2000 October 11: The 6.0 litre V12 Aston Martin Vanquish was released. The car is said to have a top speed of 190mph and to accelerate from 0-60mph in under 4.5 seconds and from 0-100mph in under 10 seconds. The six speed gearbox is controlled by "paddles" on the steering wheel, F1 style. Tyres are 255/40 ZR 19 front and 285/40 ZR 19 rear.

Aluminium, carbon fibre and composite materials are used in the body, the exterior panels being aluminium. The Vanquish is available as either a two or a 2+2 seat coupe. Those seats are, of course, upholstered in Connolly leather.

Maker's specifications: loa: 4665mm, width: 1923mm, height: 1318mm, wheelbase: 2690mm, weight 1820kg, engine: 5935cc, 60° V12, petrol (95RON) 4-valves/cyl, cr 10.5:1, power: 336kW (450bhp) at 6500rpm, torque: 556Nm at 5000rpm, gearbox: 6-speed manual/ electronic, limited slip diff' and traction control, suspension: independent by double wishbones & coil springs front & rear, fuel tank: 80L

2000 August: Since Ford bough Aston Martin, it has increased production at the specialist British sports car firm. Aston Martin's existing factories at Newport Pagnell and Bloxham are limited for space, so it plans to open a new Research and Engineering Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire and a new vehicle assembly plant. Gaydon is already the location of Land Rover's aerodynamic and environmental wind tunnels, research laboratories, testing grounds and 26 miles of test road (and the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust BMIHT museum) - which came with Ford's purchase of Land Rover from BMW. Aston Martin plans to introduce a new "budget" (ha ha) car in 2003 or 2004, costing between £60K and £90K - fitting between its stable-mate Jaguar XKR and the Aston Martin DB7. The company hopes to sell 1000 of its bespoke sports cars this year, well up from just 46 in 1992! It currently makes the 6-cylinder DB7 and 12-cylinder Vantage. Maybe we will see even more Aston Martins in future James Bond movies.

A 1999 Aston Martin DB7 at the Motor Show. It is powered by a 6 cylinder supercharged engine, also shared with some Jaguars, both the firms now being owned by Ford.

- 4wd.sofcom.com/4WD.html