We'll start out by saying that there was no diesel option for the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and second-generation Vanquish. Both of these generations were fitted with a meaty 5.9-litre V12 engine, thus making the Vanquish the flagship model at that current time.
This was enough for the V12 Vanquish to find a starring role in the 2002 007 film, Die Another Day, alongside Pierce Brosnan as the enigmatic British spy.
Related: Four things you probably didn't know about the Aston Martin Vanquish
Over the span of several years, the V12 Vanquish was treated to several special editions and rebodied several times to form everything from a shooting brake to a roadster, styled by famous coachbuilder, Zagato.
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish 2001 - 2007
Launched in 2001 at the Geneva Motor Show, the V12 Vanquish was fitted with a 60-deg, DOHC V12 with a displacement of 5 935 cc. This engine was good for 343 kW at 6 500 RPM with torque resting at 542 Nm at 5 000 RPM. This engine was mated to an oft-lamented 6-speed automated manual gearbox with paddle shifters behind the wheel.
The 2001 V12 Vanquish could do the 0 to 100 km/h sprint in 4.5-seconds and would top out at a claimed 306 km/h.
V12 Vanquish S
The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish range was updated in 2004 to include the V12 Vanquish S, still powered by the 5.9-litre V12. Power figures climbed though and the S model produced 388 kW at 6 500 RPM and 576 Nm torque at 5 000 RPM. Still mated to a 6-speed gearbox, the sprint time increased by 0.1-seconds to 4.6-seconds but the top speed rose to 322 km/h.
Aston Martin Vanquish 2012 - 2018
The Vanquish name was revisited in 2012 with the launch of the new Aston Martin Vanquish, this time dropping the V12 prefix. With styling cues lifted from the One-77 and chassis technology borrowed from the DBS, the second-generation Vanquish was much improved over its predecessor.
A new V12 engine was employed in the second-generation. Known as the AM28, it retained a displacement of 5 935 cc. The first second-gen Vanquishes produced 421 kW at 5 500 RPM with torque at 620 Nm at 6 750 RPM. This was then mated to a new 6-speed ZF automatic gearbox and it gave the Vanquish a 0 to 100 km/h time of only 4.1-seconds. The top speed was claimed to be 295 km/h.
Aston Martin Vanquish 2014 - 2018
As before, it wasn't long before the Vanquish was updated and for the 2014 model year a revised 5.9-litre engine, the AM29 found its home under the bonnet. Power was bumped up to 424 kW at 6 650 RPM and torque hopped up to 630 Nm at a lower, more agreeable 5 500 RPM. This model now received a new 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox and the performance figures speak for themselves.
The 0 - 100 km/h sprint time dropped to 3.6-seconds and the top speed is listed as being 324 km/h.
Aston Martin Vanquish S 2017 - 2018
The final hurrah for the Vanquish came in the form of the 2017 Vanquish S, now with more power and keener styling. The AM29 engine was retained with its 5.9-litre capacity and power was up to 444 kW at 7 000 RPM with the maximum torque at 630 Nm at 5 500 RPM. Still employing the 8-speed ZF gearbox, the Vanquish S completed the 0 to 100 km/h sprint in only 3.5-seconds and went on to a top speed of 324 km/h.
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