2003 Aston Martin Vanquish

Aston Martin Vanquish (Coupe), 2001-2007

The Aston Martin Vanquish was in production from 2001-2007. Styled in house by Ian Callum, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive grand touring range seating two adults and up to 2 children.

The Vanquish was the replacement for the V8 series, developed as EU legislation finally rendered the old V8 engine unlawful from an emissions perspective. So it used the V12 that had been developed and trial fitted to the DB7 Vantage, underneath a body that Aston Martin claimed owed something of a debt to the DB4 GT Zagato in terms of its styling. Underneath sat an aluminium chassis with a carbon fibre backbone developed jointly with Lotus, in order to keep the car light and strong. Two seat and 2+2 variants were offered using the same bodyshell. The press praised the new car - but it gained legions of new fans when used in Die Another Day as James Bond's gadget-laden invisible car, complete with ejector seat to flip you back over should your car for any reason be upside down. The Vanquish S of 2004 saw power rise from 460bhp to 520bhp, along with new wheels, a facelift, and an integrated tail spoiler. New gear ratios meant it could reach 200mph - unsurprisingly, few buyers continued to buy the standard model, which was discontinued for 2006.

The Vanquish S in turn was discontinued in 2007, replaced by a new Vanquish which utilised the same VH architecture as the smaller DB9 and subsequent DBS and Virage models. The last 50 were dubbed the Ultimate Edition, finished in black with personalised treadplates.

The closest competition today for a Vanquish buyer can be found within the Aston stable, with cars such as the DB7 Vantage and DB9. We'd consider the later Virage to be a more adequate alternative given that it is more aggressive than a DB9, without succumbing to the all out machoness of the DBS. Away from Aston, consider a Bentley Continental GT or perhaps a Ferrari 575M as options, while for the eccentric the V10 engined Bristol Fighter has to be worth a look.