Celebrating a quarter century of barnstorming V12 GT cars: the Aston Martin Vanquish

To celebrate 25 years of its flagship V12, Aston Martin has assembled 36-cylinders’ worth of high-end grand tourer and invited a look back at this peerless Super GT. It’s exactly a quarter of a century since the original V12 Vanquish made its debut in a very different world.

At the time, Aston Martin was still housed under the umbrella of the Ford Motor Company. If the company’s DB7, introduced in 1994, marked the start of this new era, the arrival of the V12 Vanquish (via the 1998 Project Vantage concept car) was the quantum leap the marque needed.

Like the DB7, the V12 Vanquish was overseen by Ian Callum. In the three years it took to transform the muscular concept into the production car revealed at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show, the interior was elevated to emphasise craft and quality (the concept had used Ford Ka air vents, for example).

At £158,000, it was emphatically priced higher than the contemporary DB7, reflecting the technology that went into its aluminium chassis construction. This modular VH (‘Vertical Horizontal’) went on to underpin many subsequent models.

The original was an instant classic, despite a recalcitrant semi-automatic gearbox that many owners eventually had swapped out for a conventional manual. Even today, Ian Callum’s design consultancy, Callum Designs, continues to preserve the Vanquish’s legacy.

His studio’s resto-modded version, the Vanquish 25, demonstrates just how timeless the design was; it still looks fresh today. After just over 2,500 variants of Vanquish Mk1 there was a five-year hiatus from 2007, before the next iteration appeared.

In 2012, the second-generation Vanquish arrived, followed by the droptop Vanquish Volante. This time around, the Vanquish had a closer visual relationship to its contemporary GT, the DB9, along with design cues inspired by the Aston Martin One-77 hypercar.

Tweaked and uprated throughout its life, along with special editions like the AM310 Vanquish, Vanquish Mk2 introduced carbon-fibre body panels and a revised and uprated 6.0-litre V12. The range culminated in the 600bhp Vanquish S, capable of more than 200mph.

The current-generation Vanquish Volante and Vanquish coupé are two of the most attractive cars ever built by the company, strong praise amidst a crowded field of contenders. With nearly double the power of Vanquish Mk1 (835PS and 1000Nm of torque), the latest Vanquish is proudly hailed as the most powerful flagship production model ever produced by the company.

Describing the car as a ‘true British icon’, Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark says that the Vanquish ‘remains nothing less than a symbol of what this exceptional British marque is capable of creating. Like the fortunate owners who have chosen to add one, or more, of the three generations of Vanquish to their collections since 2001, I am immensely proud of what this model represents.’

Is the current Vanquish the final flourish for Aston Martin’s relationship with the V12? Or will the name continue to bear this monumental old-school propulsion unit through to another generation?

With a new generation of mid-engined and hybridised cars on the way, change is inevitable. Aston Martin would be foolish to abandon such an emotive name. Whether another 25 years are on the cards remains to be seen.

Aston Martin Vanquish, from £433,266, AstonMartin.com, @AstonMartin