Aston Martin looks to be readying a V12-powered, track-ready version of its Vantage coupé to rival the Porsche 911 Turbo S from 2023.
The shock news comes courtesy of new images captured by Autocar's spy photographer at the Nurbürgring, showing an obviously uprated Vantage prototype with markedly different styling and hints at a significant performance boost.
Most obvious among the changes are the substantial front grille, added air intakes, a hefty twin exhaust and a prominent bulge in the bonnet – all of which suggest this mule uses a larger engine than the V8 of the current Vantage.
Our photographer said the engine in question is a V12 - a unit not currently used by the series-production Vantage but employed in the closely related V12 Speedster revealed last year. Aston Martin could therefore revive the Vantage V12 RS nameplate last seen on the previous-generation Vantage in 2008.
That twin-turbocharged 5.2-litre engine pumps out 690bhp and 555 lb ft in the topless car, giving a 0-62mph time of 3.5sec and a top speed of 186mph. Expect any series-production Vantage using the same unit to offer broadly comparable performance.
The Vantage is due a substantial facelift next year, and the design changes seen here suggest the V12 option could be introduced as part of that update, in line with CEO Tobias Moers' plan to introduce 10 new derivatives of existing models within the next two years.
Moers has previously spoken of the challenges involved in making Aston's V12 compliant with impending Euro 7 emissions regulations but hinted that "aficionados for a V12" around the world might make such an endeavour worthwhile. In any case, a V12-powered Vantage is likely to have a limited production run or lifecycle to minimise its impact on Aston's fleet-average emissions figures.
Other changes for the Vantage, aimed at sustaining its appeal until it is replaced by an all-electric sports coupé sometime around 2025, will include a new infotainment system and various chassis upgrades.
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A v12 vantage is an obvious move, weird they haven't done it already. An Aston powered by a 4 cylinder hybrid, as mentioned in your final paragraph, is bigger news no?
How is a track focused Limited Edition Aston for a car at the end of its life potentially in any way a rival to the Porsche 911 Turbo S? A road car with epic performance - This is surely at best a car in a similar vision to the GT2 RS but perhaps in reality more like the GT3 RS
is Tobias Moers making Aston a parts bin estranged cousin of Mercedes? All the tech, all the engines seem hand me downs from them, when you as a customer are paying a large premium is it wrong to expect the best of everything not 2nd generation tech Merc has moved on from.
Valhalla in point, the switch to the Merc Amg engine from the Black Series makes sense but by then it will be 3/4 years old - Aston make big things about being a faster car than the SF90 - the 3 year old SF90 by the time Valhalla arrives and the SF will be refreshed the following year.
Not sure the direction Aston is going is clear but they have survived on a wing and prayer at times so let's hope they move forward positively over the next few years