Category: Exotic Sports 
Price Range: No data available
Great performance, nimble handling, excellent brakes and superb looks.
Standard equipment is less than comprehensive and fuel economy not terribly impressive.
Shoehorning the V12 into the Vantage has created a superb driving machine, but's not cheap to run.
The devil, it is said, makes work for idle hands. Back in 2008 Aston Martin's engineers couldn't resist the temptation to see if the company's V12 engine, normally found in the DBS and the DB9, would fit under the bonnet of the smaller Vantage - a space normally reserved for a V8 engine. It did, and the car was shown as the V12 Vantage RS concept car at 2008 the Paris Motor Show.
It took a little more fettling to make the engine application work for left-hand-drive configuration, but the engineers got round that too and now here is the final production model, available as coupe only, with a £135,000 price tag. Obvious rivals include cars such as the Audi R8 V10, Porsche 911 GT2 and Ferrari 430.
While the V12 model retains the Vantage's handsome, flowing lines, it looks a lot more aggressive than the V8 model. At the front, the bulging bonnet features carbon fibre louvers, designed not only to provide extra cooling, but also to help push the car down onto the road at high speeds.
A new six-bar grille is also fitted, along with a revised bumper with a racing style carbon fibre air-splitter. New side sills feature along with 19" forged alloy wheels. Clear, as opposed to red taillights denote the V12 version, along with a new rear bumper, different tailpipes and a winged Aston Martin badge with a black background.
Aston Martin describes the V12 Vantage as its most driver-focused car to ever. It's far from cheap to run, but it is undeniably handsome and certainly delivers on the driving front.
