Aston Martin V12 Vantage: a quick history

"We will listen with interest to feedback on this concept," explained then Aston boss Dr Ulrich Bez. "If ever there is sufficient demand we will seriously consider a low volume production run in the near future."

Apparently, Aston received a "flood" of people wanting its biggest engine shoved inside its smallest car upon this gorgeous 2007 concept car's reveal. This is where the V12 Vantage line started: an enormously desirable 600bhp rear-wheel-drive supercar package.

Yeah, you're right, it is a looker.

Just two years after that concept came the full production car: the £135,000 V12 Vantage MkI. Simple formula really: take Aston's old and glorious naturally-aspirated 6.0-litre V12 packing 510bhp and 420lb ft of torque, and shove it into the nose of the Vantage. Here we had a nat-asp, manual gearbox, rear-drive 'baby' Aston capable of 190mph wearing massive carbon ceramic brakes and a bespoke chassis tune.

Dr Bez himself formed part of a four-driver squad that entered a "near-standard" V12 Vantage into the 2009 Nürburgring 24hrs, going on to take a class win. In 2011, Aston doubled down on the racing vibe with this: the V12 Zagato racer, designed - unsurprisingly - in collaboration with Zagato. Zag's history with Aston stretches all the way back to the DB4 of course, so the pair rekindled a long relationship.

There was a green one too, both cars nicknamed 'Zig' and 'Zag' which is little bit adorable. They'd score decent results at the Nürburgring again, finishing 5th and 6th in the SP8 class at the 39th 24hr race.

Later that year, Aston confirmed it'd make a few of these for the road...

... which looked not unlike this. Because this is the 2012 production V12 Zagato. Mechanicals were exactly the same as the 'regular' V12 Vantage - so 6.0-litre nat-asp V12, manual 'box, big brakes - but of course it was wearing the height of Italian fashion. A plus aluminium body, put together in the same place they built the One-77. Each car took 2,000 hours to create, which was five times longer than the normal V12. Cost twice the price, too.

Took a bit longer for the Roadster to appear - three years after the coupe and five since the first idea of a big engined Vantage. Only 101 of these first gen V12 Roadsters were built, with of course carried the same basic mechanicals but added new rear springs and dampers, and a few new visual flourishes. The biggest flourish of course, was dropping the roof, dropping the hammer and listening to that V12 gulp in great lungfuls of air.

Good bit of success behind this GT3 car, taking four drivers' championships in British GT throughout its career. Naturally this V12 was treated to a racing tune and got a six-speed sequential gearbox, all bolted into that bonded aluminium chassis (that Aston has only just started to phase out).

Not a production car of course, but one that previewed it. This was Aston's centenary celebration car, sitting on the next-gen V12 Vantage S and powered by the 'AM11' V12 engine. Hooked up to a seven-speed paddleshift (sadly) instead of a manual, and only two were built: one was driven by then Aston boss Dr Bez at the 2013 Nürburgring 24hrs on a parade lap.

More power for this second-gen V12 Vantage, rising to a healthy 565bhp and top speed of 205mph. Which, incidentally, is faster than the new V12 Vantage. Early buyers had to make do with the auto 'box, but from 2016 Aston offered a seven-speed manual too.

A £250,000 Vantage became a reality in 2015 with the launch of the wild GT12. A 592bhp version of that nat-asp V12 meant 0-62mph in 3.5s. Which, incidentally, is what the new Vantage claims. It was slower at the top end but that's because it was built for going around corners - that aero pack gave it great downforce. Lots of carbon fibre was deployed as you'd expect, and there was even an option to lighten it further with things like lightweight windows. 

You'll have spotted that as the Vantage aged, its exclusivity increased. Aston built just 100 examples of both Coupe and Roadster AMRs, and each was fitted with the Performance Pack from the old car as standard - this provided a healthy 592bhp and a healthy-sounding titanium exhaust system. There was lightweighting aplenty in the shape of carbon fibre exterior and interior accoutrements, and a Union Jack Aston badge was available as an option.

This was the beginning of the end, if you will - the last of the last gen V12 Vantages, originally conceived as a one-off for a no doubt delighted customer. With the owner's permission, Aston expanded the run and built a few more of the V600s. A straight 600bhp came via the GT12's iteration of V12, adaptive dampers, wider bodywork, big brakes and aero pack. Each cost £1.2m. Because of course. 

And here's the new - and final - V12 Vantage. It's now turbocharged, using Aston's 5.2-litre twelve cylinder sending 690bhp to those rear wheels. Flat out, you're looking at 200mph, which isn't the fastest V12 Vantage built, but it's certainly no shrinking violet. Lots of chassis trickery and aero at work here. Limited to just 333 examples, all of which have been accounted for.