Aston Martin V12 Vantage plus the 2010 DBR1-2 Le Mans race car

Aston Martin V12 Vantage

The One77, DBS, DB9 Rapide and V12 Vantage are some of the cars that are fitted with the V12 engine of Aston Martin make. Now the same engine is going to be installed on the 2010 DBR1-2 Le Mans Race car. The engine was launched in 2009 and since then has gained in stature with each passing year. For the US this engine made first footfall in 2010.
The engine is of 6.0 liter capacity and can deliver 510 bhp or 380 kw / 517 PS and 570 Nm in torque which converts to a respectable 420 lb ft of torque.
The DBR1-2 model is made by Aston Martin and is an LMP1 race car. The unit participated in the races throughout 2009 to 2010.
The car also won the Le Mans Series in 2009 and achieved three podium finishes in 2010. The engine therefore has gained a lot of fame when it comes to its power credentials.
There is a video clip which depicts the performance of these two famed road race cars and that too in an unusual setting.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage sets the mark for its storied marque

The V12 Vantage is the best Aston Martin ever made, and Aston got it that way by following a simple formula that works every time.

“The V12 Vantage is the biggest engine in the smallest car,” said Aston's CEO Ulrich Bez. “It is the biggest fun.”

Bez should know; he races his company's cars in Germany on the N�rburgring's feared Nordschleife circuit. As we wrote this, Bez and his factory team of engineers--backed by a sizable squadron of privateer entries--were racing a fleet of Astons, including a V12 Vantage and a four-door Rapide, in the N�rburgring annual 24-hour race. Last year, the team took its second class win in as many years at the event.

But the engineers had plenty of practice. As a few other carmakers do, Aston has an engineering facility right at the track, the Aston Martin Test Centre. While the V12 Vantage was under development, engineers put 5,500 miles on it around the 12.9-mile, 73-turn Nordschleife. That's approximately 426 laps, all done at “95 percent of maximum speed.” So they got it pretty well sorted out by the time Aston introduced the European version of the car at Geneva last year.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage price

The V12-powered version of the Aston Martin Vantage arrives in U.S. dealer showrooms late this year, with a base sticker price of $181,345, which includes shipping charges and a $3,000 gas-guzzler tax.

Stepping up to the Carbon Black Special Edition adds $15,000 to the sticker price, for a total of $196,345.

Both models are powered by Aston's 6.0-liter V12 rated at 520 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Aston says the V12 Vantage has a top speed of 190 mph and will rocket from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds.

The Carbon Black package gets you black exterior paint and side strakes made from carbon fiber. Inside, there is black leather and gloss black trim, along with an upgraded audio system.

The base price of the V12 Vantage is a $59,245 step up from the base of the 2010 V8 Vantage.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Aston Martin will launch its V12 Vantage in the U.S., in a move contrary to its original plans. Aston is planning its first deliveries in the fourth quarter of this year, at an estimated price of $180,000-$200,000.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage

The 510-horsepower version of Aston's smallest model was released in Europe last year to widespread acclaim. Inquiries from potential American customers have prompted it to offer the car in what is currently its biggest market.

The task was not as easy it seems, because the V12 Vantage's front-end crash structure needed modification, mainly to the impact load paths, to meet North American regulations.

The V12's 420 pound-feet of torque allows the Vantage a 0-60-mph time of less than 4.2 seconds and a 190-mph top speed, producing the fastest model to bear the name yet and indeed, the most potent production model in the marque's 96-year history.

ASTON MARTIN V12 VANTAGE CONFIRMED FOR NORTH AMERICA

ASTON MARTIN V12 VANTAGEa

From the preparation of Rapide’s bonded aluminium body frame, to the painstaking six-stage painting process where nine coats of paint are applied making Aston Martin’s paint finish the best in class, to the trim shop where highly-skilled craftspeople shape and stitch 10 of the finest leather hides to create the Rapide’s magnificently upholstered interior, the AMRP is a centre of automotive excellence.

Unveiled in production form at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009 to worldwide acclaim, the Aston Martin Rapide encapsulates the values of Aston Martin in a four-door sports car with unrivalled performance, extremely high levels of craftsmanship and exceptionally elegant design. The Rapide is a car to savour and share, an expressive sports grand tourer that extends the Aston Martin experience to an entire family, a group of colleagues or other performance enthusiasts. Beauty, power and practicality have never been presented so seductively.

The elegant Rapide, functional yet luxurious, provides space for up to four adults combined with an engaging driving experience synonymous with all Aston Martins. A 301 litre luggage compartment affords generous space for belongings for all four passengers, creating an Aston Martin which can be enjoyed on any occasion, anytime, anywhere. At the heart of the Rapide lies an evocative engine providing effortless power and torque: a hand-built 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 470 bhp (477 PS / 350 kW) with peak power being delivered at 6000 rpm and 600 Nm (443 lb.ft) peak torque at 5000 rpm. A specifically tuned six-speed Touchtronic 2 automatic transmission features as standard, allowing the driver to change gear automatically or manually via the steering column-mounted magnesium paddles.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Fitting a V12 in a Vantage was no easy feat. The effort was worth it, though – you end up with 510bhp and 420lb ft of torque compared with the 420bhp and 346lb ft in the V8 version.

As with any Vantage, the driving experience is a physical, manly sort of affair – a long-travel and heavy clutch, weighty steering, firm accelerator pedal, rock-hard ride and a gearshift that’s like manoeuvring a girder around.

It’s the sort of car you need to grab by the scruff of the neck, which is fine when you can find a clear road in the dry, but not so much fun in traffic or when the roads are wet. The near-slick tyres don’t have too much purchase on damp surfaces, either.

Still, the throttle pedal is a wonderfully delicate tool for metering out the power, and the car’s certainly quick when you get the chance to use it. Not as quick as you might think, though, in the exalted world of modern supercars – and there’s the V12 Vantage’s main problem. RS

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage

The chaps at Gaydon have taken their most powerful engine, the 510bhp V12 from the range-topping DBS, and crammed it into their smallest car, the Vantage, to create the V12 Vantage - the fastest production Aston ever

The leather-trimmed dashboard

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage's engine