2025 Aston Martin Vanquish does many, but not all, things brilliantly. But what you all probably care about most is what’s under the hood. Someone go and check what year it is, because Aston has equipped the new flagship GT with a completely overhauled 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12; no hybrid engine, no all-wheel drive, no rear seat, 824 horsepower.

The hand-assembled car’s existence as a 2025 model year vehicle is an achievement in itself, and Aston even says the V12 will be available “at least until the end of the decade.” Remember when we thought electric vehicles would become mainstream by 2030 because governments all said they would? It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you’re a boutique automaker that really only needs to answer one question. billionaire Netflix villain with one seemingly unlimited budget and the desire to go fast. Really fast.

Basic Information

As a result, the Vanquish is a grander DB12, both figuratively and literally; It is 80 mm longer between the front axle and the A-pillars to accommodate the extra cylinders. Stylistically, this is a stunner.

A larger grille, One-77-style headlights, F1-inspired bonnet louvers, 21-inch forged bronze wheels that tickle the BBS fan in me, and tasteful use of carbon fiber combine to make the Vanquish one of the best-looking cars being made today. Meanwhile, the carbon panel at the rear of the Cyclops can be coated in body color for a more traditional look, while small protruding bars form the taillights, just like the taillights. Vulcan.

The outsides of the doors and the sides of the body are made of carbon fiber to reduce weight, but my favorite bit of carbon might be the side fairings that say “V12” and “Aston Martin V12” in red behind the front wheels. Just to let you know that this means business. These are beautiful, there is no other way to express it.

The inside may look very similar to the DB12’s cabin, and the key controls are indeed shared, but the Vanquish feels a step more special thanks to additional carbon bezels below the touchscreen and on the sides of the gauges. Knurled alloys, tan leather, designer cheese grater speaker grilles and restrained use of chrome look, feel and smell expensive. Like all current Astons, the Vanquish is an easy car to understand. A proper infotainment system developed in-house features wireless Apple CarPlay and is accompanied by a multitude of hard buttons and scroll wheels scattered across both the center console and steering wheel. Bowers & Wilkins’ fifteen speakers sound great and look great, just in case you get tired of listening to what lurks under the carbon hood.

The seats are supportively comfortable, the driving position feels right, and the steering wheel has a satisfyingly meaty feel. The standard full glass roof is always transparent but features a 6% tint and anti-UV coating to prevent the cabin from turning into an oven.

As one element, all the parts of the Vanquish come together to create a car that feels truly stylish and truly special. But in true Aston Martin style, this polish and quality doesn’t feel overdone or vulgar, avoiding the trap of over-design. A decent amount of $430,000 supercars are designed to be obnoxious, and the Vanquish is not one of them.

Driving Experience

Maybe until you fire it up. A twin-turbo, fire-breathing 5.2-litre V12 may also have powered the outgoing engine DBS Superleggerabut Aston says the one on this Vanquish is almost “all new” as the bore, kick and V-angle are apparently the only transmission elements.

A stronger cylinder block helps the engine breathe better than before. The connecting rods are also new and feature re-profiled camshafts. A new intake and new exhaust ports join a revised water jacket in the cylinder head. Higher flow fuel injectors were installed while the spark plugs were repositioned. Smaller, low-inertia turbos spin faster for better performance and throttle response, while the new exhaust manifold improves catalyst warm-up. The new Boost Reserve function accumulates boost pressure in the background under part throttle and is only released when the accelerator pedal touches the floor.

And unlike Lamborghini There is nothing to talk about a hybrid system in the Revuelto, not even a lightweight 48-volt unit. Likewise, it is not as pure as naturally aspirated. Ferrari 12Cilindri, but I dare you to drive the Vanquish in anger and leave complaining about forced labor.

The Vanquish is set adrift on a long, empty stretch of Sardinian motorway, and there aren’t many other words for it, it’s very fast. Zero to 60 mph in 3.2 might not seem so special in 2024. Nissan The GT-R did the same in 2007, and I don’t recommend turning to serious EVs between the lights. But acceleration from the dig isn’t where this thing excels. It’s all about in-gear acceleration.

This is how fast it accelerates from, say, 50 to 80 mph. This is what happens after 100 mph. After 120. And I must admit, how quickly 150 came and how much he undoubtedly had to give beyond that. Unfortunately, given enough space and encouragement, the Vanquish will hit 350km/h, making it the fastest, most powerful “series-production” Aston Martin road car ever built.

When you step on the gas while it’s already moving, the Vanquish goes crazy. Twelve cylinders, two turbos and over 800 horses fill your ears with lead, making them explode with pulse-altering, license-breaking forward thrust. It is oppressive, it is attention-grabbing, it is excessive, it is wonderfully fast. Somehow it doesn’t feel dangerous Again. Aston has tuned the V12 to reduce its torque, which will excite the billionaires who buy it but aren’t above killing them. After all, they need to be alive and around enough to buy the next V12 Aston Martin.

Standard carbon ceramic brakes are almost 60 pounds lighter than cast iron and provide stopping distances comparable to brakes. Vantage. The new Corner Braking 2.0 system predictably maintains stability during braking by using more rear brakes, allowing for later braking. Track-speed stopping distances and trail braking behavior, you know, require a track to really evaluate, but we didn’t have access to such a track in this initial test. But what I can tell you when driving the Vanquish on the road is that the brakes actually work and work pretty well.

The rear-mounted ZF eight-speed automatic transmission also does its job well when left in automatic mode – Sport mode is ideal for boiling the engine for spirited road drives – but it doesn’t shift very quickly when using the paddles. The electronic limited-slip rear differential is introduced here for the first time on a V12 Aston Martin, helping the Vanquish corner like a much smaller sports car, and it does so surprisingly well.

It’s nimble, almost fast, in switchbacks and has great stability in fast, sweeping corners. The steering feels excellent in terms of weight, ratio and feedback for a car that does double duty as a comfortable tourer and canyon carver, while the chassis feels light but unshakable solid. Bespoke Pirellis provide a firm grip while rocking just enough sidewall for a better ride.

Speaking of which, chill out the Vanquish, it’s a pretty good cruiser too. Bilstein DTX shock absorbers are also seen underneath the Vantage. DB12 (Aston certainly got a big discount on these) it’s set up with a comfort bias here and it’s actually quite comfortable. Let’s say it’s not as grand as something W12 Bentley (RIP) But that car can’t run that fast either.

Early Decision

Perhaps this is a foregone conclusion given its price and place in the Aston Martin hierarchy, but of Gaydon’s three current front-engined sports cars, the Vanquish is definitely my favourite. In my opinion, this is the only vehicle that truly delivers on the company’s “super touring” promise.

Extremely well-balanced and versatile between comfort and sport, it is for me somehow more flexible and useful than the DB12, while still evoking the spirit of the Vantage, exciting on backroads, entertainingly agile. As an item, it also feels, looks and sounds much more attractive and special than both its stablemates.

However, normally Aston Martin Vanquish is a car that makes me a little sad. Because not only does its price start at $429,000, Aston produces a maximum of 1,000 units per year; This accounts for two-thirds of the number of DBS Superleggera produced. So for the vast majority of people, Vanquish is one of those cars that lives on only as an idea.

But when that idea is a two-seat, non-electric, V12 Aston Martin that looks, drives and thrills this well, we’ll take all the ideas we can get.

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