Aston Martin Vanquish: culture shock

By Steve Sutcliffe

| 4 Feb 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Aston Martin Vanquish: culture shock

If ever there was a car that separates the values and ideas of the old car company that was Aston Martin from the more ambitious, less traditional and infinitely more contemporary ʻbrandʼ that Aston has become today, itʼs the Vanquish.

Not the revived 2012 edition, but the original, Ian Callum-designed car of 2001.

In 1998, when the V8 Virage was still Aston Martinʼs most exotic creation and the workforce at Newport Pagnell was still crafting its cars together lovingly by hand, the Project Vantage Concept must have seemed like a machine from outer space.

The Vanquish was the final product of Aston Martin’s long-term home in Newport Pagnell

When the model made its audacious debut at that yearʼs North American Auto Show in Detroit, you could almost feel the traditionalists shudder: here was an Aston Martin that was constructed mostly from aluminium and carbonfibre composites, and which had not a handbuilt V8 beneath its bonnet but a V12 whose origins could be traced indirectly to Ford Motor Co.

Worse still, it featured a paddle-shift gearbox and an electronic fly-by-wire throttle system, neither of which had been seen – or wanted – in an Aston Martin previously.

But when the Vanquish eventually landed as a full production car three years later, Aston Martinʼs fans – even the more stubbornly antiquated among them – were a very long way indeed from being displeased.

Despite its 21st-century design and engineering ethos, it was instantly regarded as The Real Thing.

It was a true-blue, big hairy Aston and, flappy-paddle gearshift aside, it became the obvious successor to the original V8 Vantage – arguably the biggest and hairiest Aston Martin of them all – pretty much overnight.

The Aston Martin Vanquish’s multi-spoke alloy wheels

It was quick, too. Very quick.

Although its kerbweight was still an inexplicably hefty 1835kg – more than 4000lb! – power from the 5925cc V12 was a rousing 460bhp at 6500rpm, with torque rated officially at 400lb ft at 5000rpm.

This was sufficient to send the Aston Martin Vanquish from rest to 60mph in a heady 4.4 secs, to 100mph in just 10.5 secs, and on to a claimed maximum speed just four miles per hour shy of the magic 200mph.

Yet it was the carʼs styling and the noise it made that elevated the Vanquish to a position whereby it could look its equivalent Ferrari of the day squarely in the eye, and then simply wait for the Prancing Horse to blink.

Callum wanted his creation to look powerful and strong, as well as elegant, and in the event he went to town and provided the car with a quite extraordinary level of road presence, never replicated in an Aston before or since.

And as for the noise, it didnʼt matter one iota that the V12ʼs engineering roots emanated from a design from across the pond.

The Aston Martin Vanquish’s lightweight panels clothe its complex bonded-aluminium structure

It sounded utterly fantastic, largely as a result of a natty engineering solution that kept various flaps in its exhaust system closed in order to satisfy the noise police, but which would then open at higher revs to allow the Vanquish to release its full cacophonous fury.

Since then, of course, every supercar maker worth its salt has developed a system similar to that of the Aston Martin Vanquish.

But even today, the sound of this carʼs V12 under load, beyond 3000rpm, remains as distinctive a noise as anything that Ferrari (or Aston Martin) has produced since.

It was also the reason why I could hear the Vanquish long before I could see it when it arrived on location for our photoshoot – because itʼs a noise you donʼt ever forget.

Supplied to us by marque specialist Nicholas Mee, this particular example has been uprated to something approaching Vanquish S specification by the fitment of bigger brakes, sticky Yokohama tyres and various other modifications.

The build plaque on the Aston Martin Vanquish’s V12 engine provides a personal touch

It has covered 20,000 miles and was priced at £65,000, which at the time of our shoot was at the top end of the scale; there were plenty for sale on or around the £50k mark.

But itʼs a genuinely immaculate example and, bearing in mind that the original list price was an eye-watering £158,000 and that Aston made just 2593 of them between 2001 and ʼ07, the idea of the Aston Martin Vanquish becoming an investment in the near future is not remotely far-fetched.

Not when you consider that it was a last-of-an-era moment as far as Newport Pagnell was concerned, before Astonʼs Gaydon factory became the new company HQ.

Climb inside the Vanquish and thereʼs a unique atmosphere: a delicious smell of leather mixed with a whiff of oily heat.

The driving position is low-slung and laid-back, the dials white and vaguely antiquated in their appearance.

The soulful V12 engine dominates the Aston Martin Vanquish’s character

On the centre console sits a bank of switches for the air conditioning and so on that are lifted straight out of a Jaguar XK8 – as are the doorhandles, the column stalks and much of the rest of the switchgear.

Itʼs a curious – although not unbeguiling – mixture of modern, not so modern and downright odd components, all of which combine to produce one unmistakable interior.

Yet any faults there may be inside the Aston Martin Vanquish are largely obliterated the moment you thumb the big red button in the centre of the dashboard marked ʻengine startʼ.

Once the mildly embarrassing burst of revs dies away, the V12 settles to a smooth but still rousing idle.

A single prod on the accelerator sends a wave of energy through the body that manifests itself in a lovely rocking motion, almost as if the car is lifting a cheek gracefully, as one might in church.

The Aston Martin Vanquish has huge road presence

Select first gear by pulling back the right-hand paddle and thereʼs a faint mechanical click felt at the fingertips, accompanied by a distant clunk as the gear selects.

No clutch is required; instead you just open the throttle smoothly and youʼre away, a slight judder from the transmission confirming that this is indeed an electrically automated manual gearbox and not simply a torque-converter automatic with add-on shift paddles.

On the move the Aston Martin Vanquish feels instantly alive and very obviously front-engined/rear-wheel drive.

Its steering is heavy but direct, while the ride is firm but somehow soothing at the same time.

Even at low speed and low revs, the engine and exhaust dominate the experience.

Everything the Vanquish does, in fact, all of its energy, seems to flow from a point halfway down its long bonnet.

The Aston Martin Vanquish’s awkward handbrake lever

Even the way it loads up mid-corner and gives you so much feel from the rear end is determined by the engine being mounted as far back as possible but still in front of the driver, which is just where it should be in a proper grand tourer.

And when you do eventually put your foot down, or throw it towards a corner with some gusto, it really does deliver.

This car feels every inch as rapid as I remembered in a straight line, and in corners I am genuinely surprised by how fast and composed it still is, even alongside its later 2012 namesake, which just so happens to be here on the day in question.

The only significant downside to the original Aston Martin Vanquish as a car to own, rather than merely drive, is the same one that blighted it from the word go: cost.

The simple truth is that it was expensive to buy in the first place, remains expensive to buy today and will be expensive to run tomorrow and beyond.

The Aston Martin Vanquish’s cabin is a mish-mash of old and new

Being realistic about running costs, Nicholas Mee estimates that to do 6000 miles in one will cost approximately £5000 – assuming that nothing major goes wrong or needs replacing in the meantime.

If a clutch goes – and after 25-30,000 miles they generally do – thatʼs another £5k-plus.

Replacement brake discs and pads last 7-15,000 miles, depending on use.

A set of plugs and coils is £2k-plus and ideally worth looking at annually, while a major service is required every 15,000 miles or so, with a minor one every 6000 miles.

What there does not appear to be, however, is a great long list of items that regularly go wrong. The engine Nicholas describes as “bulletproof”.

Beyond the clutch of the paddle-shift ʼbox, which needs to be reset electronically by specialists in order to avoid wear, there are no obvious skeletons in the closet.

There are nods to the past in the Aston Martin Vanquish’s design

As long as youʼre realistic about the fact that running a Vanquish is not something that can be done on the cheap, there is no reason why buyers should come completely unstuck.

It is difficult to imagine the Aston Martin Vanquish becoming anything other than a classic car in the long run, a model that will cross that magic line and begin to appreciate in value.

And at that point it will warrant even more respect than it commands today.

But even as its stands, this car is special. Very special, actually.

Not least because it represents the end of an era – and the beginning of another – as far as Aston Martin is concerned.

Images: Tony Baker

Thanks to: Nicholas Mee & Company

This was first in our April 2013 magazine; all information, including pricing, was correct at the date of original publication

Factfile

Aston Martin Vanquish

Sold/number built 2001-’07/2593
Construction aluminium body panels clothing an extruded-aluminium and carbonfibre bonded chassis
Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 5925cc V12, sequential fuel injection
Max power 460bhp @ 6500rpm
Max torque 400lb ft @ 5000rpm
Transmission six-speed automated manual with paddle-shift operation, RWD
Suspension independent, by double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes 14in (355mm) front, 13in (330mm) rear ventilated discs, with servo and anti-lock
Length 15ft 3¾in (4665mm)
Width 6ft 6¾in (1998mm)
Height 4ft 4in (1318mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 10in (2690mm)
Weight 4045lb (1835kg)
Mpg 12.6
0-60mph 4.4 secs
Top speed 196mph
Price new £158,000