Aston Martin has today revealed a raft of enhancements for the brand's
ultimate GT: the Vanquish.
With the arrival of 2015 model year Vanquish in markets around the world over
the next few months, the luxury British brand is offering not only considerably
enhanced performance and much-improved fuel economy and emissions, but also an
even more honed, precise and responsive driving experience.
With the debut of the new Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic gearbox in the
2015 Vanquish - the first time that this state-of-the-art gearbox has been
incorporated into a transaxle layout - Aston Martin is improving every major
area of the car's performance and fuel economy. The brand's engineers have
worked meticulously with technical partner, ZF, to develop the eight-speed
technology and integrate it perfectly into the latest generation of the iconic
and much-imitated Aston Martin VH architecture.
The 0-60 mph time for the Vanquish is reduced from 4.1 seconds to just 3.6
seconds. This impressive gain not only ensures the car's exceptional
competitiveness, but also confirms Vanquish as the quickest accelerating series
production Aston Martin in the company's 101-year history.
Combined with a revised final drive, the ratio changes also mean the car is, for
the first time, now capable of top speeds of 200 mph or above.
A reduction in exhaust gas back pressure as a result of ratio adjustment and
other changes also benefits peak power, which rises by up to three hp to a peak
of 568 hp in Vanquish.
Touchtronic III delivers exceptional shift speed and moves between ratios as
quick as 130 milliseconds - far quicker than even the most accomplished racing
driver is capable of - while better gearbox efficiency allows more power and
torque to be transmitted to the road more of the time.
Ian Minards, Product Development Director at Aston Martin, explained: "We have a
long and successful technical partnership with ZF and so it was a natural step
for us to adapt and integrate their world class 8HP transmission in to our
transaxle layout."
Gearbox software changes make for a comprehensive selection of available driving
features such as 'Drive' and 'Drive Sport' modes along with 'Paddle Shift' and
'Paddle Shift Sport' options for more engaging, sporting, shift control.
