Gran Turismo 5: The Aston Martin Vanquish

It maybe a grand tourer but is it raw?

I still remember the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish because ever since I first played GT3 A-Spec on the PS2, this was a prize car that you have to obtain it after meeting certain criterias. Well, long story short about this, here I was, driving one of Aston's ultimate grand tourers. Also, when this car was appointed as the Bond Car for Pierce Brosnan's final Bond film, Die Another Day, in 2002, I was so glad that this former Bond actor really put the V12 Vanquish into good use during a duel against a heavily armed Jaguar XKR driven by a villain named Zao. It was the best scene I've ever saw and I think this is much better than the remote controlled BMW 750Li from Tomorrow Never Dies.

Let the good times roll, eh?

This is somewhat how James Bond feels like when
he drove this

But this Vanquish is more than just being a Bond car, and despite the fact that Pierce Brosnan has one in real life. What I really don't understand is that it was desingned by the same man who was currently the head designer of Jaguar, Ian Callum, and this was essentially a beefed up version of the Aston Martin DB7. Look closely and you'll noticed that the Vanquish was just a DB7 on steroids but this car is also just more than that because this is essentially a production version of the 1998 Project Vantage Concept as seen from the 1998 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan.

Despite being a bigger brother of the DB7, the Vanquish is still an elegant looking grand tourer. It's still the perfect car you would like the bring it out at the South of France and still gather much crowd as possible because even by modern standards, it's still a head turner.

It's all about elegance in every direction

The typical six-litre V12 engine that you can normally see in most Astons is fitted on the Vanquish. With this, it develops about 460HP of power, 0-60mph in five seconds, and an alleged top speed of over 315kph. It maybe the kind of car that welcomed through the 300kph elite club but the Vanquish is just too darn perfect. The interior, the badge, the fact James Bond drove one, the Britishness, everything that what makes the Vanquish one of the best grand tourers from the last decade.

Oh, this is more fun!

Mind you, the Vanquish may have been a perfect GT car from the last decades but sadly, it was the last car to be ever built from Aston Martin's Newport Pagnell factory in 2007. Even though the Newport Pagnell factory was shut down, this site was still used as Aston's Works Service department, providing maintenance, tuning and restoration facilities for Astons of all ages. About that old Newport Pagnell plant, the first car produced in 1958 at this factory was the DB4 and during its 5-decade tenure, about 12,000 cars were built.

An instant classic

For decades, the Aston Martin Vanquish V12 is definitely a future classic and a collector's item not only because it was the kind of car for those who are a big fan of the James Bond movies but it's because it was made from Newport Pagnell with pride. It was the last car to be built on this place and it has been an honor to drive one of those masterpiece classics from Britain.

My favorite Bond cars during the Pierce Brosnan years

A battle between two Bond cars!

When Bond was in his Pierce Brosnan years (1995-2002), those Bond cars featured were mostly German while his last film is reverted back to British. Those were the BMW Z3 from GoldenEye, BMW 750Li from Tomorrow Never Dies, BMW Z8 from The World Is Not Enough, and the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. Two of my favorite Bond cars during the Pierce Brosnan years were actually the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish because they were very unique, very cool, and surprisingly, a part of my childhood memories.

Luckily, both the Z8 and the V12 Vanquish were in Forza Motorsport 4 I have the choice which of these Pierce Brosnan-era Bond cars is my pick. First was the Z8, as a Bond car featured in the 1999 Bond film, The World Is Not Enough, this car is all about being too classy and drop dead gorgeous. If that didn't put you off, two Bond games featured this car such as 007 Racing, where a selection of Bond cars are showcased in numerous missions, and 007 Agent Under Fire, a first-person shooter game. Sadly, however, this Z8 hasn't found a mass audience and according to Jeremy Clarkson, it feels like driving a Scania truck. (Honest!)

It may have a wonderful looking body, it may have an engine from a BMW M5, it may have a tricked rear axle, and they have James Bond to drive one, it should have been spectacularly good but the result was very awful and that's why production of this Z8 model ended in 2003. Even the last hurrah which is a tuned version of the Z8, the ALPINA Z8, wasn't good either because this is just a tuned car that feels downgraded.

If you don't like the BMW Z8 because it feels more like a Scania truck like Jeremy Clarkson did, how about a Bond car that served as a last hurrah for Pierce Brosnan before he was replaced by Dainel Craig in 2006? The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. Yep, the V12 Vanquish, the one used by Pierce Brosnan on his last Bond film, DIE ANOTHER DAY, and what's surprising is when Q Branch fitted the car with body panels that render the Vanquish invisible. Sadly, we can't do that. In a Bond video game, 007 Nightfire, this car releases smoke, has Q wedge, EMP, and it can go underwater. Also, we can't do that. Even it doesn't have some of the cool Bond stuff, the Vanquish is much more good looking than the BMW Z8 and this Bond car comes serve with a 6.0L V12 that produces 460HP of power and 0-60mph in 5 seconds. The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish appeared in an episode of Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson heads to the Isle of Wight to drive the Vanquish against the Ferrari 575 Maranello, driven by former F1 World Champion Damon Hill. The Vanquish set a lap time of 1.36.2. Later on, an improved version, the Vanquish S, set a lap time of 1.27.1 at the Top Gear Test Track.

Both of these Bond cars may seem to be different but if I compare both of these, it's hard to decide which of these Brosnan-era Bond cars is my pick but for me, I would probably go for the Vanquish because it's quintessentially good looking until it was taken over by a Bond car driven by Daniel Craig, which is the DBS, one of my favorites.

But, how's like to be in the Top Gear Test Track? Let's find out by pushing these two round the track by a tamed racing driver.

My BMW Z4 did it in 1:26.377 while the V12 Vanquish did it in 1:23.279, which means, I would prefer the Vanquish because it's faster than the BMW Z8 and more importantly, better looking, better to drive, and that's it