Spy Photo: Aston Martin Vantage V12 Prototype Spotted

The engineers of iconic British automaker Aston Martin were recently spied testing the upcoming limited edition V12 powered Vantage prototype. The proof of this is the spy photo you see here. From the looks of the car it appears to be your regular 380-hp Aston Vantage V8 but look carefully and you will notice the four strips of louvers on the hood. Does it look familiar?

Definately yes as this louvered engine cover is taken straight from 600-hp V-12 powered Vantage RS Concept shown last December and is a necessity for cooling such a high spec engine which in production form is expected to delivering about 550 horsepower.

According to the spy photographer, the test mule has a new redesigned carbon fibre rear diffuser as seen on the concept model. The integrated rear spoiler is now smaller in comparison to the show car and it also gets the newly styled side rockers. Further the prototype was seen wearing big carbon-ceramic disc brakes which have been borrowed from current Aston DBS.

With a power-to-weight ratio of over 375bhp per ton, the V12 Vantage RS concept is the fastest accelerating road car ever built by the company, capable of reaching 62mph (100km/h) from rest in 4.0 seconds and 100mph (160km/h) in just 8.5 seconds. So it won't be wrong to expect similar performance from the upcoming production version of Aston Martin's V12 Vantage but you won't get it cheap as it is expected to cost double the price of Vantage V8.

Source: NextAutos
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Photo Gallery: 2009 Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Concept High-Res Pictures.