Contrary to the popular belief of those of us who want to ignore the existence of aging or time, the year 2001 was nearly two decades ago, not last week. It also happens to be the year that the original Aston Marin V12 Vanquish came around, meaning the first generation of the car is as dated as all of us are.
But for those who have a craving for modernization and about $700,000 sitting around, catching up with the times is now possible—on the car, that is, not us. There is no hope for us.
The Vanquish 25, a new project from the Callum design and engineering firm, is what’s making that all possible. It’s the old Vanquish, reimagined for the 2020s, with performance tweaks, new looks and modern infotainment. That’s right—you can now have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in your V12 luxury supercar from the early 2000s. Sure, your buddy next door has a McLaren F1 that makes everyone at the block party jealous, but does it have CarPlay? No? Thought so.
That neighborhood brag will only cost roughly $670,000 at current exchange rates, according to Car and Driver, but that figure at least includes the cost of the donor car that goes into the Callum shop. There are also options for customers to order conversions of existing Vanquishes, the story said.
The Vanquish 25, the Callum firm said, is “fully endorsed by Aston Martin” and limited to 25 models worldwide. The firm is led by Ian Callum, who was behind the design of the original Vanquish and spent years designing for Jaguar before retiring recently to “pursue his own projects.” This is one of them.
One of the things left unchanged about the Vanquish was its original exterior lines and proportion, the firm said. There are just a few tweaks to make it look more modern and aggressive, which is evident in photos.
The inside of the car got a nearly full rework, as Autoblog writes that each donor Vanquish gets “stripped to its nuts and bolts” at the firm for the redesign. That includes an eight-inch Bluetooth infotainment display, carbon fiber all over the place, a new steering wheel, lower seats with intricate designs stitched across them, a redesigned instrument cluster and accompanying pocket watch, and custom luggage to fit in the rear of the two seater.
Then, there are the performance tweaks, like the extra 60 horsepower from the V12 tuned by Callum and given a new engine cover. Car and Driver reports that this brings the total to 580 HP on the Callum cars, meaning the donor vehicles are likely Vanquish S models, which debuted with a rated 520 BHP compared to the regular Vanquish’s 460 BHP.
Car and Driver also writes that there will be three transmission options for the 25 Callum models, including the original automated single-clutch Speedshift transmission, a manual conversion offered by the Aston Martin Works division, and a six-speed torque-converter automatic.
Here are the rest of the performance changes, via Callum:
It’s because we have different expectations of a Grand Tourer today: comfort and class must go hand-in-hand with sports car performance. So the track is widened at front and back, making it more stable as well as more purposeful. Dampers are tuned, springs are customised and larger anti-roll bars are fitted front and rear to improve steering. The Achilles’ heel of the original is addressed by larger, stiffer bearings typically found on Aston Martin’s race cars.
Callum also has a selection of colors and finishes it thinks would be best on the car, but said, for buyers, “Your imagination is your limitation.”
Go crazy out there, wealthy friends. You don’t want a silver-on-black limited-edition Vanquish 25 sitting in your garage forever, right? It should at least be lime green, or something that adds a pop in your sea of un-driven vehicles.