insideKENT Magazine Issue 40 - July 2015 | Página 127

Aston Martin celebrated 100 years in the motoring
industry two years ago, and what better tribute
to this impressive feat, than the Vanquish Coupé?
The 2013 incarnation of the flagship Aston easily
manages to hold onto all of the culture and quality
of previous incarnations, but with a touch of rock
star wildness thrown in for good measure.

from a lump of solid metal rather than separate
panels, the body is a resplendent concoction of
magnificent lines and shapely curves; the
statuesque Vanquish we drove sat on 20-spoke
‘liquid silver’ wheels, rendering it poised on the
road and leaning forward slightly, giving it the
wholly accurate air of being astonishingly fast
even when it is sitting still at the kerb.

Indeed, after a century of building cars, it seems
very fitting that there is something very 21st
century about this car. Sure, it has that
quintessentially British feel to it, but the technology
behind the looks bring it bang up to date;
somehow it manages to be classic and current
at the same time, a true testament to the
experience and skill of Aston's designers and
engineers.

The build and paintwork on the Vanquish are
incredible. As a photographer, I have a natural
aversion to white cars, however the model we
drove had no ordinary white paint job. Described
as ‘Morning Frost White’ by Aston, the colour
was developed in-house especially – something
that has really paid off, and finishes off the car's
good looks perfectly.

Outside the Vanquish, you are treated to a
magnificent view from almost every angle.
Boasting bodywork crafted from a meld of
aluminium, magnesium and carbon fibre, it doesn't
so much make people stop and stare, as leave
them forgetting to breathe with their jaws dropped
to the point of dislocation. Seemingly crafted

Climbing into the Vanquish, you are treated to a
sumptuously comfortable, and state of the art
experience. The seats are quilted leather and
kind of reminiscent of a gentleman's club plush
armchair and add yet another true touch of class
to the proceedings. The standard feature list is
impressive, boasting an array of shiny things to

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pique the driver's interest such as a 100W Bang
& Olufsen BeoSound Audio system, six-CD auto
changer, and a dock for your iPod.
But this is an Aston, and as such, I personally
think a digital sound system, however magnificent,
is completely obsolete, because if you have any
taste in music whatsoever, you will want to sit
back and enjoy the polyphonic symphony
delivered by the all-alloy, quad overhead camshaft,
48-valve 6.0-litre V12 engine. This car is made
to be driven.
This astounding engine, as Aston is keen to
stress, is the heart and soul of this beautiful
creature. They have introduced technology first
used in the One-77 supercar, have completely
replaced all the components of the V12 with
brand new ones, and have introduced technology
to allow variable valve timing and knock sensing.
The results of all this are staggeringly good,
delivering a blistering 565bhp, a top speed of
183mph, and 0-62mph in just 4.1 seconds.