The V600 Is Aston Martin's Surprise Last Dance With The V12 Vantage

Hold onto your hats, people: an all-new new Vantage has been around for months, but Aston Martin has revealed one final, ultra-analogue encore for the old one.

We’ve always loved the Vantage V12 for its sheer improbability. Such a large engine in a car the length of a Ford Focus is, and always was, a bit unhinged.

Now the firm’s 6.0-litre, naturally-aspirated V12, one of the finest-sounding engines ever built, will form the heart of a 14-car run-out special formed in response to demand from some of Aston’s wealthiest and most, ahem, influential customers.

Called the V12 Vantage V600, the car’s coals have been stoked up to 592bhp, almost 30bhp more than you got in the final, 205mph V12 Vantage S. There’s a seven-speed manual gearbox and more carbonfibre than you can shake a con-rod at.

The body panels are all made from the good stuff, says Aston, as are half the interior surfaces. Bounce is taken care of by double-wishbone suspension at all corners linked to three-stage adaptive dampers with settings that range from comfy-ish to full banzai.

The V600 has a few very obvious visual identifiers. The aggressive front splitter and rear diffuser are slightly at odds with the svelte, curvaceous bodywork but we love the new bonnet. Lined either side of the power bulge by row after row of small cooling holes in place of the usual vents, it seems to take design inspiration from exhaust heat shields – and we approve.

Seven coupes and seven roadsters will be built, sharing the nickname ‘Triple V’. They have Aston Martin’s evolved, larger grille stretching lower towards the ground and giving you a headache when it comes to fitting number plates – if any of these hyper-exclusive cars ever actually get road-registered, that is.

In case you’re wondering, the V600 name is a nod to the very special V600 upgrade package offered on the last-of-the-line 1998 Vantage. Some 56 of the power-boosting kits were sold, with reports suggesting Aston built another 25, which is weird. Must have been a slow day at the office.

This, though, is definitely the last of the breed. It’s the last to use the ‘VH’ Vantage platform and just maybe the last Vantage to use a V12. We’ll have to wait and see, on that front. Unusually, Aston Martin doesn’t seem to say that every V600 is already sold, so if you want one and you don’t mind handing a blank cheque to the Gaydon-based firm, call your dealer, pronto.