Report: Aston Martin V12 Vantage not ruled out for U.S.

Aggressive carbon fiber louvres, a bold engine note and the sheer speed of the thing are all that's needed to distinguish the Aston Martin V12 Vantage from its V8 sister, but sadly the super-coupe is only destined for showrooms outside the U.S. Why? Apparently the car’s low volumes, expected to be 1,000 units all up, means it’s too expensive to justify designing it to meet tough U.S. crash safety laws.

However, according to MotorTrend, Aston Martin is yet to rule out the car for U.S. sale and with an open top Roadster on its way things may change. If demand is strong enough and the business case supports it, Aston Martin is willing to sell the car in U.S. showrooms but how long that may take is still up in the air.

One of the biggest hurdles is the front-end passenger safety of the car. Shoehorning the DBS’ 510hp (380kW) 6.0L V12 engine into the compact engine bay of the Vantage has eaten away at space usually reserved for crumple zones and pedestrian crash protection requirements. The car is also available exclusively with carbon-fiber shell seats and this apparently fails to meet U.S. safety regulations as well.

For full details on the V12 Vantage, check out our release story here.