 I just can't believe my eyes. Aston Martin with power-to-weight ratio of 380hp per ton. This is just ridiculous!
Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS. The initial vision that came in my mind when I first heard this name was an Aston Martin V8 Vantage with DB9 V12 and some rubbish face lift to make it look "cooler" than it actually is. This, however, proved to be totally wrong because I forgot about the most important part of new Aston's name - those two nasty little letters - "R" and "S". In the world of motoring those two are like "1" and "0" in computer science. They symbolize speed, power, lightness, handling and all the other million aspects that make up a proper sports-car. My common-sense tells me that "R" stands for "racing" and "S" for "sport". Honda Type-R, Caterham R500, Yamaha R1, Mitsubishi Colt Version R, Honda NSX S-Type, Boxster S, Cayman S, Carrera S, the list goes on and on - these are just few of car names that contain these key letters.
But what happens when you combine them together? Well... You get both "racing" and "sport" in one package. Two is better than one. And you will agree that Ford Focus RS, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Zonda RS and Donkervoort D8 RS are all damn good cars in their own way. They are all so different but apart from the "RS" there is something else they all have in common - they are all true sports-cars.
So you would expect the new V12 Vantage RS to be sports-car as well, and, you know what, based on recently published technical specifications, there is no reason to doubt! The engine is taken straight from DBRS9 race car and it has impressive 600 horse-power. Combine that with DBRS9-like suspension, brakes and over-all weight of 1580 kg and the end result is nothing less than most expensive, most powerful and fastest Aston Martin to date.
Figures? 0-60 should take less than 4 seconds and the predicted top speed is around 200 miles per hour. Remember - those are just manufacturers claims - car hasn't been tested just yet.
It is all very impressive and all very nice but pricing of this car will most likely ruin it all. Exact numbers are not known but Aston Martin say the new V12 Vantage RS will be even more expensive than already stupidly expensive DBS and Aston Martin will have a hard time explaining to it's potential customers why this car has to be more expensive than the main rival from Ferrari camp - the 599 GTB. |
