By Matt Bird \/ Wednesday, 22 November 2023 \/ Loading comments<\/p>\n
At the risk of an angry mob descending on the next Sunday Service (Thurxton on the 3rd, don\u2019t forget), the original Aston Martin V12 Vantage maybe wasn\u2019t quite as perfect as it\u2019s sometimes suggested to be. Or rather, the right combination never quite came together. The first, manual-only 510hp version was fast, beautiful, charismatic, challenging\u2026 and occasionally a bit too fighty for its own good. The more powerful Vantage S was a big improvement, though it was only initially offered with a Sportshift automated manual – d\u2019oh. <\/p>\n
Then, of course, came the GT12, a proper realisation of the V12\u2019s potential with 600hp, 100kg less weight, track-focused suspension – and the old gearbox still. Plus a production run so limited it made any GT Porsche look common as muck. The manual V12 S arrived a year after the GT12, offering up probably the best of both worlds: a new seven-speed AM-Shift gearbox, plus the 573hp and chassis updates. However, with the GT12 already out there, the question always lingered – what might that be like doing your own gearchanges?<\/p>\n
Short of Aston Martin Works converting a GT, this V12 is as close as we\u2019re ever going to get. And pretty damn wonderful it looks, too. This one benefits from something called a V12 S Performance Pack, which increased the 5.9-litre unit’s output to a GT12-rivalling 600hp. This was achieved through magnesium manifolds (saving 1.6kg over aluminium) and a titanium exhaust which shed another 14kg. What that incredible engine might do through titanium pipes could be worth the asking price alone. The ad suggests it\u2019ll be \u2018spectacular\u2019. <\/p>\n
In addition, the Performance Pack added a new carbon rear diffuser, to make the V12 look a bit more like the GT3 and GTE racers. Add that to the carbon seats and lightweight wheels specced separately to the PP and this must be about as driver-focused as a manual V12 can be. Which is a hugely appealing prospect – they were pretty fab already. <\/p>\n
Indeed, even without the power and the carbon, the spec of this one is superb. It\u2019s one of the very last registered (December 2017), and the Alloro Green is perfectly contrasted with the yellow accents inside and out. Apparently, \u00a336k was spent on original options; though a chunk of that will be accounted for in getting it to 600hp (titanium and magnesium never come cheap), there was clearly money allocated to having the Vantage look absolutely fantastic, too. <\/p>\n
All the more surprising, then, is that it has only covered 6,522 miles in six years, because seldom are V12s seen with such driver-focused options. The benefit for a new owner, of course, is a seven-speed Aston that looks basically factory fresh, without a blemish to be seen on the PPF\u2019d exterior or barely-sat-in cabin. Of course, the interior isn\u2019t a patch on the glitzy new DB12 cabin, but it\u2019s hard to care about that too much given everything else. <\/p>\n
This Vantage will cost DB12 money, however, because of those options and mileage. And rarity – it\u2019s believed just 114 RHD manuals were made. So while there are S Sportshifts from \u00a360k (what a buy that could be), six figures are needed for a three-pedal example when they come up for sale. Into that the Alloro Green one is \u00a3165k, quite some leap from the higher mileage Sportshifts with which it shares so much. That being said, the spec of this one means it\u2019s surely going to remain one of the most desirable examples of perhaps Aston\u2019s most covetable series production car of the 21st century. Which doesn\u2019t seem a bad place for it to be. All that\u2019s left now is some actual driving for the next lucky owner, just to see if the 600hp V12 S is as awesome as we assume it is…<\/p>\n