Aston Martin has announced two exciting developments for both new and existing customers of the company’s flagship Vanquish S. Just 40 examples of a new Vanquish S Ultimate Edition will be handcrafted at the company’s Newport Pagnell production facility in Buckinghamshire. The model represents a luxurious and unique limited edition befitting the Vanquish S’s status as the ultimate Aston Martin and also celebrates the skilled craftsmanship of the team working at Newport Pagnell.

The Ultimate Edition will be available by special request to customers wishing to celebrate the last of a significant car in Aston Martin’s history. Initial feedback suggests the whole allocation of this special edition will be sold within weeks of launch. The Ultimate Edition centres on changes to the Vanquish S’s renowned colour and trim. On the exterior, these changes include a unique ‘Ultimate Black’ – a striking new colour which will only be available with this car. Inside, the Vanquish S cabin is trimmed in a semi-aniline leather, with coarse stitching, leather headlining and black chrome finish interior fittings.

The Vanquish S Ultimate Edition retains all performance capabilities of the standard Vanquish S – and accordingly its position as the fastest ever production Aston Martin, capable of a top speed in excess of 200mph (321km/h). No additional charge will be made for the Ultimate Edition, available only with the 2+2 seating arrangement, priced at £182,095.

The fastest production model ever to be built by Aston Martin made its world debut at the Paris Motor Show on September 23, 2004.

With a maximum speed in excess of 200mph (320 km/h) and a 6.0 litre V12 engine developing 520 horsepower, the Vanquish S has been designed to deliver even greater performance, complemented by subtle suspension and steering changes and a number of interior and external style revisions.

The Vanquish S has received subtle but effective changes to complement its elegant muscular body. The famous Aston Martin grille has a new rounded and more open appearance for better cooling, and an aerodynamic splitter improves high-speed stability.

At the rear, a redesigned boot lid featuring a new high mounted stop lamp reduces lift and improves balance and stability, helping to achieve an impressive Cd figure of 0.32.

These differences on the Vanquish S not only improve the appearance but also enhance performance. All the exterior body panels are constructed from aluminium with each individual panel hand tailored to the central structure to ensure a perfect panel fit.

Aston Martin will unveil one of the most eagerly anticipated convertibles of the year when the V8 Vantage Roadster is revealed at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday 29th November.

Aston Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: ‘The V8 Vantage Roadster is a pure sports car, a car that heightens the senses and provides a dynamically thrilling driving experience.

‘The Vantage Roadster adds to the unbeatable thrill of open air motoring and by combining engineering excellence, technological innovation and physical perfection, will ensure every journey is one to remember.’

Perfectly proportioned, with a low purposeful stance, the Vantage Roadster is uncompromisingly modern yet also incorporates classic Aston Martin design cues. The elegant lines are fused with traditional craftsmanship and striking 21st century style, with an interior hand-trimmed and finished in the finest quality genuine materials.

Aston Martin has again reinforced the new direction the company is taking by unveiling a spectacular concept car that is destined to become the most significant model in the company’s 89-year history.

Previously codenamed AM305, the Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage is the basis for a smaller third Aston Martin model, due to be launched in 2005, and will sit alongside the DB7 and the flagship Vanquish. The AMV8 Vantage will be hand-assembled at Aston Martin’s state-of-the-art production facility at Gaydon, in the United Kingdom, which is currently under construction.

The name Vantage – which will also be adopted for the production version – was chosen due its long historic links with Aston Martin. This time it’s a specific model name rather than denoting a high performance version.

The AMV8 Vantage is a tailored two-seater sports car that retains a front mid-engine/rear-wheel drive layout. Its design work was undertaken by Henrik Fisker, Aston Martin’s Design Director, and his key objective was to produce a thoroughly modern Aston Martin. Another aim was to ensure that the interior layout and equipment were unique to Aston Martin and could be easily carried over into the production car.

The Aston Martin DBR9 is a racing car by Aston Martin Racing, first built in 2005. The name DBR9 is derived from the original 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning DBR1 car, named for then-owner David Brown, which not only won the 24 Hour race in 1959 but also the World Sportscar title.

For the first time since 1959, Aston Martin has triumphed at Le Mans. The winning Aston Martin Racing with InterContinental Hotels & Resorts DBR9 – numbered 009 – was driven to GT1 class victory and a remarkable fifth overall by David Brabham, Rickard Rydell and Darren Turner after 24 hours of non-stop competition, characterised by changeable conditions and several safety car periods.

The bad weather was in evidence right from the start of the first qualifying session, where the AMR Larbre Competition 008 DBR9 claimed pole position – before going on to finish third in the actual race.

Aston Martin’s double podium underlined the impressive performance and reliability of the DBR9, which is closely based on the DB9 road car. The winning 009 car started from fourth on the grid at 1500 on Saturday, and was locked in a fierce battle for the lead with its sister 007 car for the majority of the race. As night fell, the two Aston Martin Racing cars were separated by less than 10 seconds, and they were in visual contact with each other right up until dawn on Sunday morning. Then, the 007 car – crewed by Thomas Enge, Johnny Herbert and Peter Kox – had a small off-road excursion that nonetheless damaged the front splitter and necessitated an eight-minute repair.

While pushing hard to make up the deficit, the 007 car went off again while trying to overhaul the third-placed competitor at around 0700 on Sunday. This seemingly innocuous trip into the gravel trap caused a series of related problems as the sharp flint stones in the gravel trap damaged the tyres, brakes, and alternator pulley. After a number of pit stops, the 007 car was forced to settle for fourth place in class.

In total, there were six DBR9s entered for this year’s 75th Le Mans 24 Hours – two each for Aston Martin Racing and AMR Larbre Competition, plus single-car entries from AMR BMS and Team Modena.

All six cars made the finish, with AMR BMS ending up sixth in class and 11th overall, while Team Modena were 10th in class after their DBR9 was hit from behind by an LMP2 prototype at around 0300. This meant that the Team Modena DBR9 spent the best part of half an hour in the garage – having previously been fourth in class – before returning to the fray.

Independent rally teams will soon be able to compete in the world’s most exclusive rally car, the Aston Martin Rally GT. The new car has been developed by Aston Martin Racing, a partnership between Prodrive and Aston Martin.

The Rally GT is based on the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, but extensively re-engineered by Prodrive. The motorsport specialist has combined its experience of running the Aston Martin DBR9s in international sports car racing with more than 20 years of rallying experience, to create this new car. As part of its development programme, the Rally GT has already competed in three French Rally Championship events, coming second in the Series GT class on its debut at the Lyon to Charbonniers Rally.

As with the DBR9, the Rally GT uses a standard road car chassis which is fitted with a Prodrive-designed roll cage for safety and increased torsional rigidity. The engine is closely based on the all alloy road car 4.3 litre V8 unit but has been tuned to make it more flexible and responsive for the demands of rallying.