The Vanquish and Its V-12 Will Save Aston Martin: First Drive Review

Aston Martin is in desperate need of a flagship. The DB12 and the Vantage are great cars with lots of style, but they don’t exactly have the same vibes as Astons past. Their borrowed V-8 engines aren’t nearly as awe-inspiring as Aston’s iconic V-12s.  Enter the new Vanquish.

The Vanquish you see here isn’t the mid-engine, V-6 hybrid-powered marvel promised by Aston in 2019, but rather, a front-engine two-seater powered by a twin-turbo V-12 designed in-house, complete with striking carbon-fiber bodywork, and gobs of speed and grip. On paper, it sounds like a fitting bearer of the Vanquish name. And after a brief first test, it’s clear this car is worthy of sitting at the top of Aston Martin’s lineup.

When the last Vanquish exited the market in 2019, it cost $296,475. This new one costs $123,000 more—or an entire Porsche 911 on top of the old car. Thankfully, that money has gone to useful places. Just because Aston gave up on developing the mid-engine Vanquish doesn’t mean it half-assed this one. Every inch of the car is changed in some way.

The front-rear drivetrain layout doesn’t change in the transformation from DB12 to Vanquish, but the wheelbase increases by 3.1 inches—between the front axle and A-pillars—to fit the bigger engine and allow designers to resculpt the car’s lines. There are a handful of distinctions that make the Vanquish stand out amongst the lineup—the grille is the largest of any Aston, the carbon side plates allow air to vent from the fenders, and there are hood vents to promote clean airflow on top of the car. The louvers inside those vents are borrowed from the design found on Aston’s F1 car, according to head designer Marek Reichman.

The biggest visual change comes at the rear, where Aston’s incorporated a Kamm tail-like flat face the company describes as “ruthlessly abrupt.” The design incorporates upright, slatted tail lights into either end, giving the Vanquish a uniquely purposeful, racy vibe over its lesser siblings. Don’t like the clashing carbon fiber? The panel can be painted in matching body color, if you prefer. 

Pros: Exquisite Design, Triumphant V-12 Engine, Exceptional Handling For A Two-Ton Car

Despite all the obvious changes, we suspect only eagle-eyed enthusiasts will be able to spot a Vanquish right away. Sadly, the average onlooker will likely be challenged to tell it apart from the Vantage or the DB12, especially from a distance. That’s the price of a shared front-engine layout and corporate grille shape. 

Nonetheless, the Vanquish is a beautiful machine. It’s physically imposing and very long, poised and elegant without ever coming off as brash or ostentatious—something only an Aston Martin could pull off.

It’s much easier to identify a Vanquish through the sound of its exhaust. Aston says the 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 is essentially all-new, sharing only dimensions with the outgoing design found in the DBS Superleggera. The block is new, as are all of the internals. The turbos are actually smaller than before, to promote response and reduce lag. Despite restrictive exhausts and ever-tightening regulations in the EU, Aston Martin somehow managed to squeeze gargantuan numbers from this thing: 820 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque.

Brian Silvestro / Motor1

Brian Silvestro / Motor1

The new Vanquish is stupidly quick as a result. We only got a few hours of driving, mostly on a collection of tight mountain roads on the island of Sardinia. Regardless of the relatively long 2.93 final drive ratio—in place to reach a top speed of 214 miles per hour—the engine had no trouble responding to quick, varied throttle inputs between and through small radius corners. The few big, open sections of roadway seemed to disappear in an instant, the V-12 delivering dump trucks of torque and power from idle all the way to its 7,000-rpm redline. We don’t doubt that top-speed claim for a second.

Unleashing over 800 hp to the rear wheels sounds like a recipe for unlimited tire smoke, but Aston implemented a torque-by-gear system that bends the torque curve depending on the drive mode and current gear. This way the Vanquish doesn’t immediately melt the rear tires to bits if you slam down on the throttle at low speeds. Switching between the default GT and Sport modes highlights the differences, with a smoother, more linear ramp-up in the softer mode versus the sportier settings. It makes the car far more approachable, especially if you’re not used to something with this much raw power.

The only thing more satisfying than the immense power delivery is the engine’s excellent soundtrack. Any V-12 is a special thing, but this one surprised with its particularly sonorous note, considering the turbos, and particulate filters necessary for EU regulations. Sure, Aston’s V-8s sound great too, but they can’t ever hope to match the noise from these pipes. This sound elevates the Vanquish in a way no design cue or power number can. In a growing sea of twin-turbo V-8 performance cars, the V-12 makes the Vanquish a truly exceptional thing.

Brian Silvestro / Motor1

Brian Silvestro / Motor1

This grand tourer can handle corners, too. Aston managed to keep weight distribution fairly centered despite the bigger engine, at 50.6 percent front to 49.4 percent rear. While that’s not as good as a DB12, it’s enough to extract real joy through twisty sections of tarmac. Where some competitors strive for ultimate lightness, the Vanquish’s steering has a pleasant heft to it, making it easy to dial in the front end. There’s a nice agility to the rear, too, thanks to an electronic limited-slip differential allocating torque to the outside wheel to promote rotation. It all happens fairly naturally, too, so it doesn’t feel like the computers are doing all the work.

Head to head, the smaller Vantage is probably a bit nicer to drive thanks to its lighter nose and shorter wheelbase. But it’d be tough to notice any real difference unless you drove them back to back. All things equal, I’d rather have the Vanquish. It just feels way more special thanks to that V-12.

Instead of developing a new dual-clutch to match the Vanquish’s closest competitor, the Ferrari 12Cilindri, Aston went with a version of ZF’s venerable eight-speed automatic. It’s a great transmission, snapping off shifts on demand from the steering wheel-mounted paddles as quickly as something like a BMW M3. But it’s missing that last layer of sharpness you’d expect from a car at this level. In most scenarios, it’s just as good as a DCT from Ferrari or Porsche, but every so often, it’ll deny a shift or deliver a cog change a fraction of a second slower than you expect.

Brian Silvestro / Motor1

Cons: Transmission Can’t Keep Up With Dual-Clutch Competitors, Some Switchgear Feels Cheap

The cabin, too, is mostly superb. It’s a gigantic leap forward from the last-gen, with a premium design language and lots of nice materials. Finally, the Vanquish is a flagship Aston that doesn’t feel like a parts-bin special on the inside. Still, some of the steering wheel controls feel cheap and flimsy. Better than a DBS, yes, but still not as good as the inside of a Bentley Continental GT.

Buyers probably won’t care, though. They likely have a Conti (or three) already, and just want something more special to add to their collection. The Vanquish fills that niche perfectly, leaning further into the sports-car side of things than the Bentley while delivering a sound few cars can match. 

A starting price of $429,000 for any front-engine Aston sounds ridiculous, but to the people lining up to buy them, the price doesn’t matter. They’re paying for the exclusivity—Aston plans to limit production to 1,000 units per year—the looks, the noise, and the clout. The lovely driving experience is just the cherry on top.

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Brian Silvestro / Motor1 / Aston Martin