So we saw the new Aston Martin Vanquish cold weather testing, and we saw it going through some seriously twisty mountain roads. Now it’s time to go for a ride with Aston test engineers as they hit Sierra Nevada – Spain’s Sierra not California’s – to make sure the new range topping model won’t overheat even when it’s 100 degrees out there and you are driving flat out.

So let’s join Inside line‘s Alistair Weaver as he rides shotgun in the Vanquish, trying to unearth some facts about the car from a suspiciously tight-lipped engineer.

Refresher: The 2013 Aston Martin Vanquish is the replacement for the DBS and uses the same sort of chassis and suspension, as well as the engine. But everything that matters in the way the car feels and drives, have been tweaked. The V12 engine now makes 565 horsepower at 6,750 rpm and 457 pound-feet of torque at 5,500 rpm, and whole car is sharper and stiffer and sportier. The car will makes its American debut at Pebble Beach before going on sale with a price tag in the neighborhood of $300K.