New Aston Martin takes no prisoners

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

It's called the Vanquish - and it's the most high-tech Aston Martin ever to go on sale.

Aimed at supercar rivals from Porsche and Ferrari, it comes with a $500,000-plus price tag.

Aston Martin will start taking orders soon after it is unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next March.

The Vanquish counts among its high-tech highlights a lightweight aluminium and composite chassis, a 336kW V12 engine, advanced aerodynamics, aluminium suspension and six-speed sequential gearbox.

Traditional ingredients such as polished wood, Connolly leather and customised specifications remain.

Performance-wise, the Vanquish is up there with the best from Porsche and Ferrari. Aston Martin claims a top speed of 306 km/h and a zero to 100 km/h time of 4.7 seconds.

The Vanquish was first seen at the 1998 Geneva show when it appeared as Project Vantage.

It was styled by Britain's Ian Callum, who is now Jaguar's design boss. Callum also designed the go-fast kits for HSV Commodores.

The man responsible for the Vanquish - and Aston Martin's new direction - is German engineer Dr Ulrich Bez.

He has worked for Porsche, BMW - and Daewoo. The Korean carmaker hired him in the mid-1990s to improve the suspension in its cars.