Aston Martin V12 Vantage S revealed

This is the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S, and it’s faster than any production Aston ever made – bar the ultra-exclusive £1m One-77 hypercar – with a 205mph top speed.

That’s 15mph faster than the standard V12 Vantage, and has been achieved by Aston fitting the Vanquish’s 6.0-litre V12, which delivers 55bhp more than the V12 Vantage, at 565bhp.

The company has also added a new engine management system and a stainless steel exhaust, and replaced the old six-speed manual gearbox with a third-generation seven-speed automated manual transmission.

No extra aerodynamic tweaks were needed for the Vantage S, so designer Marek Reichman has instead focused on ensuring the styling shows a clear link between the race track and the road.

The yellow paint on our car contrasts nicely with the new 10-spoke lightweight black alloy wheels, and a special painted black graphic has been added to the roof and across the boot to make the S look wider and lower than the regular V12 Vantage.

The new floating grille is inspired by the CC100 concept, and allows more cooling air to be fed into the tuned engine at higher speeds. It incorporates carbon elements that mirror the bonnet vents and rear diffuser, while completing the look is a distinctive ‘S’ badge on the boot.

Inside, the changes are more restrained, with a black layout featuring Alcantara-trimmed seats and yellow racing stripes, plus the option of carbon fibre for the dash and gearshift paddles.

However, Aston product boss Ian Minards explained that the V12 Vantage S is not only meant to be faster; it’s designed to be more usable, too. “I’ve never met anyone who’s driven a V12 Vantage and didn’t like it, but it wasn’t for everyone,” said Minards. “So for this car we wanted to change that and broaden its appeal.”

That’s one of the reasons for the switch to a semi-auto, but it helps that the new box is 25kg lighter than the old manual.

To make the Vantage S more usable every day, Aston has fitted the same three-stage adaptive dampers as on the Vanquish, too. These let the driver choose from Normal, Sport and Track modes, tuning the steering and suspension to make the car more comfortable for road driving, plus stiffer and hard-edged for the track.

New servotronic steering with a quicker rack and less resistance at low speeds should also make the Vantage S easier to live with, while the new ECU has the added benefit of a small improvement in economy and emissions figures.

To cope with the extra power, Aston has upgraded the carbon ceramic brakes and fitted a set of stickier Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres.

“No compromises – you get the best of both worlds, so it’s more extreme and more usable,” explained Minards. But he added that a cabrio is “not in the plan”.

The V12 Vantage S will cost £138,000 when it hits dealers later this year – that’s only £3,000 more than the regular V12, which it will replace.

Below is a teaser video Aston released ahead of the car's unveiling.