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Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
Manufacturer	Aston Martin Lagonda Limited
Production	2001–2007
Predecessor	Virage/V8 Vantage
Successor	Aston Martin DBS V12
Class	Grand Tourer
Body style(s)	Coupe
Layout	FR layout
Engine(s)	5.9 L V12
Wheelbase	2690 mm (106 in)
Length	4666 mm (184 in)
Width	1923 mm (76 in)
Height	1318 mm (52 in)
Curb weight	1835 kg (4045 lb)

The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, often shortened to Vanquish, was designed by Ian Callum, and is a grand tourer manufactured by Aston Martin. From its 2001 introduction to its cancellation, it was Aston Martin's flagship vehicle. Its rise to recognition by the wider public came after being featured as the official James Bond car in Die Another Day, the twentieth James Bond film. It was discontinued in 2007. The Aston Martin DBS V12 will temporarily replace it atop Aston's lineup pending the 2010 introduction of a replacement. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (911x561, 147 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Aston Martin V12 Vanquish Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner... Automakers, also known as carmakers, automobile manufacturers, motor manufacturers, or the automobile industry are companies that design and manufacture automobiles. ... Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury performance cars, whose headquarters are at Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. ... The Virage was Aston Martins replacement for the decades-old V8 models. ... This article is about the new Aston Martin DBS V12, for the classic, 1967 to 1972 GT car, see Aston Martin DBS. The Aston Martin DBS is the latest supercar to be announced by the Aston Martin and featured prominently in the James Bond film Casino Royale. ... Car classification is subjective since many vehicles fall into multiple categories. ... A grand tourer (Italian: Gran Turismo), (initialised GT), is a high-performance automobile designed for long-distance driving. ... Cars can come in a large variety of different body styles. ... 1995 Buick Riviera coupe A coupé (from the French for cut) or coupe is a two or four-seater car with a fixed roof and two doors. ... In automobile design layout is the place where both the engine and driven wheels are. ... Sketch of FR layout In automobile design, an FR, or front-engine, rear wheel drive means a layout where the engine is in the front of the vehicle and drive wheels at the rear. ... A V12 is an internal combustion engine with 12 cylinders in V configuration. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Kerb (sometimes mis-spelled as curb by Americans) weight is the total weight of a vehicle with standard equipment, all necessary operating consumables (such as motor oil and coolant), a full tank of fuel and not loaded with either passengers or cargo. ... From 1979 to 1990 he worked at Ford working between Dunton, Japan, Italy and Australia, mainly working on ‘bits of cars, mostly steering wheels’.[1] As well as working on bread-and-butter Fiestas and Mondeos, he contributed to image builders such as the RS200 and Escort RS Cosworth, the... A grand tourer (Italian: Gran Turismo), (initialised GT), is a high-performance automobile designed for long-distance driving. ... Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury performance cars, whose headquarters are at Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. ... This article is about the spy series. ... For the theme song of the same movie, performed by Madonna, see Die Another Day (song). ... This article is about the new Aston Martin DBS V12, for the classic, 1967 to 1972 GT car, see Aston Martin DBS. The Aston Martin DBS is the latest supercar to be announced by the Aston Martin and featured prominently in the James Bond film Casino Royale. ...

Development & models

The Vanquish was developed in the wake of a GT concept car, the Project Vantage concept car, which debuted with a V-12 engine at the North American International Auto Show in January 1998. The production model was unveiled in 2000, and series production began in 2001 (the car arrived in the United States as a 2002 model).^[1] 1938 Buick Y-Job, the first Concept car A concept car or show car is a car prototype made to showcase a concept, new styling, technology and more. ... NAIAS 2005, near the Audi exhibit. ...

The car was largely unchanged until 2005, when the Vanquish S model debuted at the 2004 Paris Auto Show , with more power, slight styling revisions, and new wheels. It also incorporated the features of a 2004 option package, the Sports Dynamic Pack, which incorporated sportier suspension, steering, and brake features.[1] This model was sold for the 2005 (alongside the base Vanquish) and 2006 (as a stand-alone) model years in the United States with only minor running changes; it was not sold in the States for 2007. ...

Interior of an Aston Martin Vanquish S

The end of the Vanquish's production run was celebrated with the Vanquish Ultimate Edition. Aston Martin announced that the last 40 cars built would have a new 'Ultimate Black’ exterior color, upgraded interior, and personalized sill plaques. More significantly, the Ultimate Edition was the first Vanquish to be offered with a conventional stick-shift manual transmission. The auto-shift manual gearbox in the original Vanquish has been widely criticized (perhaps most infamously by Jeremy Clarkson on the BBC's Top Gear program), so this change was greeted with approval by the automotive press. Aston Martin offered to retrofit the new gearbox to any Vanquish, for a cost of £13,250. A manual transmission (also known as a stick shift, straight drive, or standard transmission) is a type of transmission used in automotive applications. ... Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster and writer who specialises in motoring. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Top Gear may refer to: Top Gear (current format), a BBC television series about cars and motorsport in its new format (2002–present). ...

Aston Martin was frequently rumoured to be considering a roadster version of the Vanquish, especially in response to the Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina, but no such version ever emerged. The Vanquish was the basis of two concept cars, both shown at the International Geneva Motor Show in 2004, the Zagato Roadster (a 2-seat roadster) and the Bertone Jet 2 (a 2-door shooting brake).^[2][3] 1950 Jaguar XK120 roadster This article is about the car body style. ... For other uses, see Ferrari (disambiguation). ... The Ferrari 550 Maranello and 550 Barchetta were 2-seat Gran Turismo automobiles. ... The Geneva Salon International de lAuto (or Geneva Motor Show) is an annual auto show held in March. ... Zagato is a modern design consultancy and engineering services company situated just outside Milan, the hub of Italys world-famous fashion industry. ... Gruppo Bertone is an Italian car styling and coachbuilding house, which also manufactures cars. ... Shooting-brake is a car body style indicating luxury estate cars built for being used by wealthy hunters. ...

Vanquish production ended on 19 July 2007, coinciding with the shutting of the company's Newport Pagnell factory after 49 years of operation. The last car was a Vanquish S Ultimate Edition in black.^[4] is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Newport Pagnell is a town in the Borough of Milton Keynes (traditional Buckinghamshire), England. ...

Engineering

The Vanquish is powered by a 5.9 L (5935 cc) 48-valve 60° V12 engine, which produces 343 kW (460 hp) and 542 N·m (400 ft·lbf) of torque. It is controlled by a fly-by-wire throttle and a 6 speed clutchless sequential manual transmission. The V12 Vanquish S upped the power to 388 kW (520 hp) and 577 N·m (426 ft·lbf). The V12 engine in the Vanquish was designed at Ford Research in the USA. Cosworth Technologies was originally contracted to manufacture the engine, but had no involvement with the design. Previous articles which correctly recount this engine's development have appeared in Automotive Industries magazine. The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of volume. ... A V12 is an internal combustion engine with 12 cylinders in V configuration. ... Components of a typical, four stroke cycle, DOHC piston engine. ... For other uses, see Watt (disambiguation). ... This article is about a unit of measurement. ... Newton metre is the unit of moment (torque) in the SI system. ... For other senses of this word, see torque (disambiguation). ... For other senses of this word, see torque (disambiguation). ... A flight control system consists of the flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkage, and necessary operating mechanisms to control aircraft in flight The basic fundamentals of aircraft controls has been explained in aeronautics. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ford may mean a number of things: A ford is a river crossing. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Cosworth Logo Cosworth is an automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing. ...

The Vanquish's V12 engine shares some components and design elements with the 3.0 L Duratec 30 V6. It even shares the same bore and stroke dimensions. For this reason, many people incorrectly dismiss the Aston Martin V12 as merely "two Duratecs linked together." While it is correct that the AM V12 shares components with the 'Duratec' engine design, it is not possible to simply put two V6's together to make a V12. Duratec is a range of 4, 6 cylinder (V6) and 12 cylinder (V12) petrol engines used in Ford cars. ... The Ford Essex V6 engine V6 and V-6 redirect here. ...

The standard Vanquish model had 355 mm (14 in) drilled and ventilated disc brakes with ABS, with electronic brake distribution, while the Vanquish S featured larger 378 mm (15 in) front and 330 mm (13 in) rear rotors. It featured 19-inch wheels. A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Vehicle brake. ... An anti-lock braking system (commonly known as ABS, from the German name Antiblockiersystem given to it by its inventors at Bosch) is a system on motor vehicles which prevents the wheels from locking while braking. ...

As part of its improvements, the Vanquish S featured a slightly improved coefficient of drag of 0.32. Its front and rear track were 1524 mm (60 in) and 1529 mm (60 in), respectively. The drag coefficient (Cd) is a number that describes a characteristic amount of aerodynamic drag caused by fluid flow, used in the drag equation. ...

Performance

Criticism

The Vanquish has drawn criticism for a number of weaknesses in its design. In particular, some interior materials have been cited as unfit for a car of this price and prestige. Much of the aluminum trim is actually plastic and several of the instruments are visibly related to items from less exotic Ford Motor Company products. Additional concerns of owners and testers include the weight and apparent cooling system deficiencies of the car. Despite Aston's materials innovations that include epoxy bonding and composite structural members, the Vanquish is a heavy car, weighing well over two tons with driver and fuel. The car's sporting aspirations are drawn into question by this excess weight and a cooling system that reportedly fails to support sustained track activity in warm weather. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ...

Prior to the release of the Vanquish S, there had been critics who felt the Vanquish was not adequately differentiated from the DB9, an Aston Martin that was lighter and far less expensive (approximately $160,000 instead of the Vanquish's $220,000), with nearly the same power and a bespoke interior. Aston Martin DB9 Coupé - front view Aston Martin DB9 Coupé - rear view The Aston Martin DB9 is a grand tourer launched by Aston Martin in 2004. ...

The main criticism has been the paddle-shift gearbox's ability to operate smoothly and correctly. Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear presenter, criticised the gearbox sharply in a 10 November 2002 comparison test with the Ferrari 575M Maranello, highlighting the gearbox's somewhat touchy responses, especially on hills, concluding: "Well done, whoever thought of this. What was the matter with a manual? Why do we have to have this?" In another test, performed on the 14 November 2004 program, Clarkson again described the gearbox's unreliability while attempting a high-speed circuit lap: "We gave it to the Stig, started the lap, half-way through the lap... stopped selecting third. Sent it back to the factory, came back, set off, stopped selecting ALL gears." In the end, a full lap was accomplished "three weeks after it first set off". Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster and writer who specialises in motoring. ... Top Gear is a BAFTA,[1] Multi-NTA and Emmy Award-winning BBC television series about motor vehicles, mainly cars. ... is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Ferrari 575M Maranello is a two-seat, two-door, grand tourer sports car built by Ferrari. ... is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

An official aftermarket modification, including the addition of a six-speed full-manual gearbox with a clutch pedal, became available in 2007.

References