THE most extreme sports car from Aston Martin, the new V12 Vantage S, has been confirmed as the brand's fastest accelerating production model to date - well almost.

Take the limited edition - and sold-out - One-77 hypercar out of the equation and the £138,000 Vantage S is the cream of the crop.

With a 0-60mph sprint time of 3.7 seconds, the supercar also underlines its position as the most potent Vantage in Aston Martin's 100-year history.

Beneath its bonnet is a new 573PS 6.0-litre V12 engine driving the rear wheels through a Sportshift automated manual transmission and capable of reaching 205mph.

Racing technology like machined combustion chambers and hollow cam shafts features throughout a car with dynamics honed on Germany's Nurburgring racetrack.

And three-stage adaptive damping means the driver can more precisely tailor the car's character, the ‘Normal', ‘Sport' and ‘Track' modes also governing the degree of power steering assistance.

Sport mode, controlled via a button on the centre console, alters throttle response, gearshift speed and timing and the exhaust note.

Aston Martin chief Dr Ulrich Bez said: "The new V12 Vantage S brings our winning GT3 race formula to the road. It's a car for those customers who want superior sporting performance in a ‘gentleman's suit'. It's the most pure, yet understated, driving machine we can imagine today."