Why no Aston Martin V12 Vantage for the U.S.? Don't rule it out -- yet. Our sources tell us that the main reasons the U.S. market has not yet been greenlighted for what should be the quickest car in the AM lineup are primarily due to U.S. crash regulations, which the Aston Martin V12 Vantage doesn't yet meet.The longish 5.9-liter V-12 engine is capable of a more-than-adequate 510hp, but now lives in a space originally designed only for a V-8.
That means a lot of the room up front that would normally be crumple zones has been eaten up by the big motor. There are also some issues with the pedestrian crash protection requirements. The just-launched Aston Martin V12 is currently sold only with carbon fiber-shelled seats that also don't pass muster Stateside, but that would be an easy fix. Aston only plans to build 1000 or so Aston Martin V12 Vantages (depending on demand and the world economy) and the small-volume business case did not originally support a redesign of the front end to make the car legal for U.S. roads.
As we showed you late last month, Aston Martin is also developing a Volante convertible version of the Aston Martin V12, and that is drawing its share of development dollars at the moment. However, if demand is strong enough and the business case supports it, Aston Martin officials have not closed the door on the notion of reworking the car for North American consumption. Look out, ZR1.
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