"An entirely new Aston Martin for the 21st Century, the Vanquish, debuted at the Geneva Auto Show in March 2001, with deliveries commencing a few months later. The Vanquish took over from the Vantage V8 with the Newport Pagnell factory undergoing an extensive multimillion pound refurbishment to accommodate it, gaining a new assembly line, paint shop, rolling road and water test facility. Styled by Ian Callum, the man responsible for the DB7, the Vanquish was developed with assistance from Aston Martin’s parent company Ford using constructional techniques more advanced than those of any current road car of that time. The 6.0 litre, 48 valve, V12 engine, the first of its type for Aston Martin, developed 460bhp at 6,800rpm, 400lb/ft of torque available at 5,500 revs. The state-of-the-art electronic engine management system provided ‘drive by wire’ throttle control and was linked to the six-speed manual gearbox’s electro-hydraulic change mechanism, a first for a production car. The gearchange was controlled by F1-style paddles and could be operated in either of two modes, fully manual or computer controlled automatic, with a ‘sport’ setting available on both. It was an instant sales success and its choice as transport for James Bond only added to the appeal.
First registered on 12th December 2001, this example presented in Tungsten Grey (007) with charcoal leather trim which is considered to be the most popular colour combination. Combining aggressive looks and incredible performance with opulent luxury from the driver or the passenger seat, this is a rare and desirable ASM example of the ever-popular V12 Carbon Vanquish. In 2021, this example was parked next to a fire and as such suffered cosmetic damage, contained within the history file are photographs of the damage however at the time of the incident an insurance category N was applied. The stamped original handbook shows service history with no expense spared and taking place only with Aston experts, servicing first took place at Aston Martin Wilmslow with four services from the supplying garage, then Nicholas Mee & Co Ltd. took over servicing in 2011 with a further eight service stamps until in the summer of 2020 at 51,317 miles and the most recent service was carried out by Aston Martin Mayfair 600 miles ago. The V12 engine sounds glorious upon start-up and as a UK supplied Vanquish is tipped to be a long-term investment by all knowledgeable professionals, this one may well be snapped up by a canny collector. One of the best driving cars in the world and one of the first in the 200mph club.Interested parties should note that this 2001 Vanquish was subject to a category N insurance loss in 2019 and category S insurance loss in 2021 due to a fire to an adjacent car which has been fully repaired.Photos can be found within the history file should you wish to inspect."