Aston Martin again reinforced the new direction the company is taking by unveiling a spectacular concept car that is destined to become the most significant model in the company’s 89-year history. Previously codenamed AM305, the Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage is the basis for a smaller third Aston Martin model, due to be launched in 2005, and will sit alongside the DB7 and the flagship Vanquish. The AMV8 Vantage will be hand-assembled at Aston Martin’s state-of-the-art production facility at Gaydon, in the United Kingdom, which is currently under construction. The name Vantage – which will also be adopted for the production version - was chosen due its long historic links with Aston Martin. This time it’s a specific model name rather than denoting a high performance version. The AMV8 Vantage is a tailored two-seater sports car that retains a front mid-engine/rear-wheel drive layout. Its design work was undertaken by Henrik Fisker, Aston Martin’s Design Director, and his key objective was to produce a thoroughly modern Aston Martin. Another aim was to ensure that the interior layout and equipment were unique to Aston Martin and could be easily carried over into the production car.
