Faster, more fuel-efficient and a new eight-speed automatic transmission – we’re already liking the sound of the just-announced updates for Aston Martin’s Vanquish and Rapide S.
As part of the 2015 model-year updates, the new ‘Touchtronic III’ eight-speed automatic transmission aides in shaving half a second from the zero to 100km/h times for both models.
The transmission has been developed by gearbox specialist ZF and this is its first application in a transaxle layout.
Aston Martin says the new transmission and revised final drive ratios make both the Vanquish and Rapide S more fuel efficient and both now have top speeds in excess of the 200mph.
A new Bosch engine management system and a reduction in exhaust back pressure sees power up to 424kW for the Vanquish and 411kW for the Rapide S – and both enjoy 10Nm worth of extra torque (now 630Nm).
Underneath, there’s a new torque tube to reduce noise intrusion into the interior, a retuned stability control system and changes to the steering’s ECU for crisper response.
Aston Martin Canquish scores stiffer dampers (15 per-cent stiffer at the front and a massive 35 per-cent stiffer at the rear) while the Rapide S gets larger front brakes.
Both models swap to rear suspension bushes which are 20 per-cent stiffer and a retuned brake booster.
On the styling front, look for new 10-psoke alloy wheels in a variety of finishes (and they’re 7.0kgs lighter than the current version) and new paint colours, including ‘Diavalo Red’ which was previously exclusive to the Aston Martin V12 Zagato.
Inside are new leather colours including ‘Dark Knight’ (a blue/black combo) and ‘Fandango Pink’. RapiDe S gains a new ‘Duotone’ leather in ‘Sahara Tan’ and ‘Vibrant Red’ and a range of new headlining options which mix quilting with the finest leathers or Alcantara.
The 2015 Aston Martin Vanquish and Rapide S begin rolling-out in the last quarter of this year but we’ve heard nothing from the local distributors about Australian plans.
