An AutoNotion photographer recently captured some photos of what looks like an Aston Martin Vantage at first glance — then you notice how absolutely bonkers this thing is. This thing has eight exhaust pipes.
Believed to be the upcoming Aston Martin Vantage RS, this is no ordinary Vantage. There’s an aggressive rear wing and those brightly colored brake calipers. This is sure to be a high performance version of the already pretty high performance Vantage, but does it really need those eight exhaust pipes?
The mystery of the eight exhaust pipes
The test mule of the Aston Martin Vantage RS is a bit of a mystery. The added features on the back point to this being a more extreme version of the Vantage, but we are not quite sure what’s new underneath it all.
The current Vantage has a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that produces up to 670 horsepower, allowing it to reach 60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 202 mph. Already pretty impressive. But we expect the RS to top that. While the wing is a nice addition, the front and sides are largely the same — why make a model that’s nearly identical? There’d be no point unless there was something happening beyond its look, likely within the powertrain.
However, what would need eight exhaust pipes? The Vantage RS we spied on had two exhaust pipes in each corner — per usual — but then four more in the middle. Yes, four more. It would seem like Aston Martin is planning something crazy, but it’s more than likely that the four in the middle aren’t functional.
There is only one other car that features that many exhaust pipes: the Bugatti Tourbillon Equipe Pur Sang, a customized $4 million-plus hypercar with a 1,775-horsepower hybrid V16 engine.
I highly doubt the Vantage RS will have a V16 engine in need of eight exhaust pipes. The current Vantage has a V8, but Aston Martin has been committed to finding ways to keep the V12 alive until 2030. Could the Vantage RS fit a V12?
“There’s always opportunities and we’re still looking at how can we extend the life of 12-cylinder [engines] through emissions development activity as we speak. But end of the decade is pretty much the end of 12-cylinder [engines] as we currently see,” Adrian Hallmark, global CEO of Aston Martin, told The Drive.
Seems a bit unlikely to even get the Vantage RS to a V12, let alone a V16. Maybe it’s to throw us off.
Well, if you look closely, you’ll notice that the center exhaust pipes don’t have the same finish as the four on the outside. More than likely, the Vantage RS will have the four center exhaust pipes for a new central exhaust system. The outer ones were probably left on from the previous model. It makes sense when you see that the rest of the car doesn’t look all that polished either. It’s still a very early look at the Vantage RS.
This was our first time seeing the car, and it definitely left an impression, trick or not.
There is currently no release date for the Aston Martin Vantage RS, but we’ll be on the lookout for more information about those exhaust pipes.
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