This unique early DB7i6 coupe has been entirely covered in a thin layer of gold, palladium and platinum by Alchemist, a London-based luxury car customisation firm run by Frenchman, Jacques Blanc. It was commissioned by Prince Francesco Maria Sesto Ruspoli who since 2005, the head of Italy’s renowned Ruspoli family.

Gilding the DB7 was achieved by a small team of six master craftsmen and took four weeks to execute. The team used individual leaves of gold with those on the roof, bonnet and boot laid in a diamond-shaped ‘basket weave’ pattern and parts of the car were even double-gilded to create an even more luxurious finish. Another more hard wearing precious metal, palladium was applied to both the front and rear bumpers, and platinum was used on the sills and wing mirrors. In order to protect the gold, preserve the finish and prevent peeling, the exterior of the DB7 was completed by several coats of bespoke invisible satin varnish. A small detail on the bonnet was the addition of 7 small brilliant cut diamonds.

The door cappings and facia, normally burr walnut of course, have also been guilded with 24 carat gold.

The car was put on the market in 2008 at the annual Bonhams Aston Martin sale, with proceeds going to fund the maintenance of Vignanello’s exceptional Renaissance-era garden and the French Fair Trade charity, ‘Artisans du Monde’.

Entered in the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award for Concept Cars and Prototypes, Project AM310 had styling cues from the One-77 such as the rear lights and interior but was obviously an evolution of the DB9/DBS/Virage line. The grille shape was new yet still recognisable as the traditional AM shape but gently revised. When first shown, it was claimed that the car featured coachwork entirely of carbonfibre, a first for Aston Martin. The engine was a much revised V12, still 5.9 litres but with an output around 570 bhp. A few weeks later and it was announced that AM310 would be produced as the new Vanquish and slated for delivery before the end of 2012 just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Aston Martin marque. The smart wheels of AM310 sadly didn’t make production.

The body is a significant and deeply sculpted evolution of the DB9/DBS/Virage line with many design queues from the One-77. It sits on a skirt of exposed carbonfibre which is also a nod to it being the first series production Aston with all the outer body panels formed of carbonfibre. Of special note is the rear wing or ‘Aero Duct’ as AML call it on the rear boot lid, plus the elongated side strakes and LED rear light blades both influenced by the One-77.

The V12 engine, with the codename AM11,  still displaces 5935 cc but has been totally re-engineered with double variable valve timing, new heads, fully machined combustion chamber, bigger inlet valves and throttle bodies, and new ‘big wing’ manifolds. This has launched the power output from 510 bhp, (DBS and V12 Vantage) to 565 bhp and torque up by an additional 30lb ft across the rev range. The engine is mounted 19 mm lower in the chassis, principally to provide greater bonnet clearance in impacts with pedestrians, but usefully drops the centre of gravity of the car by 10mm. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels by an aluminium torque tube and carbon fibre prop shaft transferring power to the latest version of the ZF six speed Touchtronic 2 automatic gearbox. This was chosen above a traditional manual or automated manual as the Vanquish is principally a GT car rather than out-and-out sportscar. The early cars had a top speed is 183 mph with brisk acceleration to 62mph in only 4.1 seconds. The new AM11 engine also featured lower CO2 emissions and improved fuel economy.

The Vanquish is based on a revised and stiffer 4th generation (Gen4) VH architecture, the tub has evolved to be a carbon and bonded aluminium hybrid along with a new design of engine brace, improved anodising and bonding which has increased structural stiffness by 30%. Indeed, the evolution of the VH architecture is 75% brand new. Despite being a shade longer, wider and taller than the outgoing DBS, the Vanquish is, at 1739 kg, 56 kg lighter than the car it repalced.

The interior has received the total redesign, not dissimilar to the One-77, in an effort to bring it right upto date but also to physically increase space for passengers. The prominent centre stack is beautifully formed with brand new B&O audio, navigation, telephone and ventilation controls. The Vanquish has been made more spacious, principally by moving the facia 20mm away from the occupants and reducing it’s volume. This has liberated more legroom and knee room and by mounting the doors higher, has made more elbow and shoulder room too. Just like the original V12 Vanquish, the new version is available as a 2+0 or optional 2+2 seating. In addition, the boot has been made significantly larger too, a massive 60% larger than the outgoing DBS.

Deliveries began for UK and continental European customers towards the end of 2012, with a UK listed price from £189,995. From 2013, the Vanquish was also available with bespoke enhancements from ‘Q by Aston Martin’.

Announced in August 2014, the 2015MY Vanquish may look virtually the same as the previous model year but under the carbon coachwork the changes are most significant. The most significant update has been the adoption of a new 8 speed gearbox by ZF, the Touchtronic III which allows for gearchanges in as little as 130 m/s. Also the engine, now to AM29 spec has been revised with a little more power and torque but incredibly less emissions and better fuel economy due to the new Bosch engine management system. Quoted top speed rose to 201 mph and the 0 to 60 acceleration times dropped to just 3.6 seconds mostly due to a final drive ratio of 2.73:1. Aston Martin engineers also worked to produce an all-new torque tube to transfer power from the AM29 engine to the Touchtronic III gearbox. It’s unique new outer case design produced a 2kg weight saving whilst reducing driveline noise and vibration felt by passengers.

The show car also had a road car spec interior using seven Bridge of Weir semi-aniline hides with hand-stitched quilting of a unique design, creating a flowing pattern that evokes a dynamic sense of movement across the seats and headlining, while ‘Z’ embroidery in the headrests and rear parcel shelf added a further flourish. There was also a neat and unique touch to the AM wings badge as the background to the script was picked out in red.

A second pre-production car, shown here sporting the famous 1 AML number plate was also built. This, believed to be the final pre-production prototype, was used during high speed testing at Nardo in Italy. It was photographed as part of the Octane Tour to the 2012 Windsor Concours during September.

Subsequently the second pre-production car was sold by the factory and was rebuilt by Aston Martin Works during 2016/2017.

At Monterey in 2013, Aston Martin showed another ‘Q’ Vanquish, inspired by aviation technology and high performance instrumentation. The Satin Jet Black exterior was contrasted with gloss red tinted Carbon-Fibre trim created with fine copper wire within the carbon weave. The interior continued the theme, matching pure black leather and Alcantara trim with details such as the paddleshifts picked out in red and red accented perforated leather seat and door inserts.

The Vanquish Coupe unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show in 2013 boasted an eye-catching stripe of exposed carbon fibre running from nose to tail. With coachwork in Meteorite Silver, the interior has a  contrasting Vivid Red interior, with carbon fibre seen on the facia and gearshift paddles.

The Rapide Carbon Black was based on the 2012MY car and was fully loaded with cost options as standard, some of which had only just been made available. Features of this special edition are as follows

• AML Carbon Black exterior coachwork
• All-Obsidian Black leather with coarse silver stitching
• Full length Piano Black facia and door inserts
• Ventilated front seats, rear seat entertainment, AM wings seat embroidery
• Gloss black painted, diamond turned,20-spoke alloy wheels
• Black callipers, Titanium silver bonnet mesh
• Reversing camera

Production of the V12 Zagato ended midway through 2013 and the number of cars completed fell rather short of the intended total making this particular model one of the rarest and most desirable Aston Martins of recent years. So far as the Aston Martin Heritage Trust Register is aware, only 65 V12 Zagatos were ever built, two race prototypes, two pre-production and 61 production cars. In other words, actually rarer than the contemporary One-77.

Although the car was never intended to be available in the USA, a tiny number of European specification cars have been subsequently exported to the United States by using the ‘Show and Display’ rule

On introduction the UK price including taxes was announced to be £396,000, about double the cost of the regular  V12 Vantage.

Then in 2017, following the partnership with Red Bull, the 2017 Red Bull Formula 1 drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were given a pair of prototype Vanquish Volantes to race around the A1 Ring towing caravans. The fourth photograph is a rare pre-production Vanquish Volante that was on display in the Aston Martin Museum during 2023.

Within Aston Martin, the car was fondly known as ‘Katie’, a reference to the registration number, KX09KTE

In 2013, the car was rebuilt as Aston Martin’s first Hydrogen powered car and again competed at the Nürburgring.

One of the most striking feature of the Centenary Edition Vanquish is the use of unique ‘graduated’ 2-tone paint scheme of Skyfall Silver with inner Meteorite Silver contrast from the front to the back of the car. The unique gradiated paint scheme is achieved by a meticulous process that adds an additional 18 man hours to the painting of the car. The darker inner colour is applied to the panels with a special “mini–jet” spray gun and once applied, the panel is then sanded using a very fine abrasive pad and a fresh coat of lacquer is applied. The panel is then finally sanded and polished to ensure that the line between the light and dark colours is totally smooth to even the lightest touch.

All the Centenary editions receive bespoke sterling silver AM wings badges to a new design featuring additional rays within the wings visible through the transparent enamel. Individually numbered sill plaques of sterling silver with an Aston Martin hallmark are also fitted.

The interior is finished in Deep-soft Obsidian Black Leather, previously only available of the One-77. It is similar to semi-aniline hide but goes through a more labour-intensive and exclusive process and dried naturally compared to normal semi-aniline that is forced dried. This makes the leather much softer and richer in its feel.

Detailed specification of the Centenary Vanquish is as follows:-

• 2014MY Vanquish
• ‘Graduated’ 2-tone paint scheme of Skyfall Silver with Meteorite Silver across bonnet and boot lid
• Also available as single tone Skyfall Silver or single tone Meteorite Silver
• Also available in single tone Lightning Silver (Middle East),  single tone Dana Point White (China) and 2-tone Centenary White (Middle East)
• 20-spoke Gloss Black Diamond Turned Wheels
• Black Textured Tailpipe
• Black Bonnet and Side Strake Meshes
• Black Front Grille
• Grey Brake Calipers
• Unpainted Carbon Fibre Roof Panel
• Deep-soft Black Obsidian Leather with silver stitching
• Silver thread embroidery of Aston Martin wings in the headrests
• Grey Blend Alcantara Headlining
• Obsidian Black Carpet and Binding
• Pure Black Alcantara Seat Accent and Door Insert
• Black One-77 Steering Wheel with Silver Stitch
• Carbon Fibre Paddleshift
• Carbon Fibre Herringbone facia
• Black Hardware Pack
• Satin Chrome Rotary Switches
• 1000W B&O sound system
• Customer Presentation Box with gifts

When announced, the edition was limited to a maximum of 100 cars; it is now believed that only 85 were eventually delivered to customers worldwide, mostly in the ‘Graduated’ 2-tone paint scheme.