Aston Martin’s One-Off V12 Vantage RS Comes to Concours of Elegance

The extraordinary Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS will join the line-up at the Concours of Elegance, offering visitors the chance to see a unique piece of Aston Martin special-projects history.

Built by Aston Martin Special Projects in 2007, the car was unveiled at the opening party of Aston Martin’s new design studio at Gaydon. Originally conceived as a concept, only one example was ever produced.

Commissioned by Dr Ulrich Bez, the project had a clear objective: to put Aston Martin’s most powerful engine into its lightest chassis and create the fastest Aston Martin ever produced. The ambition was also to launch a limited number of RS variants to rival other RS marques.

The result was a remarkable machine producing 600bhp and weighing under 1,600kg. With no traction control or ABS, a dry-sump DBRS9 engine and a six-speed manual gearbox, the V12 Vantage RS was an uncompromising interpretation of Aston Martin performance.

Its Mako Blue colour was specially formulated for the car, inspired by the Mako Shark, the quickest shark in the ocean. Every panel, mainly carbon, and the interior are completely unique to this one-off car.

The car famously could not be shaken off by Heinz-Harald Frentzen while he was testing the Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 at Circuit Paul Ricard. Ultimately, the project was deemed too fast for the average driver and remained the only RS ever produced by Aston Martin.

The unique V12 Vantage RS will now take its place at the Concours of Elegance.