Aston Martin goes mid-engine with the next Vanquish

Now that the long-fabled mid-engine Corvette is finally becoming a reality, another brand known for its beautiful and fast front-engine grand tourers (albeit at a higher price point than the ‘Vette), Aston Martin, is finally going to be making a series production supercar with the engine behind the driver. Aston Martin used the occasion of the Geneva Motor Show to reveal the Vanquish Vision Concept. The Vanquish name has previously been applied to the Gaydon automaker’s range-topping models and presumably will be the marque’s flagship vehicle.

Aston Martin says that the new production Vanquish will compete in the market segment “traditionally defined by Italian supercar makers.” I don’t know if that was a swipe directed at fellow British automaker McLaren, but to compete with the driving dynamics of the Ferrari F8 Tributo and McLaren 720S, physics pretty much demands a mid-engine layout.

Unlike the Ferrari and McLaren, which feature eight cylinder engines, and unlike previous Vanquish models, which have been powered by V-12 engines, the Vanquish Vision Concept will be powered by an all-new turbo V-6. That engine is shared, in hybrid form, with the limited production AM-RB 003, which also debuted at the Geneva show. It is Aston’s first V-6. Some of Aston Martin’s best known models, like the DB5 associated with James Bond, have had six cylinders, but those were inline.

Scheduled to start production in 2022, the Vanquish will have a new bonded aluminum architecture not shared with any other Aston Martin vehicle. Using words like “seductive” and “sensuous” in the Vanquish Vision Concept’s press release, Aston Martin Director of Design Miles Nurnberger described the new Vanquish as “prettier” than the AM-RB 003 and Valkyrie, the firm’s two previous mid-engine designs, while still being “extreme.”

No word has been released on pricing but the current Vanquish starts at $294,950.