Aston offers manual conversion for Vanquish owners, wheels out limited edition flagship
Newswheel staff :: 16 February 2007 :: Filed under Coupe, Front engine sportscar, Aston Martin Vanquish, Europe & UK
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Robot-box rethink?
Worried that Ford might be cutting back on spending at Aston Martin now that its plans to flog the British brand to highest bidder are out in the open? If Aston’s marketing department is anything to go by, the penny pinching has already begun. Because if “Vanquish S Ultimate Edition” is the best it can up with for this latest revision of their flagship model, the staff have surely done a runner. Likewise, the fact that the car appears to be an entirely cosmetic affair hardly reeks of significant investment. However, there is some good news. Aston is now offering the Vanquish with a manual cog-swapper – and its available as an upgrade kit for existing owners. Cue much rejoicing…
Of course, the semi-auto paddle shifter fitted to early examples of the Vanquish was infamous for losing the will to live at regular intervals. More recently, the word on supercar street was that Aston had significantly improved reliability. But even a bullet-proof paddle shifter is missing the point for that certain sort of car enthusiast. Enter the new manual gearbox. In lieu of any technical details from the Aston mothership, we’ll assume it’s the same box that can be found in the DB9 coupe. Existing owners who fancy ditching that jerky robot box will need to stump up £13,250, plus the VAT man’s usual pound of the proverbial.
As for the Vanquish S Ultimate Edition, Aston is offering it with a unique black paint job, known imaginatively as (oh yes, you guessed it) ‘Ultimate Black’. Inside, cabin upgrades include semi-aniline leather trim 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. Sunday-supplement classy!
Tech specs and pricing for the V12 Ultimate Edition are otherwise as per the boggo Vanquish S. So, that’s a top speed of over 200mph and a list price of precisely £182,095.
