An aggressive-looking Test Mule suggests Aston Martin is shoving their Twin-Turbo V-12 into the Vantage
Aston Martin is one of the more enigmatic brands that we occasionally remember is up to something. That said, the British brand, like others, has a certain pattern in which it does things. When the previous-generation Vantage came out, it was equipped with a 4.3-liter V-8. It later grew to a 4.7-liter, but performance was still "meh" compared to some Ferrari or Porsche offerings. That said, in 2009, the baby Aston got a V12. Now, it seems Aston Martin is about to do the same thing to the current Vantage.
Putting a big engine in a small car used to be reserved for American carmakers. Of course, this is no longer the case and recent spy footage suggests that Aston Martin could, once again, be giving the small Vantage a big V12 engine. The 5.9-liter naturally-aspirated engine was retired some time ago, which means it’s going to be the 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 powering the small coupe. We can clearly spot the flared fenders, no doubt, in order to free more space in the engine bay, for the big V-12 lump. There’s also a more aggressive front fascia with a larger grille and a more pronounced front splitter.
The cover on the front hood suggests the addition of heat extractors or air inlets, depending on the design. In both cases, their purpose will be better engine “breathing”.
The tapered back end seems relatively unchanged, apart from the added rear spoiler on top of the integrated ducktail, which could be retractable. In addition, we spot centrally-positioned dual exhaust tips, although there are openings on the side, suggesting that the production version could have its exhaust tips in the original location.
Aston Martin had previously confirmed that the V-12 is able to fit in the current Vantage. However, there will surely be a lot of chassis optimization, as the big unit is sure to mess with the balance of the car.
So far, the test mule seems to follow a similar formula to the previous-generation V-12 Vantage S, even down to the positioning of the hood vents. The current Vantage is up for a facelift for 2022/2023, which is when we could expect to see a production-ready V-12 Vantage.
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