Next-gen Aston Martin Vantage drawings leaked

New patent drawings of Aston Martin's all-new Vantage coupe have been leaked online.

Said to have been submitted to Japan's patent office by the British sports-car maker, the new images posted on car blog carscoops.com, are claimed to be genuine.

If so, the drawings filed give us our first glimpse of a design that clearly draws heavily from both the firm's Vulcan hypercar and recently launched DB11 coupe.

It's the latter, the DB11, from which the next generation Vantage will pinch its platform, range of engines, transmissions and suspension components.

Unlike the DB11, the patent suggests the Vantage's design won't be quite so bold.

The small Porsche 911-rival looks like it misses out on its bigger sibling's clever aero features that include a turbulence-reducing front wheel arch and innovative air curtain rear spoiler.

What the small Vantage does share with the DB11 is its muscular, low and wide proportions and trademark Aston Martin grille.

Lurking beneath its new skin is a shortened version of the DB11's all-new extruded and bonded aluminium platform that is not only lighter but is claimed to be 40 per cent stiffer than the old 'VH' underpinnings.

Overall, expect the next-gen coupe to weigh in at less than 1500kg - more than 100kg lighter than the current Vantage.

As well as the lighter undergarments, the Vantage is expected to come with aluminium, magnesium and even composite body panels, plus injection-moulded plastic front and rear bumpers in a bid to cut the kilos.

Featuring a development of the DB11's front double wishbone and rear multi-link suspension, the new car should be a dramatic improvement over the out-going ten-year old coupe. Not least because the new architecture places its engine front-mid-ship. That, combined with a transaxle transmission, results in a near optimum 50:50 weight distribution.

On the subject of engines, the Vantage will initially come with the Mercedes-AMG-sourced twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 that's just been dropped into the DB11.

In the Vantage the AMG V8 will produce 375kW/675Nm and allow for a 0-100km/h dash of around 3.5 seconds.

Both a seven-speed manual and eight-speed automatic will be available.

Later on in its life, the Vantage is expected to bag the range-topping 447kW/700Nm twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12.

It's not clear when the Vantage will be unveiled, but it's thought the British car maker has plans to unveil the long-awaited coupe later this year with a launch set for early 2018.

Once launched, a convertible roadster version is expected to follow on in 12 months, arriving some time in 2019.