How the Aston Martin Vanquish Redefined the Grand Tourer—With an Assist From James Bond

2001: The First Vanquish Arrives

Technically, the first-gen Vanquish’s origins lie with the Project Vantage Concept car Aston Martin revealed at the 1998 Detroit Auto Show. Showgoers didn’t know it at the time, but they were looking at the first Aston Martin Vanquish. When it finally hit the streets in 2001, the production car looked almost identical to the show machine; the details were different, but the vibe was the same.

Like the concept car, under the hood lay a 5.9-liter V-12 engine based on the one adopted by the DB7 in 1996, tuned in production form to make 460 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. In a first for Aston, that engine was connected to a six-speed automated manual gearbox, beating rival Ferrari’s front-engined V-12 to the milestone by a year. It was the chassis that would prove most trendsetting for Aston Martin, however: the bonded aluminum/carbon fiber architecture at the heart of the Vanquish led to the VH Platform used as the foundation of every new Aston from 2004 to 2016.

An uprated Vanquish S came around in 2004 with a power boost to 520 horses and a gently revised exterior, as well as including some sportier options available on the non-S car (bigger brakes, a stiffer suspension) as standard. Still, the original version would be the one to leave the biggest mark on history; its role in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day as the secret agent’s invisible, missile-spewing ride would prove a highlight of the final, campy film of the Pierce Brosnan era.

2007: Vanquish Becomes DBS

Aston Martin redefined its range in 2004 with the arrival of the DB9, using the aforementioned VH platform created using lessons learned from the first Vanquish. The DB9 ushered in a whole new, distinctly 21st Century look and feel for the brand — one that made the Vanquish and its 20th Century roots look outdated. A new Vanquish was needed, and it arrived in 2007 — only, it was named DBS, a moniker last used on an Aston in 1972.

Regardless of name, the new flagship excelled at improving the recipe set by the first Vanquish. Its design was a masterful, muscular upgrade of the DB9 upon which the DBS was based, The engine was almost the same as that of Vanquish S’s V-12, with the same 5.9-liter displacement and 510 horsepower — 10 less than its forebear, as it so happened. It also boasted two features its predecessor never bothered to offer: a convertible version (dubbed DBS Volante), and a manual gearbox, which buyers could choose instead of a six-speed automatic if desired.

If there were any doubts about the car’s status as the Vanquish’s proper successor, they were dismissed when it earned the highest pop culture honor an Aston can achieve: being James Bond’s ride. In fact, the DBS served 007 in two films, first appearing in Daniel Craig’s inaugural turn in the tux in Casino Royale and then again in the sequel, Quantum of Solace.

2012: DBS Becomes Vanquish Again

The DB9 was still going strong by the 2010s, with a facelift at the start of the decade giving the design a thorough refresh. Rather than apply the same treatment to the DBS, however, Aston Martin decided a more comprehensive replacement was needed — and with it, the return of the Vanquish name.

Officially revealed at Monterey Car Week in 2012, the new Vanquish still used the VH platform, but was 30% stiffer than the DBS before it, and the engine was mounted slightly lower. Where the design of the DBS was muscular and cocky, the Vanquish’s new carbon-fiber bodywork was smooth and exotic, yet still exuding sharklike menace. The 5.9-liter V-12 now punched out 573 horses, although the manual gearbox was gone, leaving only the six-speed auto.

Over the next few years, Aston continued to refine the Vanquish: a droptop Vanquish Volante arrived in 2013; an eight-speed automatic replaced the six-speed in 2014; and a facelift Vanquish S arrived in late 2016, massaging the body and pushing the V-12 to 595 hp. Still, by the latter half of the decade, it was clear the Vanquish wasn’t powerful enough to keep up with its rivals; its closest rival, the Ferrari F12berlinetta that came out the same year, made 730 horsepower. It was time for a change.

2018: Vanquish Becomes DBS Again, With a Twist

By 2016, the long-running DB9 had been replaced by the DB11, a change which brought with it a new platform and a thoroughly modernized, now-turbocharged version of Aston Martin’s V-12. It marked a new chapter in the company’s history — and that, in turn, meant it was time for a new super-GT range-topper. So, come summer 2018, the gang from Gaydon pulled the wraps off the next generation of the Vanquish family … which had gone back to the name DBS.

Actually, the full name was DBS Superleggera. The Italian piece of the name was a bit of wishful thinking; at more than 3,700 pounds, the car wasn’t even light, let alone super light. (The name was actually meant as a tribute to coach builder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, who designed Aston’s classic DB4, DB5 and DB6 models.) But weight wasn’t much of a concern, considering Aston’s new super-GT packed a twin-turbo 5.2-liter V-12 that spooled up 715 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque.

Turbo power wasn’t the only break from its predecessor; DBS 2.0 also boasted some of the brashest looks of an Aston flagship since the very first Vanquish, highlighted by a maw that looked ready to gobble up any slower-moving cars that had the bad luck to get in the way on a back road. The DBS Volante that debuted in spring 2019 traded in the sharply-raked roofline for a soft top, but that only had the effect of making the mighty rear haunches look even more powerful.

But as with the DBS of the early August, there would be no mid-life refresh — the closest the car came to that was to lose the “Superleggera” from its name in 2022 and return to the naming simplicity of its ancestor. Instead, six years after its debut, it would be replaced as Aston transitioned into yet another era.

2024: DBS Becomes Vanquish Once More

The current story of Aston Martin is impossible to separate from billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who not only took control of Aston Martin in early 2020 by leading a consortium of investors and becoming chairman of the board, but who has played a hands-on role in the company ever since: helping find the proper fit in the CEO’s chair, finding new sources of funding to guarantee financial stability, making alliances with other automakers to push the automaker into an electrified future — and, of course, giving Aston Martin a Formula 1 team.

He also, as it turns out, had a key role in the creation of the latest Vanquish, unveiled in September 2024. Aston Martin insiders told Road & Track that the new car originally started out as a one-of-one build Stroll had wanted to create for himself, only for it to wind up becoming the successor to the DBS instead.

From the outside, the new Vanquish boasts a face that clearly draws a connection to the latest Vantage and DB12, while the slightly squared-off rear brings to mind the mighty supercharged Vantages of the 1990s. Inside, like all recent Astons, the Vanquish benefits from a substantial upgrade in quality and materials over the brand’s cars of just a couple years ago, with a modern touchscreen infotainment arriving to replace a dated, Mercedes-sourced system. But perhaps the most exciting change is under the hood, where Aston Martin’s 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 now makes a staggering 823 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque, all of which is channeled through the rear wheels. It seems probable Stroll will get the first copy of this new Vanquish off the line; here’s hoping he celebrates with a proper burnout.