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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Containment lines holding on Buckskin blaze ... Medford man charged in 'road rage' incidents ... Our View: Minimum wage compromise a good start ... Containment lines holding on Buckskin blaze ... Medford man charged in 'road rage' incidents ... Our View: Minimum wage compromise a good start ... Silvio Calabi: Aston Martin's new Vanquish is a super GT Comment By Silvio Calabi More Content Now MailTribune.com By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Nov. 17, 2014 at 7:35 AM By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Nov. 17, 2014 at 7:35 AM GHNS » Social News Like most carmakers, Aston Martin has adopted “kaizen,” the American-inspired Japanese strategy of continuous monitoring and improvement. In its new plant in Gaydon, 80 miles northwest of London, the company tracks production on Yamazumi boards just like the global big boys do. But clearly seconds and pennies do not rule here. Let’s say one of the white-gloved, hawk-eyed specialists — working under merciless bright lights — spots or feels a flaw in the finish of a body panel: Assembly stops dead while the team deals with the problem, cycle time be damned. No Aston Martin gets its winged badges until everything is as near-perfect as humanly possible. After witnessing this obsession, I can’t drive an Aston Martin — in filthy British weather, down country lanes and high-speed motorways and through murderous city traffic — without wincing as every splash of mud, lump of gravel, leaf, twig and bird poop rudely gropes the lovely bodywork. Especially in this top-line Vanquish, with its extra hand-fitting above and beyond the 200 or so hours it takes to lash together an Aston Martin these days. But they’re no prima donnas, these cars. Up there, between the raked windshield and the front axle, a 5.9-liter, 48-valve alloy V-12, hand-assembled in Germany, stands ready to belt out 568 horsepower and 465 foot-pounds of torque. Dip into the throttle and the purr becomes an impassioned snarl as exhaust valves snap open, a dozen pistons get to rocking and the scenery goes blurry. Aston Martin calls the 2015 Vanquish a “new breed of super GT” and singles out the eight-speed Touchtronic III gearbox now situated at the back of this drivetrain. It’s the first application of the ZF 8HP automatic transmission to a transaxle layout, and there are benefits galore. Fore-and-aft weight distribution is 50/50, for neutral balance. Lower gearing at the bottom lets the Vanquish bolt to 100 KPH, 62 MPH, in 3.7 seconds (down from 4.1 last year), while in high gear the car is able to break 200 MPH for the first time. Yet it can also be astonishingly frugal. With the engine ticking over at less than 2000 rpm, this car could, er, vanquish any speed limit in the U.S. while knocking off more than 20 miles per gallon. Aston Martin claims up to 31 mpg in the European test loop and a 10 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions over 2014. But the new Vanquish isn’t just the latest in electronic engine management and two more gears in a lighter, smaller, aft-mounted transmission. Gear changes now happen in as little as .013 seconds. Hold back the downshift paddle while standing on the brakes and the transmission helps kill speed by grabbing the lowest gears possible. There are new dynamic modes (Drive, Drive Sport, Paddle Shift, Paddle Shift Sport, Launch Control), and something called ADR that senses the driver’s mood. With ease, the Vanquish transforms from high-speed tourer to bad-boy racer to magic carpet that gently delivers us home after a rough day at the office. It being November in England, the fabric top of our Vanquish convertible, called the Volante, stayed up. Even without a rigid roof, the car is wiggle- and creak-free, thanks to its aluminum and carbon-fiber structure and an enormous but freakishly lightweight alloy torque tube between the axles. Aston Martin has stiffened the new Vanquish’s suspension too, but it’s still luxuriously comfortable even when pressed far beyond British reserve. People who know say that last year’s model could be a hairy beast, but the 2015 version is a kinder, gentler, yet even more puissant knightly steed. When the queen’s bespoke Bentley is in for tire rotation, you’d never offer her a lift in a bellowing, ground-scraping Lamborghini, but this Vanquish would suit the situation very well. She might even want to drive. For one of the last free-breathing, nonelectrified V-12s on Earth — wrapped in a hand-finished form of surpassing beauty, swathed in fine leather and veneer, and delivering world-class performance and, well, class — Aston Martin charges $300,000, give or take a few paychecks. Come on, you only live once. (Never mind what Ian Fleming said.) You won’t see yourself coming and going every day, either; Aston Martin builds just 4,000 cars each year, for the entire universe, and only a handful of them are Vanquish Volantes. Silvio Calabi reviews the latest from Detroit, Munich, Yokohama, Gothenburg, Crewe, Seoul and wherever else interesting cars are born. Silvio is a member of the International Motor Press Association whose automotive reviews date back to the Reagan administration. He is the former publisher of Speedway Illustrated magazine and an author. Contact him at [email protected]. Plus Stunning looks V-12 symphony Steel fist, suede glove demeanor Minus  Machine guns and ejector seats no longer available By Silvio Calabi More Content Now MailTribune.com By Silvio Calabi More Content Now Posted Nov. 17, 2014 at 7:35 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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