Driven: Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Don’t read too much into Aston Martin ’s choice of launch location. The new Aston Martin V12 Vantage may carry many developments learned at the nearby Nürburgring, but is a road car, pure and simple. And one that doesn’t half go... Welcome to the Eifel mountains. As the fleet of chauffeur-driven Lexus hybrids delivers members of the British press to the Dorint Hotel, campers at the ‘Ring are preparing for the forthcoming 24-hour race, several days away. Passions run deep round here. The presentation, from the no-less-intense Aston Martin engineering and management team, focuses on how the new car has been developed, and quite how difficult the task was to squeeze six litres of V12 into the space normally occupied by a 4.7-litre V8. One thing is made completely clear from the outset: this is a new car, a “completely different” car, and one that will appeal to both marque loyalists and converts from Audi (R8 V10), Ferrari (F430) and Porsche (911 GT2).