Spy photographers caught a hardcore Aston Martin Vantage prototype lapping the Nürburgring wearing a race-style aero kit that leaves little doubt the British brand is building a track-focused RS variant aimed squarely at Porsche’s most extreme 911, according to spy shots of the prototype in what appears to be production-ready form.

Key Points

• The test car wore a far more aggressive front grille with multiple ducts in place of the standard mesh, plus large brake-cooling vents and a pronounced front splitter with end plates, per the spy-shot analysis.
• Widened front fenders with extractor vents, a fixed rear wing with a gurney flap, and a heavily reworked rear diffuser with centrally mounted exhaust outlets were all visible on the prototype.
• An earlier prototype spotted at the same circuit ran an unusual eight-exhaust-pipe layout — two per corner plus four more down the center — a setup The Drive speculated could be leftover hardware from a prior test or simply there to throw off cameras.
• A separate roadster version of the hardcore car has also been spotted testing at the Nürburgring, with a notably lower driving position and design elements borrowed straight from the Porsche 911 GT3 RS playbook, according to a detailed breakdown of the roadster prototype.
• Aston Martin has made no official statement confirming the car’s name, powertrain, or launch date.

What’s Confirmed So Far

The standard Vantage currently uses a Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 656 to 670 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. The most detailed spy-shot analysis of the RS prototype points to a hotter, 48-volt mild-hybrid version of that same V8 pushing output past 700 horsepower, paired with a recalibrated eight-speed ZF automatic, rather than a wholesale switch to a different engine architecture, per autoevolution’s reporting. That’s notable context: Aston Martin built a run of exactly 333 V12 Vantage cars in 2022 and, at the time, its own executives described that model as the deliberate close of the V12 Vantage bloodline — which is why enthusiast chatter about a V12 comeback for this RS program remains speculation rather than anything close to confirmed.

What is confirmed is the intent. The aerodynamic package — deep front splitter, wide fenders, GT3-style rear wing, redesigned diffuser — mirrors the formula Porsche uses on its most track-focused 911 variants, and the car is being validated at the same circuit where Porsche and Aston Martin both chase lap times for their halo models. Carbon-ceramic brakes and adaptive Bilstein dampers have also been spotted on the test mules, according to the same reporting.

Timeline

Both coupe and roadster versions of the hardcore Vantage are expected to be unveiled by spring 2027, with customer deliveries following that summer. Until Aston Martin issues an official announcement, exact power figures, the car’s final name, and pricing remain unconfirmed.