Ex-Jag design boss redesigns Aston Martin Vanquish

Former Jaguar design tsar Ian Callum CBE has wasted little time in making a big-money splash in the world of design, reworking his original Aston Martin Vanquish.

Swiss industrial outfit AF Racing’s R-Reforged arm has become a respected Aston Martin tuner and it plans to build 25 examples of the million-dollar Aston Martin Vanquish 25 model designed by the new CALLUM consultancy firm.

Although the Vanquish nameplate will live again – on Aston Martin’s upcoming mid-engined supercar -- the move gives the previous Vanquish the second generation that Aston never gave it.

“I always felt the original Vanquish deserved a second time round,” Callum said. “We at Callum are giving the Vanquish that chance.”

The cars are fully endorsed by Aston Martin itself, with the British brand’s own design chief, Marek Reichman, insisting Aston was very happy with the result.

“I like that the Callum team’s first project is based on the original V12 Vanquish designed by Ian,” Reichman said.

“Aston Martin Lagonda is very proud of the cars created during Ian’s time and they are an important part in both our heritage and evolution.”

The car is essentially a revisit of Callum’s original Vanquish design, with upgrades in both the visuals and some of the car’s key engineering features (and weak points), including the steering and braking.

One of the biggest changes has been to switch it from a 2+2 layout into a strict two-seater.

The result is a price tag of £550,000 ($A995,000 at current rates) excluding taxes, although that includes the cost of the base Aston itself.

Customers can bring their own Vanquishes in to be upgraded or have one sourced by R-Reforged and, to be clear, R-Reforged has done this before with the Aston Martin Vantage V12 Zagato Heritage Twins by R-Reforged.

“It’s rare that a designer has the chance to retell the story of one of their own cars. I’ve wanted to do that for some time and with R-Reforged we could do something special,” said Callum.

“Materials and technologies have advanced, allowing us to introduce these along with new ideas that weren’t feasible when the car was launched.

“The original concept for the Vanquish was to feature two seats and not a 2+2 layout. It’s allowed us to create a unique rear environment, providing more space as a practical Grand Tourer.”

Callum’s team has delivered more than 100 design changes to the Vanquish, including dropping it 10mm lower and giving it new forged 20-inch alloy rims.

There are new front and rear carbon-fibre bumps, new LED headlights and tail-lights and carbon-fibre side strakes. There are new side mirrors, new one-piece window frames and a custom-made rear diffuser with an integrated exhaust box.

“We’ve addressed many of the individual areas we feel deserved a second look,” Callum said.

“The overall effect, including the stance, gives the car a new lease of life. Applying our design philosophy of balancing form and function has resulted in what we feel is the ultimate Vanquish.”

It’s not all about design, with engineers from R-Reforged sister company, R-Racing, re-addressing some of the car’s weak points and retuning its strong suits. R-Racing even runs Aston Martin’s DTM racing efforts in Germany and is a partner in the Valkyrie project.

“We love the original Vanquish but expectations of the performance of a GT car have changed since its launch,” said chassis engineer Adam Donfrancesco.

“Today’s GT should blend sports car performance with usability, yet be comfortable enough to eat up a thousand-mile mission without a thought.

“Our focus was to create a supple and comfortable ride that’s responsive and a chassis that is supportive but not harsh.

“With stiffer anti-roll bars, tuned dampers, custom springs and lower ride height, we’ve increased steering response and reduced roll but crucially allowed the damping to ‘breathe’ a little more. The car now actually feels lighter than the original and more alive.”

The latest carbon-ceramic discs, complete with 3D-printed air ducts, replace the knock-off prone original anchors and there are new race-spec wheel-hub bearings to help with brake-pedal feel.

They’ve also extracted another 60hp out of the 5.9-litre naturally aspirated V12, lifting it to 432kW by reworking the air intake and the exhaust systems.

The Vanquishes can be upgraded to include Android Auto and Apple CarPlay hubs in the carbon-fibre dashboards, while luxury British watchmaker Bremont has designed the instrument cluster, complete with a removable mechanical pocket watch.