Then we have its underpinnings: its predecessor, the DB7, was based on the ancient Jaguar XJ-S, though with many changes. The DB9 was built around an all-new aluminum platform, dubbed VH (for vertical – horizontal) that is light years ahead in all respects.
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Given that other roadsters, like the Ferrari 458 and McLaren MP4-12C Spiders, which use much more advanced tops than the canvas unit employed by the Aston Martin model, hit the market not long after their coupe versions, this is quite a long time.
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The one he has been most associated with is the Aston Martin DB5, while his most recent drive was a DBS. In between, he has also sat behind the wheel of a Lotus Esprit that doubled as a submarine, a Jaguar XKR and some BMWs – the best of which, the Z8, was cut in half.
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The DBS-replacing Vanquish adopts the next generation of Aston Martin's VH bonded aluminium monocoque architecture as well as an upgraded 5.9-litre V12 engine generating 565hp (573PS) and 620Nm (457 lb-ft) of torque.
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The trip including a ride at a continental testing facility, which as we learn, is carved on the surface of a frozen lake every winter. The video that follows below the break, gives us an insight on how Aston Martin engineers performed the development work on the new Vanquish.
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A camouflage-free, pre-production model together with a lightly disguised prototype of the Vanquish were filmed racing around the Nürburgring Nordschleife this week.
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The first clip is from an exclusive presentation of the new Vanquish at Frankfurt's trendy Klassikstadt, while the second film is from a YouTube user who spotted the also new V12 Vantage Roadster parked on the streets of London.
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However, since that won't be happening now, British racing driver and television presenter Tiff Needell, who only recently joined EVO magazine, chose the current DBS Volante to battle the Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster.
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The key word to remember with the new Vanquish is evolution as the name may have changed, but the rest of the car is closely related to the DBS.
That doesn't mean Aston Martin hasn't made important changes to the Vanquish that borrows its name from the DBS' predecessor built between 2001 and 2007 starting with the stiffer, fourth generation VH bonded aluminium monocoque chassis.
According to the British marque, the updated platform's torsional rigidity is improved by more than 25 percent over the DBS’s, while its also lighter as a result of the use of carbon fiber in the rear structure and hollow-cast aluminum instead of solid cast aluminum at the front end.
Nevertheless, some production details were left out from the concept, which we can now reveal thanks to our spy photographers as well as the folks from Autoblog.it who videotaped the new Vanquish in Italy while Aston Martin was shooting press pictures.
The styling changes over the prototype we saw in May are limited to the more conventional looking alloy wheel designs, the black trimmed upper and lower front grilles as well as the painted spoilers, side skirts and rear diffuser.
That's no more because Car Magazine was somehow at the right place at the right time when one of Aston Martin's trailers carrying the production model was left unsupervised for a few seconds, which was more than enough time to film the badge at the rear end of the car.
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While Aston Martin's top brass were previewing the looks of the next DBS with the Project AM310 Concept on the scenic shores of Lake Como in Italy during the 2012 Concorso d'Eleganza, the brand's engineers were hard at work conducting tests of the production model in and around the Nürburgring in Germany.
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Mind you, this is not one of your run-of-the-mill concept studies but a pre-production version of the DBS replacement that will make its debut later this year before it goes on sale worldwide in early 2013.
With the exception of the two-tone alloy wheels and the visible carbon fiber aero kit and mirrors, this is the same car we showed you a couple of day ago testing on the Nürburgring.
The styling of the DBS replacement has been freshened up in a revolutionary kind of way with design cues from the One-77, especially in the profile with the sharper and more pronounced front and rear fenders, and the use of chrome on the window line, as well as the rounded rear with the stretched 'C' shaped tail lamps.
The new Aston Martin is essentially a re-skinned version of the V12 Vantage designed by Italian coachbuilder Zagato in celebration of the golden anniversary of the 1962 DB4GT Zagato.
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And that is exactly what happened to one of the 77 owners of the exclusive Aston Martin model, not once, but more than a couple of times somewhere in France.
For the record, the One-77's 750bhp 7.3-liter V12 powerplant is linked to a six-speed automated manual gearbox with column-mounted paddles. Hop over the jump to check out the video.
