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Baby monster
Freshly hatched in the Aston laboratory, the Vantage RS looks certain to make a break for freedom soon
In the six months since Aston Martin slipped free from Ford's corporate shackles and entered into private ownership, something akin to America's infamous spring break has been kicking off in Warwickshire.
While the naked college girls and the tankerloads of Miller Lite are yet to show up at Aston HQ, the sudden hormonal release there began with the arrival of the brutal, raucous, over-muscled DBS. With that car, we witnessed the first signs of a step-shift in the company's philosophy, away from slick and subtle in favour of a far louder, more testosterone-addled proposition.
And the DBS represented just the slightest whisper of what was set to follow. Enter the Vantage RS. No one - really, no one - saw this thing coming. Rest assured that when they put it into production, and the hints are heavier than plutonium that they will, the RS will make a noise like few other cars allowed to drive across the face of this planet.
Under that multi-vented bonnet sits a V12 in place of the 'regular' Vantage's V8. That's a 600bhp, 6.0-litre V12 taken straight from the DBRS9 race car. Just imagine a DBRS9 driving up your high street, terrifying the grannies and treating the window of Starbucks like a Rolf Harris wobble board.
Nought to 62mph is said to pass in 4.0 seconds dead, so almost a second faster than the Vantage V8 can manage, while 0-100mph is demolished in just 8.5 seconds. The top speed, whenever they get around to testing it, is certain to pass the double ton. More pressingly, Aston's engineers have been forced to face one crucial question during the initial design process: given that the engine, at 300kg, weighs 93kg more than the existing V8, how exactly will they make the RS go round corners properly?
The answer begins with the ruthless slashing of extra flab that clearly has had to occur elsewhere. Start with that bonnet. Was a tally of 38 cooling louvres strictly necessary? No matter, every gram of missing bodywork helps. And on the subject of the bonnet, it's made of skimpy carbon fibre here, just as with the DBS.
A carbon ceramic composite is used for the simply gigantic brake discs, while the carbon fibre continues with the bootlid, the jutting front splitter and virtually every inch of the snug interior that isn't clad in soft, fluffy grey Alcantara. It's like finding yourself in a Le Mans themed womb in there.
Deep, lightweight race buckets and four-point Schroth harnesses keep you fixed firmly in place, while, behind the passenger's head, a couple of thick braided hoses with blue anodised couplings feed into the rear of the car, where an FIA-approved safety valve is mounted to cut off fuel supply from the, again motorsport-spec, bag tank if the car flips over.
A few other points of note inside. The gearbox is a conventional six-speed manual, operated via a trad lever and clutch just as in first versions of the DBS. A brushed alloy plaque set into the carbon-fibre sill protectors bears the legend: 'Vantage RS - HANDBUILT IN ENGLAND'.
Is Aston addressing concerns that the upcoming Rapide four-door could be built elsewhere? And a new button has emerged in the midst of the fascia, an over-ride for a pop-up rear spoiler that otherwise is set to automatically deploy at 70mph and retract at 50mph.
In all, the Vantage RS tips the scales at close to 1,500kg - a remarkable feat, given the extra heft of the V12 and the fact that a V8 Vantage has a kerb weight of 1,630kg. All this would count for little if much of what weight there is sat over the front end, but no. Impressively, the RS has a balance of 51 per cent front to 49 per cent rear.
Flip that bonnet and you can see how they've managed it. The fat V12, with its bespoke exhaust manifolds, high-strength forged pistons and rev-hungry camshafts, has been pushed as far back into the bulkhead as is humanly possibly - mechanics will weep at the prospect of attempting to gain access. Also, the engine is pushed low to reduce C of G, a position made possible by the use of a dry sump with the oil tank located in the boot.
Hardcore it may be, but, as mentioned, the Vantage RS is likely to be far from a one-off. As Aston boss Ulrich Bez said at the car's unveiling: "We will listen with interest to feedback on this concept and, as ever, if there is sufficient demand, then we will seriously consider a low-volume production run in the near future, with a price that will reflect the exclusivity of the car."
That statement comes with the assurance that quality will continue to be addressed and development will be thorough. But, in a sense, one conclusion can't be avoided. The spirit of TVR lives on.
Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Concept feature - Baby monster - 2008 - Features - Top Gear
Is there no end to the thrills from Aston-Martin? This thing is going to be yet another stunner from them. Now if I could just get them to go over that 4-door thingy again.
M
