Aston Martin Vanquish S 2007
01/01/2007
When the recent horsepower war broke out between high-end car manufacturers, Aston Martin went to work on the Vanquish, endowing its 6.0-liter V-12 with 520 hp by means of various engine tweaks, then adding a sport dynamics chassis package to handle the improved performance. Minor styling revisions were made. There is a wider grille with a splitter lip below the nose, and the trailing edge of the trunk lid was flicked up to form a small spoiler. The result: When you stand on the gas hard and run the stout V-12 to its 7,000 rpm power peak before pulling on the paddles to trigger the electrohydraulic shift mechanism, the Vanquish S will sprint to 60 mph in little more than four seconds and will top out at more than 200 mph. It’s not the youngest model in the line, and control feel is weightier than in the latest exotica. Nonetheless, for real exclusivity, the Vanquish S is hard to beat.PRICE: $265,850
ENGINE: 6.0-liter dohc V-12
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual w/overdrive
POWER: 520 hp at 7,000 rpm
TORQUE: 425 ft lbs at 5,800 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 4,045 pounds
0-60 MPH: 4.8 seconds
TOP SPEED: 200+ mph
PROS: It screams VIP with every revolution.
CONS: Getting on a bit.