Special edt. Aston Martin V8 Vantage LeMans

Deutsch · 05-25-2006, 01:23 PM

Quote:

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage LeMans special celebration edition of world famous victory

NEWPORT PAGNELL, 1 MARCH -- Aston Martin is commissioning a series of 40 special, named and numbered editions of the V8 Vantage in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Aston Martin's victories at Le Mans and in the World Sportscar Championship.

Available with a choice of either a 550 or 600 horsepower twin supercharged 5.3 litre Aston Martin V8 engine - almost three times the power output of the six cylinder Le Mans winning DBR1 - the Le Mans Vantage has the potential to exceed 200mph and reach 100mph in less than 10 seconds.

Customers will be offered the choice of an infinite variety of body colours and Connolly hide upholstery including the very distinctive Almond Green body colour which became one of the hallmarks of Sir David Brown's world-famous Aston Martin "works" racing team.

Other distinctive features of the Le Mans Vantage include an extended front spoiler which is designed to create positive down force as an aid to high speed aerodynamic efficiency. As a further aid to aerodynamics and enhanced engine and supercharger performance, additional and enlarged cooling ducts are incorporated in the new style radiator panel, the bonnet and front wing side vents.

A new design panel beneath the rear bumper accommodates the reversing and high intensity rear fog lamps and the increased diameter exhaust tail pipes. And to underline the racing pedigree of this special model of the Vantage separate bright metal, machined, competition style lockable caps are fitted to the twin fuel fillers.

The interior of this new model of the V8 Vantage also reflects the competition heritage of the company and is a development of the scheme previewed with the Project Vantage concept car during 1998. It has drilled bright metal brake, clutch and accelerator pedals and a machined aluminium knob fitted to the gear lever. The traditional wood veneers which are used for the instrument panel, centre console and door trim panels are replaced by Titanium finish panels together with a magnolia-faced instrument display which is dominated by the enlarged tachometer and the engine start button.

Aston Martin's world famous wings are embossed into the Wilton carpet floor covering and each of these special Vantages will leave Newport Pagnell with its keys attached to a hallmarked sterling silver key fob together with directions to the Le Mans circuit which will be placed in the owner's handbook.

The V8 Vantage Le Mans will be equipped with magnesium alloy wheels together with the special brake, steering and suspension systems which are fitted to all 600 horsepower models of the Vantage.

Designed and developed by Aston Martin's elite team of engineers responsible for high performance programmes these include an anti-lock brake system incorporating AP Racing six piston calipers with special grooved and ventilated discs at the front together with four piston calipers and grooved ventilated discs at the rear. Adjustable shock absorbers in the front and rear suspension systems enable the chassis to be tuned to the preference of the driver.

"Each of the new V8 Vantage models will be fitted with a plate recognising the name of its original owner," says Bob Dover, Chairman and Chief Executive of Aston Martin Lagonda.

"In conjunction with the Aston Martin Owners Club we are planning an historic return to Le Mans this year with celebration laps of the world famous circuit. We hope that all the owners of this special Vantage will be joining us as members of one of the most exclusive clubs in the world."

For further information contact Harry Calton on ++44 1908 619209 or Barbara Prince on ++44 1908 619255.

N.B. The Vantage name has been used by Aston Martin since 1950 to identify the highest performance model in a particular range. It was first introduced for the Aston Martin DB2 and was applied to the 120 horsepower derivative of this model's 2.6 litre six cylinder engine - the regular version developed 105 horsepower. However unlike present day Aston Martin models the only change to the regular specification of the DB2 was the increase in engine power output. Since the DBS model in 1972 a Vantage derivative has included changes to the specification of the brakes, steering and suspension to match the improved performance.

Aston Martin Le Mans Vantage

Specification
Engine: All alloy quad cam 32 valve V8 5340 cc. Compression ratio 8.2:1. Twin Eaton superchargers with air to liquid inter-coolers. Engine management system - fully mapped distributorless ignition with multi-point sequential fuel injection and Lambda feedback. Fully catalysed exhaust system.

Transmission: ZF six/five speed manual all synchromesh gearbox connected to the final drive by a torque beam. Limited slip differential. Ratio 3.77:1 / 3.31:1

Steering: Rack and pinion, power assisted. 2.84 turns lock to lock.

Brakes: Front: Ventilated and grooved steel discs 362 mm diameter with AP Racing six piston aluminium calipers.

Rear: Ventilated and grooved steel discs 310 mm diameter with four piston aluminium calipers. Servo assisted tandem master cylinder with Bosch four channel anti-lock braking system (ABS).

Suspension: Front: Independent, double wishbone, co-axial spring damper units with anti-roll bar

Rear: De Dion axle located by four longitudinal radius arms and transverse Watt's linkage. Co-axial spring damper units with anti-roll bar.

Body: Two door coupe body style with 2+2 seating. Steel chassis with handcrafted aluminium alloy body panels. Side impact protection in doors.
Interior: Full Connolly leather and Titanium finish interior. Wilton carpets, air conditioning with replaceable pollen filters, Alpine radio cassette system with CD option. Driver's airbag.

Wheels and Tyres: Unique 5-spoke magnesium alloy wheels 10J x 18 with Goodyear Eagle 285/45 ZR18 tyres.

Length: 4745 mm.

Width: 1944 mm.

Height: 1330 mm.

Kerb Weight: 1975 kgs.

Wheelbase: 2611 mm.

Fuel tank capacity: 105 litres, unleaded fuel only.

Maximum power: 410 kW (550 bhp) or 450kW (600bhp) @ 6500 rpm.

Maximum torque: 745 Nm (550 lb. ft) or 820Nm (600lb. ft) @ 4000 rpm.

Acceleration:

0-100 km/h (62mph): 3.9 seconds

(5-speed transmission).

0-160 km/h (100mph): 9.9 seconds

(5-speed transmission).

Maximum speed:

Over 320km/h (200mph).

- ONLY REGISTERED AND ACTIVATED USERS CAN SEE ALL LINKS - CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Snake Vargas · 05-25-2006, 02:59 PM

dOmInIX · 05-25-2006, 03:16 PM

Do I see right?? 550 HP in a V8 Vantage??
That'll be a little rocket!

zetableh · 05-25-2006, 05:15 PM

Jesus H! Twin supercharged?! Imagine the accelleration kick!

Alx · 05-25-2006, 05:18 PM

Not very impressive, i would think there would be more power with all that performance parts.

Seems like a stock C4s would kick its butt....

Deutsch · 05-25-2006, 08:14 PM

I think it's stupid that it has to be a special edt. rather than an all new model, Should have just badged it the "Vantage S". I also spoke w/ an Aston salesman well over a year ago about this car, and he said when he went for training on the V8 Vantage that there was a prototype loaded w/ a V-12 engine that was said to make it to a series production model sometime later in the pipline. I thought he was having more a pipedream than anything, such an engine would be too have and have a very negative footprint on the cars performance.

martinbo · 05-26-2006, 12:05 PM

Jeez, if this wasn't linked to an official Ford website then I'd call this pure balderdash. It sounds completely fanciful to the point that I'm convinced the press release should've been dated 01.04.2006. Twin superchargers? Where will they fit them and how will they drive them?

Manual gearboxes to handle 745 Nm? At the far end of plausible. 820 Nm? Ludicrous.

Hmph, I wonder if the Ford webmaster was spliffing it up on that day?
If this turns out to be true then I'll be shocked senseless.

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