Geneva pictures: Aston Martin Vanquish

We take a close look at the new Vanquish that's just been unveiled at Geneva

Mark Tisshaw

by Mark Tisshaw

5 March 2019

Follow @mtisshaw

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Perhaps the most significant of the three new Astons at Geneva is the Vanquish Vision concept, which closely previews Aston’s all-new mid-engined supercar due to go into production at Gaydon in 2022.

The car marks the first time Aston has put a mid-engined model into series production and will line up alongside next-generation versions of the McLaren 720S and Ferrari 488 GTB, likely priced at around £250,000/US$350,000.
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Vanquish revived

It revives the Vanquish name for Aston, too, which was last used on 2017’s front-engined GT the new DBS Superleggera replaced.
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Two years in development

The car has been in development for two years, and has been spearheaded by technical boss Max Szwaj, who joined Aston from Ferrari where he created similar models.
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Brand new engine

The Vanquish, codenamed AM9, will bring with it a brand new, Aston-designed V6 engine that will be built in the UK.

The engine is twin-turbocharged, and is of an unspecified capacity. Palmer described it as a “little V6 that’s downsized”, with a likely capacity of around 3.0-litres given the configurations of similar engines from other car makers.
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Hybrid potential

The engine was fired up for the first time in late January. It will also be used in the 003, where it will be paired with an electric motor to become a hybrid, a configuration that’s also set to carry over to the Vanquish production car to help with low-end torque.

The next-generation McLaren 720S, also set to launch around 2022, is set to use a downsized V6 hybrid powertrain of its own. Ferrari is investigating electrified technology, too, as is Lamborghini, marking a significant shift in the supercar segment.
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Details are still unknown...

Underpinning the Vanquish is a new bonded aluminium mid-engined architecture that’s of a new design, inspired by the Valkyrie, but uses learnings and technical solutions from Aston’s front-engined models, too.

Further technical details on the car have not been released by Aston, but the company will do so as the model progresses from this Geneva concept car to the full production model over the next three years.
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Concept to reality

The concept’s styling, which brings with it dramatic proportions not seen on an Aston before due to its mid-engined layout, is claimed to be more than 85% representative of the final production car, according to Aston design boss Marek Reichman.

“We do well at taking a concept to reality,” he said. “We do this to state our intentions for the proportions and surfaces. There will be lots of millimetre changes to this, as it’s not something we’ve done before.”
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Downforce created down low

Reichman said inspiration had been taken from the Valkyrie in delivering an aerodynamic shape and surfaces in a beautiful Aston Martin way. “We’ve gone from the insect-like nature of the Valkyrie, and played tunes on the surfaces to develop them. The aero isn’t just aero, they’re simple, elegant solutions. Most of the downforce is created under the car.”

Reichman is also keen for the Vanquish to remain usable everyday in production despite its supercar billing, hence why its aero isn’t as extreme as the Valkyrie in compromising things such as ingress and egress. “There should be no reason for you not to want to drive it to Sainsbury’s,” he said. “There will be no excuse not to drive it.”
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The best Aston has done?

Palmer said that the Vanquish had a smaller footprint than it would have otherwise due to what the company had learned from working with Red Bull’s Adrian Newey.

“One of the real learnings with Adrian Newey is obsession with weight and mass, and package size,” he said. Our designers are now pushing our engineers; cars were getting bigger but now we’re heading smaller, with cars packaged around the engine. It’s the reversal of a trend.”

The Vanquish is the “best of what we know” at Aston Martin, said Palmer, and the firm had been laying the groundwork to be able to compete directly with supercar rivals for several years.
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Formula One genetics

“What legitimacy do you have? How do you compete with Ferrari, McLaren and Lamborghini? Since 2016, we’ve been fertilising that field, working with Red Bull in Formula 1, and with Adrian Newey on the Valkyrie to make the fastest production car ever. That’s why we’re also creating 003, to create that legacy and legitimacy for mid-engined cars.

“So that’s the real reason behind F1 and the Valkyrie, to lay the lines of legitimacy for the AM9 [Vanquish].
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Icon

Reichman said that the Valkyrie’s widespread appeal as the kind of car that extends beyond car enthusiasts will help the Vanquish be recognised as an Aston, and Aston as a maker of mid-engiend supercars.

“The Valkyrie is our most looked at car, and it gets ingrained in the physche,” he said. “It’s an iconic game changer for us with its visual language. Everyone will recognise this [Vanquish] because of Valkyrie."

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