Aston Martin has announced two developments for both new and existing customers of the company’s flagship Vanquish S. The first is a Vanquish S Ultimate Edition that will be limited to just 40 units. The second is a transmission conversion kit to give owners a conventional stick-shift.
The Ultimate Edition centers on changes to the Vanquish S’s color and trim. On the exterior, these changes include a unique ‘Ultimate Black’ – a new color that will only be available with this car. Inside, the Vanquish S cabin is trimmed in a semi-aniline leather, with coarse stitching, leather headlining and black chrome finish interior fittings. Each car will also be fitted with personalised sill plaques denoting the limited edition number.
The Vanquish S Ultimate Edition retains all performance capabilities of the standard Vanquish S – and accordingly its position as the fastest ever production Aston Martin, capable of a top speed in excess of 200mph (321km/h). No additional charge will be made for the Ultimate Edition, available only with the 2+2 seating arrangement.
For existing Vanquish customers, Aston Martin’s world renowned Works Service department will offer a new transmission conversion for owners of the company’s flagship model.
Existing Vanquish owners will now be able to order a transmission conversion from the car’s existing Auto Shift Manual (ASM) system, to a conventional stick-shift manual. Since its launch in 2001, the Vanquish has been equipped with fingertip controlled, Formula 1-style paddles. Switching an existing car from the F1 system to a regular manual will cost £13,250.



02/13, 10:46 AM
posted by:
Kenny W
Such a sexy car, it could have 200hp & I think I’d still want one.
02/13, 11:02 AM
posted by:
A4
thats sick! i wish mercedes would give out conversion kits for all their AMGs. I love you aston martin.
02/13, 11:29 AM
posted by:
Brendino
Beauty and impracticality at its absolute most gorgeous.
Love this car.
02/13, 11:40 AM
posted by:
LamborghiniZ
It’s a gorgeous car, that’s for sure, and highly underrated/under publicized
02/13, 12:07 PM
posted by:
anderson_b76
For all of you who haven’t driven one before and haven’t got a clue about high performance sportscars…this car performs like **** compared to a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche. Yes, I agree it looks great and I am a big fan of the looks of the Aston Martin, but lets be real…why would anyone spend that kind of money on a high performance supercar that can’t keep up with the big boys in the industry???
02/13, 12:21 PM
posted by:
Zorlox
maybe it does perform poorly, but the aston matches a tuxedo way better than the competition. plus it has the extra seating. i just hope they tried to make the fenders flow into the side (door) better so it doesn’t have the hard curve to square transition the previous vanquishes had
02/13, 12:30 PM
posted by:
Piablo
One of my favorite cars just got better. What a beautiful machine.
If this is how “****” performs, sign me up for a pile of “****”. Make my “****” English Green too please. I would be a proud owner of a green pile of “****” with “****ty” performance to die for.
02/13, 12:34 PM
posted by:
A4
yeah i really love “****” apparently too
02/13, 12:35 PM
posted by:
F451
The ultimate 007 automobile. Too bad Daniel Craig cannot drive stick! I guess that’s why they are using a four-door Jaguar in the next Bond Movie?
02/13, 12:36 PM
posted by:
anderson_b76
Okay…not ****…bad choice of words, but definately not up to par with the competition in regards to performance.
02/13, 12:37 PM
posted by:
PrimeGTP
Damn, that thing is sexy.
It would be nice to see Aston Martin try to lead the way in perfecting a dual-dry-clutch SMT though, instead of moving backwards to a conventional 6-speed.
02/13, 1:13 PM
posted by:
SRT-4Ken
—–>i’ll happily grab a 997 turbo 6spd w/ all options……..
02/13, 1:38 PM
posted by:
Jazz
This car is sexy and bad ass. I love Aston’s power, performance, elegance and styling. I’ll take one in any dark color with a tan interior. When you have 200K to spend on a car the decision speaks just as much as the actual car. Sure a Ferrari at the same price will beat you on the strip but the ferrari is not meant to get you there surrounded by the most beautiful ergonomics in the category. The Aston does its job well.
02/13, 1:51 PM
posted by:
F451
The level of distinction afforded those who own an Aston Martin is unmatched for the stiff upper lip patron. Walking by one’s Aston in the carriage house is like walking by a piece of kinetic art.
02/13, 2:02 PM
posted by:
SRT-4Ken
———>i’ll happily grab a 997 Turbo 6spd. w/ all options…..blow’em off the map……
02/13, 2:06 PM
posted by:
gitcypher
Performance? The only reason anyone should drive an Aston Martin is to give the valet your keys, and have the car match your pinstripe suit.
Porsche, Ferrari & Lambo say, “I won the lottery.”
Aston Martin hires a guy off the street to say, “He owns the lottery.”
02/13, 2:25 PM
posted by:
CTS DRIVER
this is the 1 2door i would rather have than the zo6, who care about performance in a car that this darn good, this thing is pure elegance on wheels.
02/13, 2:42 PM
posted by:
350zfairlady
aston martins the sexiest cars around
02/13, 2:58 PM
posted by:
norsairius
oh goodness that car is so beautiful…. astons are THE best-looking cars around.
02/13, 3:26 PM
posted by:
PrimeGTP
You can’t beat Aston Martin for that feeling of pure sexy.
Though I’m the type of guy who would sooner get a cheaper car and go nuts building it up, there’s no way I could ever say anything bad about an Aston. =P
02/13, 3:45 PM
posted by:
Piablo
I think the ‘Ayes’ have it!
02/13, 4:06 PM
posted by:
wetstuff
As a 997 driver, I still admire the style presented here. Somehow, even if I had the $$, I’d still not be a customer. Something wrong… Ford?
02/13, 4:42 PM
posted by:
imageWIS
Why couldn’t they have just sold the car with a damn manual gearbox in the first place? Is it so hard to sell a proper manual nowadays? Especially seeing as how the vanquish was always plagued with gearbox issues since the ‘F1-inspired’ gearbox was a total piece of **** and was always breaking down (don’t even get me started about putting it in reverse! It was more of a chore than a pleasure).
Supercars (save for the Veyron which really needs a computer controlled gearbox at the top-speed end) should all come with manual gearboxes as standard and auto-style gearboxes (F1, DSG, tiptronic, etc…) as options.
Jon.
02/13, 4:43 PM
posted by:
imageWIS
anderson_b76,
You drive often at 170+ mph on the road? Anyways, a car that can get to 200 mph is hardly falling behind its competition.
Jon.
02/13, 5:29 PM
posted by:
norby413
Anderson,
90% of high performance supercars are wasted on idiots like Paris Hilton who complain about cupholders and how it rides down Rodeo blvd. They could care less about at the limit handling. That’s why it’s getting harder to find manual tranny’s in todays high end cars.
I actually feel sorry for most Ferraris as they spend the majority of their lives parked in front of Latte shops.
Sad, but true.
02/13, 6:49 PM
posted by:
Fatstrat
Hey anderson, your x-box doesnt count.
02/13, 7:39 PM
posted by:
1966_GTO_
I love the Vanquish (along with every other AM), and this is the sexiest yet. Sure, if you want better performance, you go buy a Ferrari, but Aston Martin is practically in a category by itself.
02/13, 8:27 PM
posted by:
SRT-4Ken
——->I’d happily grab a 997 Turbo 6spd. with all options…..blow’em back with my exhaust…….
02/14, 12:19 AM
posted by:
Piablo
LOL! Nice Fatstrat.
Ever get the feeling there’s a big bunch here that still watch Bob the Builder?
02/14, 1:16 AM
posted by:
europerspective
There’s not many buyers of a car in this price bracket who really care about performance or comparisons. Its about how it makes you feel. The Aston is gorgeous, wonderfully put together, beautifully detailed, sounds great and goes farking fast if you need to. It may not “keep up with the big boys in the industry” but I don’t think this car is targeted at Gumballers or barely-post-pubescent traffic light racers, nor can I imagine it turning up at many trackdays. Notice how few buyers feel the need to paint theirs look-at-me-red or did-you-notice-me-yet-yellow and you’ll gain an insight into the difference between the market for an Aston and “the big boys in the industry”.
Norby, don’t lose sleep over it, I don’t think we’ll be facing an epidemic of depressed Ferraris anytime soon.
02/14, 10:03 AM
posted by:
The540Ninja
Well said europerspective. Performance aside, one would purchase this car for it’s elegantly understated look. AM’s have always been great looking cars. They never make it to the top in a Road & Track comparison, but that’s not everything. If you have a car like this, you probably have your Lamborghini in the garage for the track days. But reserve the Vanquish for the ‘Night on the Town’ duty.
02/14, 11:23 AM
posted by:
Fatstrat
I was placing them more along the lines of ‘Phil of the Future’ but yea, you are probably right.
02/14, 1:08 PM
posted by:
LamborghiniZ
See, the only way you’d think this car has bad performance is if you drove it back to back against something like the 599 GTB Fiorano, or the Murcielago, but if you only drive this, or don’t spend your time driving exotic cars back to back, you won’t really be thinking about how this car isn’t as fast as a rival, or as sporty as a rival, but just how thrilling it is to be driving a car like this.
02/14, 1:09 PM
posted by:
LamborghiniZ
Oh and check out this photo gallery:
http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/cars/vanquish_s.asp
The interior is VASTLY improved on the Vanquish, the previous interior before this update was really really lagging.
02/14, 4:20 PM
posted by:
The Stig
What are they going to call the next big thing? The “Vanquish S Ultimate R Squared Wear It On Your Sleeve Limited Edition” perhaps.
Still a stunning design no matter what they call it.
02/18, 1:22 PM
posted by:
55amg
If no additional charge is going to be made for the ultimate edition and its only limited to 40 models, do the buyers have to wrestle to get to buy?
04/19, 1:52 AM
posted by:
davehely
This is by far the most beautiful car ever built after HOLDENS of course, id love to give one of these a good flogging on the highways