (minus the wing) while it could reach 60mph in a stomach-churning 2.9 seconds. Using cutting edge and racing-inspired engineering influenced by Aston Martin’s successful GT racing campaign, the car featured…

Arriving a few months after the DB11 was a new generation of Vantage that visually took many of its styling cues from the DB10 concept that appeared in the 2015 Bond film, Spectre, such as its low front grille. As with its larger sibling, the car again used the Mercedes-Benz’s 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine that had a power output of 503bhp and 505lb ft of torque and is based on the same bonded aluminium platform. Initially a coupe, an open version of the new Vantage arrived in 2020. In 2021, Aston Martin announced a limited-edition model to celebrate the company competing in Formula 1 for the first time since 1961. The F1 Edition featured a fixed rear wing, increased engine power to 528bhp, a top speed of 195mph while the…

If the urban legend is correct, then the Valkyrie was originally conceived over four plates of bangers and mash eaten by Red Bull’s design legend Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner, Aston Martin’s then CEO Dr Andy Palmer, plus Simon Sproule, the-then head of Aston’s marketing and communications in a pub near Milton Keynes. For a long time, Newey had wanted to develop the ultimate road car and Horner desperately wanted to keep him away from F1 rivals at Ferrari. The result was the Valkyrie, the fastest and most driver-focused car the company has ever made. Power comes from an all-new 6.5-litre naturally aspirated 65-degree V12, co-developed with Cosworth, while a clever gearbox integrates an electric motor that draws power from a 1.8kWh battery pack supplied by Rimac,…

Q What’s the difference between a cross-ply tyre and a later radial tyre? A: The clever thing about a radial is that as the sidewalls flex the tread stays flat on the road. This is particularly helpful in the corners where a cross-ply would flex its tread while in contact with the road, dramatically decreasing grip and longevity. The radial has a belt inside the tread that is independent of the sidewall carcass to hold the tread flat. Q Is it simply a moneymaking scam to recommend changing tyres in sets across an axle and keeping with the same brand? A: Under emergency braking, one tyre will lock up before the other which could well lead to a spin and loss of control. So, tyres should be changed in pairs. It is…

So, whether it’s a full service requiring the resetting of a service light, diagnosing why the engine management light has appeared on the dashboard display, or recalibrating driver aids (eg. lane assist) on a new or nearly new Aston Martin, McGurk Performance can now deal with this type of dealer-level work on models including the 4.0 Vantage, DB11, DBS Superleggera, DBX and DB12. For further details, call McGurk Performance on 01926 691000 or visit their website at mcgurk.com.…

AS WE head along the country lanes surrounding Aston Workshop in County Durham, sitting comfortably in the DB6 Mk1 Volante seen here, it’s easy to forget that this car is 57 years old. Its suspension soaks up the undulations in the tarmac to the point that there’s a noticeable lack of scuttle-shake, and just as impressive is the performance from the 3,995cc straight-six twin-cam engine that’s fed by three Weber carburettors. A small degree of mechanical sympathy is required to operate the five-speed manual gearbox, but it has synchromesh in all gears, so it’s only in the interests of preservation that you don’t select first gear when moving. The brakes and steering are both power assisted, but of course they are not to the same level as a modern vehicle.…

Aston Martin’s origins start in 1913 when former cyclist turned motorbike racer Lionel Martin met another cyclist and engineer, Robert Bamford. The two quickly became friends and in 1912 decided to go into business together selling bicycles and cars from their premises in Callow Street, Chelsea. They also serviced Calthorpe, GWK and Singer vehicles, and for their workshop premises took over the former depot of marine, motor and general engineers Hesse and Savory, in the adjacent Henniker Mews. Bamford was responsible for the engineering side, while Martin handled the business affairs. Together though, they worked on Martin’s 1912 Singer Ten, modifying it enough to raise its top speed to 70mph, an impressive speed for something with just a 1,096cc side valve engine. Martin enthusiastically took it racing and was especially…

Work to develop what became the 2.6-Litre had started during the later stages of the second world war. Designed by famed engineer W.O. Bentley, it featured a new chassis and his 2,580cc straight-six engine. Although at least five prototypes had been built, it was clear by the mid-Forties that Lagonda wasn’t in a position financially to put the car into production and so in 1947, the company was offered for sale. It was eventually bought in September the same year by British engineering magnate, (Sir) David Brown, who later admitted he only did so when he realised the 2.6-Litre would be perfect for his other recent purchase, Aston Martin. “When I tried one of the prototypes,” said Brown in Geoff Courtney’s 1978 book, The Power Behind Aston Martin. “I immediately…

Although not as famous as its later, more iconic sibling, the DB4 is still important for being the first Aston Martin to be designed by the Italian coachbuilder Touring, the link between the two coming from when three DB2/4 chassis had been sent to the Milan-based carrozzeria to have roadster bodies fitted. The new car also featured the Italian firm’s Superleggera style of construction that consisted of a framework of small-diameter steel tubes covered by thin alloy body panels. The result was a clean-lined and well-proportioned fastback style of coupe that despite its Italian parentage was every inch the Aston Martin. And although at 4.5m long and 1.7m wide it was a relatively large car, due to the Superleggera construction, the finished model weighed a mere 1,392kg (3,070lb), a whopping…

Wanting to make the DB5 more practical but rejecting proposals from Touring for an all-new replacement, Aston Martin decided to give the existing car a major facelift, resulting in the DB6. Although the nose was left largely alone, the wheelbase was lengthened by 3.75in and the roofline was raised by two inches resulting in more rear interior space. The changes, though, meant the new car lost a little of its predecessor’s crisp proportions while a small lip at the rear edge of the boot to counteract aerodynamic lift was never popular with Aston Martin’s traditionally conservative clientele. While the standard engine was the same 282bhp 4.0-litre as the DB5, the Vantage model now had 325bhp resulting in a 0-60mph time of six seconds and a 147mph top speed. As with…

Knowing the now elderly AMV8 needed to be kept relevant for a few more years, Aston Martin’s new owners decided more power was the answer. This was achieved by the same modifications given to the Lagonda saloon, including cylinder heads with significantly larger valves which, when coupled with high-lift cams and larger 48 IDF Weber carburettors with revised inlet manifolds, larger diameter trunking and hotter spark plugs, resulted in around 375bhp, an increase of 70bhp. There was also stiffer suspension, spacers for the rear wheels, the adoption of Koni shock absorbers and wider tyres (255mm). It differed physically from the standard V8 by a front air dam, tail spoiler, Perspex headlamp covers (although these were soon dropped), and twin 7in Cibie spotlights recessed into the grille. Wind tunnel tests resulted…

By the late Eighties, the company was finally in a position to replace the now ancient V8 model. Designed by two Royal College of Art tutors, John Heffernan and Ken Greenley, the result was a longer, wider and much more conservative car than its predecessor but still very much an Aston Martin. It still used the company’s trusty Tadek Marek-designed 5.3-litre V8 but, to be compatible with lead-free petrol and able to meet UK and American emission laws yet without losing performance, it was given four valves per cylinder by Callaway Engineering based in Connecticut in the US. The power of the modified engine was quoted at 326bhp with 365lb ft of torque compared to 305bhp/340lb ft of the final version of the V8 saloon. However, since there wasn’t initially…

The origins of the Vanquish go back to an Ian Callum-designed concept called Project Vantage that debuted at the 1998 Detroit Motor Show. With Ford seeing Aston Martin as the pilot for forthcoming technology, the car was overflowing with new developments, such as a chassis constructed from aluminium honeycomb while aluminium chassis sections and roof pillars were reinforced with carbon fibre. It was also the first Aston Martin to be powered by a V12, beating the DB7 Vantage by a year. A 5,935cc unit with chain-driven twin overhead camshafts per bank and four valves per cylinder, it developed 442bhp and 320lb ft of torque. Although a concept, Ford’s vice-president, Jac Nasser, personally gave Aston Martin’s chairman, Bob Dover, the green light to put the car into production. The resultant Vanquish…

Debuting at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show in March, the Virage resurrected the name of the largely unloved model produced between 1990 and 1996. This new car was designed to occupy the narrow space between the smaller DB9 and the more powerful DBS, offering the elegance of the former with the performance of the latter. Although similar in appearance to the DB9, the sills and skirts were now bolstered, the grille was ever so slightly wider, the headlights borrowed from the Rapide and there was a subtle rear diff user. The result was a slightly more masculine-looking car than its sibling, the updates suggesting an extra dose of sportiness. Again, using the VH platform, power came from Aston Martin’s familiar 6.0-litre V12 that in this application generated 490bhp and 420lb…

Replacing the DBS as Aston Martin’s flagship model, although the Vanquish – a return of the name first seen in 2001 – looked similar to both it and the original DB9, several changes made it a new car. To begin with, whereas all the other DB9 derivatives had always been skinned in aluminium, the most important change for the Vanquish was the use of carbon fibre for all the body panels which contributed to a 25 percent increase in torsional rigidity. The new material also gave Aston Martin’s design team some new possibilities such as the scalloped roof, the One-77 supercar-style door strakes and the cut-out spoiler in the boot. The Vanquish might have been 40kg lighter than the DBS but only 6kg of that was down to the carbon…

Just as the Zagato Coupe and DB AR1 saw out production of the DB7 Vantage in the early 2000s, a series of four special editions – which were again designed by the Italian house – did the same for the second generation of Vanquish 15 years later. Based on the more powerful S version, they were also the last new cars to use both Aston Martin’s VH chassis and its 6.0-litre V12. The series started in 2016 with the carbon fibre-bodied Zagato Concept that was based on the Vanquish S, complete with the production car’s 595bhp version of the 5.9-litre V12 and its eight-speed semi-automatic gearbox. Revealed at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, held on the shores of Lake Como, as a handsome yet muscular coupe, it was clearly…

Developed as a replacement for the second-generation Vanquish, the DBS Superleggera paid homage to the historic super lightweight construction technology by the famous Italian coachbuilder Touring, as used for the DB4,5 and 6. Beneath the front-hinged carbon-fibre clamshell sat the same twin turbo 5.2-litre V12 that was first deployed in the DB11, only it was tweaked electronically to produce 715bhp and 664lb ft of torque. The latter figure necessitated an all-new transaxle gearbox: ZF’s ultra-modern 96HP eight-speeder with the power sent to the rear wheels via a carbon-fibre propshaft. The Superleggera had a top speed of 211mph and blistering acceleration that dispatched 0-62mph in just 3.4 seconds. The DBS’s chassis was pure DB11, using the same aluminium platform and with a double-wishbone front and multilink rear suspension design, each with…

Arriving in 2023, the DB12 was technically a major restyling of the DB11 with some design features of the DBS Superleggera plus a larger radiator grille, wider track and new LED headlights. To tell the DB11 and DB12 apart, the latter is wider and more purposeful and looks like it has far greater sporting intent. A coupe was first, closely followed by a Volante a few months later. It was also the first model to feature the brand’s new logo. Although the DB12 was the first DB since the DB7 Vantage, 25 years ago, not to have a V12 version, power from the reworked 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 was still up by 29 percent to 680bhp at 6,000rpm. Torque takes an even bigger leap, up 34 percent to 590lb ft. In…