Aston Martin Vanquish mid-engine supercar killed off

Aston Martin has abandoned plans to produce a production version of its mid-engine Aston Martin Vanquish concept it revealed at the 2019 Geneva motor show.

Originally, Aston Martin said it wanted to move away from its front-engine GT heritage to produce a direct rival for supercars like the Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren 720S, adding another mid-engine model to its range alongside the Valkyrie and Valhalla.

Plans to produce an entry mid-engine supercar were thought to have been progressing, with Aston saying only recently that it was working to produce a “bona fide supercar”.

But now the British sports-luxury car-maker has released a statement to US magazine Car and Driver confirming it is “moving away from the Vanquish and its mid-engine V6 design”.

The 2019 concept was originally poised to be powered by Aston’s own twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6, however this was subsequently cancelled, complicating the Vanquish’s development.

It’s understood that re-engineering it with a new powertrain might have been too complex, prompting a complete redesign. (The Valhalla hybrid hypercar was forced to switch from the 3.0-litre V6 to a Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-litre biturbo V8.)

Despite ruling out a mid-engine design, the Vanquish name could still return, potentially as a wild V12-powered front-engine Aston to rival the Ferrari 812 Superfast.

If so, the nameplate will return to its roots as it was the badge first used on the V12 Vanquish produced from 2001 until 2007, and then for a second generation that remained in production from 2012 until 2018.

There’s still no word when production will end for the current DBS 770 Ultimate, but it’s thought a new concept for its replacement, which could carry the Vanquish name, might be shown as soon as next year.

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