ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE GT12

The Goodwood Festival of Speed later this month hosts some of the most exciting vehicle debuts each year. One of the stars this time around will be the Aston Martin Vantage GT12.
At one point referred to as the Vantage GT3 (before Porsche cried foul), the GT12 is put simply the most powerful and quickest production Vantage ever. Its 5.9-liter V12 engine makes 592 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of torque. It also weighs 330 pounds less than the Vantage V12 S.

Other enhancements include lightweight construction from carbon fiber, magnesium, titanium, and aluminum, the addition of an aerodynamic body kit, a retuned seven-speed automated manual transmission, and stiffer suspension setup. In case it wasn’t obvious, the GT12 is ready for track duty.

The Vantage GT12 first appeared at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year – at the time it wore the “GT3″ badge, but then Porsche claimed exclusive rights to the “GT3″ moniker – where Aston Martin announced only 100 units were planned for production at a cost of $385,000 each. Even if you have that kind of cash laying around, the U.K. automaker has pre-sold all examples.

Compared to the V12 Vantage, the GT12 has new inlet manifolds, a magnesium torque tube, and a titanium exhaust that bump the power from the V12’s 565 horses. The added aerodynamics drop top speed to 185mph from the V12 Vantage’s 205 mph, but on the track, you’ll never get close to that limit. Zero to 60 mph is cut by 0.2 seconds to 3.5 seconds. If all that’s not enough to wow you, the GT12 looks simply stunning even sitting still.