Aston Martin Vanquish gets power shot

The new Aston Martin Vanquish. Photo / Supplied

Aston Vanquishes with a sleeker, faster new 'hero' sports car.

Aston Martin has revealed the next generation of its flagship Vanquish sports car ahead of a New Zealand debut at the end of this year.

The Vanquish has a top speed of 295 km/h and can race from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds and is likely to be priced slightly higher than the current $430,000 DBS.

Aston Martin marketing and communications manager for Asia Pacific, Marcel Fabris, told GoAuto the new Vanquish will be the company's new hero car, "sitting at the pinnacle of our production car range". It maintains Aston Martin's signature style, albeit updated to reflect the future design direction of the company.

Sleeker than the model it replaces, the Vanquish takes its cues from the muscular One-77 supercar and the slightly more sedate DB9 and Rapide.

Although it maintains the familiar Aston Martin shape, the Vanquish adds new touches such as an integrated spoiler, or in Aston-speak, an "Aero Duct" on the boot lid, which the company says is designed to "counteract lift at the car's rear end when traveling at speed".

Built on the latest version of Aston Martin's VH (vertical horizontal) architecture, the car's components make use of materials such as bonded aluminium and carbon-fibre, improving overall rigidity by 25 per cent over the outgoing model and reducing weight.

Hand-built in Cologne, Germany, the naturally-aspirated 6.0-litre V12 engine - mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox - is carried over from the previous model but has been significantly tweaked to maximise performance, leaping in peak power from 380kW to 421kW.

These performance figures will make the Vanquish the most powerful production Aston Martin available, not including the strictly-limited - and sold-out - One-77 supercar.

Aston Martin CEO, Ulrich Bez, says the new Vanquish tips its hat to the much-loved original.

"Bearing the same name as the iconic original Vanquish that did so much to cement Aston Martin's reputation as a maker of great GT cars ... the car unveiled today once again puts this great British brand at the top of its class," he said.

Dr Bez says the Vanquish's release is a precursor to the brand's upcoming birthday. "The Aston Martin range is stronger now than at any time in our 99-year history. The new Vanquish represents the perfect way to signal the beginning of our centenary celebrations next year."

Elements of the One-77 supercar's interior can be found in the Vanquish, with the two vehicles sharing the same instrument panel, centre stack and infotainment system, with Aston Martin claiming the user interface is one of the most advanced in-car systems available. Aston has improved the ergonomics of the new car and storage space has also increased with 140 per cent more space than in the DBS.

The Vanquish will be sold in two-seater or 2+2 seating configurations and will have increased leg and shoulder room.