The (claimed) 600 bhp 5.9 litre engine (later known to be about 580) featured in the V12 Vantage RS concept was especially developed by Prodrive. It benefited directly from race development and featured a dry sump lubrication system, tuned length exhaust manifolds, forged pistons and steel con-rods, revised lift and duration camshafts and modified cylinder heads. Peak power of 580 bhp was achieved at 6250 rpm and peak torque of 690 Nm at 5000 rpm.

In addition to the engine, V12 Vantage RS was comprehensively re-engineered to cope with such a huge power output and extreme performance. Weight saving was been a priority and the 1600 kg RS was almost the same as the V8 giving a phenomenal power to weight ratio of 375 bhp per tonne. Both the heavily vented bonnet and boot lid were, like the DBS, made from carbon fibre which was also found in great quantity all around the car both inside and out. For the first time on an Aston, there was a supposed deployable spoiler that rose automatically at high speeds to increase rear down force. In fact, we now know that this was totally non functional. Also, as with the DBS, the RS had motor sport-inspired carbon ceramic brake discs.

Quoting Dr Bez from his speech at the launch “We will listen with interest to feedback on this concept and, as ever, if there is sufficient demand then we will seriously consider a low volume production run in the near future with a price that will reflect the exclusivity of the car.” The RS was claimed to reach 200 mph and 0-60 in 4 seconds making it the (equal) fastest road going AM of all time. If you are to believe all that you read on the AMOC forum, within a day of announcement, there had been a monumental and unprecedented surge of interest at dealers worldwide. AM were looking into two possible options for the production car, either a very stripped out track-day special or something significantly more civilised. The outcome of this decision was seen at the Geneva Salon 2009 – the more civilised V12 Vantage won the day. The stripped out version, as previewed by the RS didn’t actually appear until the Vantage GT12 in 2015.

During Autumn 2009 and through to Summer 2010, the V12 Vantage RS Concept was on display at the BMIHT Museum, Gaydon. By that time, the  wheels have been replaced by those fitted to the sports pack V8 Vantage and the dummy pop-up spoiler has been removed. More recently, AML have sold off the car and it is now part of a private collection and has been re-united with the original wheels.

The Bowmore DBX was painted in a striking paint colour, named Bowmore Blue, an existing archive colour which was brought back exclusively by Q by Aston Martin for this car. As an option, the alternative exterior paint colour of Xenon Grey paint was also available. A really neat touch is the Bowmore-branded copper inlays using copper from the original whisky still which have been used to accent the side strakes of the DBX, as a nod to the traditions maintained by the company.

Customers could choose either the Obsidian Monotone or Copper Tan Metallic/Obsidian Duotone interior, both choices accented throughout by flashes of Bowmore Tweed, reflecting the company’s Islay ancestry. In addition, the interior has Q by Aston Martin design details such as polished copper cupholders, and sill plaques, made of recycled copper from the original Bowmore still.

The distinctive and easily identifiable feature of the Mark II are the thermostatically controlled radiator shutters. Cycle type front winds were retained which still turned with the steering. The folded hood was again moved outside the body – not so good looking perhaps but it was more roomy for the rear seat passengers.

The 2/4 seater based on the shorter 8’7” chassis was the most successful and best selling of the 1.5 litre cars with 61 completed over a period a little under two years.

The car is required to carry a substantial amount of equipment including a large medical bag, a defibrillator, two fire extinguishers and a burn kit – fortunately the DBX has 632 litres of boot space. The seats has been removed, replaced with four sport bucket seats, each equipped with a 6-point safety harness. Much like the safety car, two screens have been mounted onto the dashboard to provide live race footage. An additional screen is used to read live biometric data delivered via technology in the drivers’ gloves, which in the event of an accident, provides critical information on their condition. The ‘Marshalling System’ and the rear-view mirror camera display have also been installed into the medical car.

The development of Official Medical Car of Formula 1® was carried out by the engineering team at Aston Martin and it is believed that a total of three DBX have been modified for the purpose.

Nowadays, Aston Martins with specification unique to individual dealers are still built (DB7 Stratstone,V8 Vantage V400) but these only differ from standard production cars by colour/trim and options fitted.

From what can be seen, externally, the DBS exactly matched the version seen in Casino Royale; much like a DB9 on which it is closely based but with considerably more menace. The V12 engine was been tuned to produce 510 bhp @ 6500 rpm and 420 lb.ft. of torque at 5750 rpm and was coupled to a close ratio 6-speed gearbox. This allowed a top speed of 191 mph and 0-60 dash in 4.3 seconds. At launch, the DBS was only available with a conventional gear stick and three pedals although Touchtronic 2 became available as an option from late 2008. For the first time on an Aston Martin road car, the DBS had vented carbon ceramic brakes: 398 mm diameter with six pot calipers at the front, 360 mm four pot calipers at the back. Another first for an Aston Martin was carbonfibre composite body panels used for the boot enclosure, boot lid, door opening surrounds, front wings and bonnet, together offering a 30kg saving over the aluminium equivalent. On top of the carbon weave, a patented Surface Veil process was applied a 200 micron layer of epoxy and glass to give the ultra smooth finish expected on an Aston Martin. Three special DBS colours were also introduced for the launch cars and early production cars, Lightning Silver, Casino Royale and Storm Black although these were also made available at additional cost on other cars in the range.

Overall, the weight of the two-seat DBS was 65kg lower than the DB9; by specifying the optional Kevlar and carbon-fibre lightweight seats (not available in North America) provided a further weight saving of 20kg. As a feature, the lightweight seats are desirable to some enthusiast although the lack of backrest adjustment is off-putting to others. 

The interior leather was lighter weight semi-aniline and even the standard Phantom Grey carpets were made of a lighter weight fibre. The conventional key was ditched and replaced by a polished sapphire ECU that was inserted into a slot in the starter button. The centre console was changed with a cast metal surround, new graphics and turned aluminium heater knobs.

First view of the production DBS in Europe was at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2007. The DBS was also strongly featured at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008 where a DBR9 Green coupe was positioned on the prestigious turntable. Deliveries to customers had begun a month or so before with a UK launch price of £161,147.

Rumours of a watch used to open and close the DBS became reality when fine watch manufacturer, Jaeger-LeCoultre announced the introduction of the 18 carat pink gold AMVOX2 DBS Transponder. Only available to DBS owners through AM dealers, the watch could be used to both lock and unlock the car when the wearer is in close proximity to the car by pressing on the pressure sensitive sapphire crystal watch glass.

Later in the 2009MY run, AML introduced the Touchtronic 2 transmission from the DB9 as a £2000 option, perhaps in response to demand from the US market where true manual cars, or ‘stick’ as they call them are a rarity. Also made optional were lightweight occasional rear seats making the DBS a 2+2. In addition, the DBS was given the bespoke Bang & Olufsen audio equipment as standard featuring rather unusual tweeters that rise out of the top roll on the dash. Another option was the introduction of a new 10 spoke 20 inch lightweight wheel offering a 2kg per wheel reduction in unsprung mass. Pictures of the later 2009MY car above were taken at the Geneva Salon, a 2+2 Touchtronic 2 example.  Also introduced later in 2009, the DBS was offered for sale as a Volante with the convertible 2+2 coachwork.

Despite all the weight saving introduced on the DBS, it has to be said that the later cars with rear seats, Touchtronic transmission and B+O audio were significantly heavier than the original series of cars. 

For the 2012MY, the DBS received updates in line with those previewed on the Virage, namely, improved Garmin sat-nav and ‘beam blade’ wiper design, incorporating Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades. Touchtronic 2, instead of being a cost option became the standard transmission although in rare cases, manual tranmsission could still be specified as a no-cost option. These last of the line cars are certainly the most desirable especially with the rare manual gearbox and lightweight 2+0 seating configuration.

When production of the DBS finally ended in the Summer of 2012 with the DBS Ultimate editions, an estimated total of 2533 coupes had been built. This number includes all the special editions including the Carbon Black, Carbon Edition, Dragon 88 and UB-2010.

I must point out that AM market this car as a DBS but, for historic classification by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, this model should be known as the DBS V12 to differentiate it from the 6 cylinder model of the same name introduced in the 1967.

Following Le Mans, LM11 and LM12 were rebuilt with new un-drilled chassis in order for them to be eligible to enter the RAC Tourist trophy race in Ulster. They were both re-numbered as LM15 and LM16. A third completely new car also joined the team, LM17. At this time it was decided to paint the Team cars in Italian Red, as green was considered unlucky by the Italian born Bertelli. It worked! the LM15, 16 and 17 gained overall 6th, 3rd and 7th places respectively, 1st, 2nd and 3rd in class, and also the team prize. Thus the name ‘Ulster’ was coined for replicas of these victorious machines.

 This LM15, (LM11 rebuilt with an un-drilled chassis) has recently returned to racing in club events.

The LM16,(LM12 rebuilt with an un-drilled chassis) was photographed at the AMOC Le Mans 40th Anniversary Meeting at Donington in 1999 in the company of LM3 and Green Pea.