Aston Martin Vantage V12 S fit for a 007

The next James Bond car is ready for action, thanks to a renewed performance push from Aston Martin. The British brand has just fired up the Vantage V12 S, a supercar with 423 kilowatts of power and a top speed of 330 km/h - with a pricetag likely to sit some way beyond $400,000.

The extreme machine comes as Aston racks up racing successes around the globe but struggles to build sales and break away from the perception that it builds too many cars with similar looks and similar appeal.

It has also failed in its efforts to find a ‘big brother’ for future development work, despite attempting to forge a link to AMG Mercedes-Benz.

The performance of the new Vantage flagship is only topped by Aston's super-costly and super-rare One-77, a carbon fibre speed machine with a pricetag beyond $1.5 million. Only a single One-77 made it to Australia.

The V12 S is already confirmed for local owners in 2014, replacing the existing V12 Vantage, although there are few other details.

“Yes, it's coming. It will be early next year and in limited numbers,” the newly-appointed head of Aston Martin in Australia, Kevin Wall, tells Carsguide. He says it's too early to talk dollars but is clear on the car's appeal.

“The price will be decided closer to the release. It will be primarily for existing Aston clients, although it will appeal to those looking for the kind of car that James Bond would drive.”

Aston Martin says the V12 S picks up technology from its racing program, including a tweaked 6-litre V12 engine that even comes with a shorter, lighter and louder exhaust similar to the One-77. It has better low-down response with 510 Newton-metres from just 1000 revs.

The car's robotised manual transaxle is lighter and makes sharper shifts, there are three-stage adaptive dampers in the suspension, quicker power steering is fitted and is drive adjustable for feel, there are new 10-spoke alloys and even a black-painted roof that extends down into the bootlid.

“It is extreme in its nature. Learning from our successes on the track feeds the development of this type of car and I'm proud to launch such an exciting sports car in this, our centenary year,” says the chief executive of Aston Martin, Ulrich Bez.

“It is our most powerful engine in a beautifully tailored suit. It is elegant, yet brutal.” Visually, the car gets aluminium vanes in its new-look grille but there are few other changes beyond the seats - including a carbon fibre sports choice - and an optional carbon fibre dress-up pack for the cabin.

But the good news on the Vantage S is offset in Australia by a safety recall of around 90 Aston Martins sold between May 2012 and April this year.

They need to be checked for a potentially faulty accelerator pedal, which could fracture and leave the driver with an engine at idle. There have been six reported failures overseas. The models involved are the V8 and V12 Vantage, DB9, Virage and Rapide S.

This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover