????福特（Ford）、捷豹（Jaguar）和阿斯頓馬丁（Aston Martin）看起來好像是三家不相關的汽車公司，但實際上它們背后站著兩個相同的設計師，他們為這三個品牌設計的車身外觀已經各自沿襲了20多年。不過我們熟悉的阿斯頓馬丁的外觀風格可能就要 “變臉”了。隨著阿斯頓馬丁公司與其它公司建立新的合作關系，同時宣布將投產一條新的跑車生產線，它預計也將迎來一系列變化。作為一款近乎完美的英式肌肉車，2015款的阿斯頓馬丁V12 Vantage S跑車在外觀上是否將成為20多年來阿斯頓馬丁標志性風格的謝幕之作？

????1987年，福特汽車公司購入阿斯頓馬丁公司部分股份時，后者正處于瀕臨崩潰的邊緣。當時還是一名初級設計師的嚴凱倫正在一家咨詢公司工作，福特聘請了嚴凱倫所在的公司來拯救這塊搖搖欲墜的招牌。嚴凱倫為阿斯頓馬丁設計的一款車型，也就是后來憑《007》名噪全球的DB7，果然起到了挽狂瀾于既倒的效果，讓阿斯頓馬丁重新站穩了腳跟。時間快進到2001年，阿斯頓馬丁的設計總監已經變成了知名設計師、未來派混合動力豪車生產商亨里克?菲斯克（Henrik Fisker）。菲斯科對阿斯頓馬丁的最大貢獻，是將嚴凱倫的設計改進為一輛V8發動機的Vantange跑車。在二人的合力下，開發出了今天為我們熟知的標志性的“阿斯頓”風格。

????2015款阿斯頓馬丁V12 Vantage S繼承了這個品牌的經典外觀，同時將性能推向了極致。它也是阿斯頓馬丁推出的一臺標準的英式肌肉車。這個車型的價格區間定位在20萬美元左右，預計將與保時捷Turbo S和梅賽德斯奔馳S63 AMG爭雄，不過阿斯頓馬丁在這個細分市場向來游刃有余。以18.5萬美元的起價來看，V12 Vantage S的定位可以說是很不錯的。

????阿斯頓馬丁選擇旗下體型最小的入門級跑車Vantage作為原型，減掉33磅的重量，然后安裝了一部高達565馬力的V12引擎，打造出這樣一部令人目炫神搖的“神車”。它是阿斯頓馬丁最快的量產車型（這一點或許只有旗艦車型One-77能勝過它），而且通體上下每一個角落都賺足了回頭率。

????我首先得承認，如果有機會的話我一定要駕駛阿斯頓馬丁。嚴凱倫和菲斯科的設計中有些東西讓我覺得特別有吸引力，或許是前格柵周圍的唇線和尾部的曲線太迷人的緣故。但是一旦你點著了引擎蓋下方那臺V12引擎，它的轟鳴聲幾乎讓我膝蓋發軟。這臺V12引擎的轟鳴就像一臺專業賽車，但又帶著一絲英倫范兒的精致和含蓄。

????我的這部測試車在色彩上卻絕不含蓄，它的車漆是一種驚艷奪目的藍色，阿斯頓馬丁公司稱其為“Flugplatz Blue”。Flugplatz在德語里是“飛機場”的意思，它也是對阿斯頓馬丁的賽車傳統以及在有“飛翔之地”的紐伯林賽道進行測試的一種致敬。這個顏色的命名很適當，因為Vantage S跑車足足花了兩年時間在賽道和普通道路上進行測試。2013年，一輛接近量產的車型還參加了全球最有挑戰性的賽事之一——紐伯林24小時拉力賽。

????Ford, Jaguar and Aston Martin are seemingly unrelated car companies, but they’re unified by a pair of designers whose iconic look has carried through each brand over the last 20 years. That look could soon be coming to an end for Aston Martin. New business deals and a recent announcement of investment in a new sports car line, promise change for the company. Could the 2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S, the nearly perfect British muscle car, be one of the last of the iconic Aston shape?

????When Ford F -0.66% purchased a stake in Aston Martin in 1987, it was on the precipice of collapse. At that time designer Ian Callum, a former junior designer at the American automaker, was working for a consulting company Ford had hired to revitalize the struggling brand. His resulting design, the DB7, a car made famous by James Bond, helped Aston get back on its feet. Fast forward to 2001, when designer and future hybrid luxury car manufacturer Henrik Fisker became the design director for Aston Martin. Fisker is credited with turning Callum’s design into the V8 Vantage, and together, they developed the characteristic Aston Martin look as we know it today.

????The 2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S takes that classic look and pushes it to an extreme level of performance. It is Aston Martin’s equivalent of a British muscle car. Designed to appeal to sports car buyers with around $200,000 to spend, the V12 Vantage S is positioned amongst the likes of the Porsche Turbo S and the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG, and it plays well in this group. With a base price starting around $185,000, the V12 Vantage S is well positioned .

????Aston took its smallest, entry-level sports car, the Vantage, lightened it by 33 pounds, and dropped a 565 horsepower V-12 engine into it to create the mind-bendingly gorgeous V12 Vantage S. It is Aston Martin’s fastest series production model yet, with the exception of the One-77, and every bit the head-turner.

????Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I would pedal an Aston Martin if I had to. There is just something about the classic design that Callum and Fisker created that I find incredibly appealing. Maybe it’s the lipstick lines around the front grill and the curve of the hip, but when you add the rumble of a V12 engine under the bonnet (no, it’s not a hood in British parlance), it makes me positively weak in the knees. The V12 Vantage S offers the roar of a track car, with a bit of British refinement and reserve.

????My test car, however, was not exactly reserved in the color department. It was a beautifully blinding blue that Aston calls “Flugplatz Blue.” Flugplatz is German for “airfield” and a nod to Aston Martin’s racing heritage and a section of track on the Nurburgring known as “the flying place.” The color is aptly named, as the Vantage S spent two years in testing, both on track and off, and a near-production model competed in one of the most grueling races in the world in 2013; the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.