New Aston Martin Vanquish S breaks 600hp barrier

It’s a Vanquish with an S. Available in either coupe or Volante soft-top forms, it’s the most potent version yet of Aston’s flagship GT which in this much-lauded second generation form first hit the roads in 2012.

In the manner of Aston’s S versions, power is upped, dynamics honed and aerodynamic addenda tweaked, for both downforce and aesthetic effects. The result is a car that, without any changes to the carbon-fibre body, looks fresher: less like the VH-platformed coupe of old and more like a newly assertive big brother to the DB11.

The S also gets more firepower to keep that pesky Ferrari F12 honest, even if in the battle of the front-engined, naturally-aspirated V12s it doesn’t attempt to match the Italian’s 741hp.

The S gets 600hp, which is up from 573hp, and enough, says Aston, to deliver a 3.5-second 0-62mph sprint, three tenths quicker than the non-S version. Aston says bigger inlet manifolds are effective at stuffing more air in at high revs, sharpening throttle response and – we sincerely hope – improving what is already one of the best sounding engines in production. Other changes are faster gearshifts and sharper handling when in sport suspension modes.

Bare carbon-fibre aero mods like the new front splitter and rear diffuser easily tell the S from the everyday Vanqush, adding a more aggressive look while also reducing lift. New quad exhausts make it easy to tell that you’ve just been overtaken by an S version. New options for the S include carbon-fibre bonnet louvres, forged five-spoke diamond-turned wheels, new graphics packs and, on the inside, a new ‘Filograph’ quilted leather package among other goodies. As ever there are lots of other options too so the starting price is unlikely to stay at £199,950 for long…

Deliveries of the S begin this December – nice Aston Christmas preset anyone?