2025 Aston Martin Vanquish First Drive Review: An outstanding V12 super tourer

2025 Aston Martin Vanquish does many, if not all, things brilliantly. But what you’re probably most concerned about is what’s under the hood. Someone go check out what year it is, because Aston has powered its new flagship GT with a thoroughly revised 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V12—no hybrid, no all-wheel drive, no rear seats, 824 horsepower.

The mere existence of this hand-built car as a 2025 model year car is a feat in itself, and Aston even says its V12 engine will stick around “at least until the end of the decade.” Remember how we all thought electric cars would become mainstream around 2030 because governments all said they would? It’s incredible what you can achieve as an automaker that really only has one question to answer. billionaire, Netflix villain With seemingly unlimited budget and the desire to move quickly. Really fast.

Basics

Essentially, the Vanquish is a grander DB12, both figuratively and literally: it’s 80mm longer between the front axle and the A-pillars to accommodate the extra cylinders. In terms of style, it’s amazing.

The large grille, One-77-style headlights, F1-style hood scoops, 21-inch forged bronze wheels that tickle my inner BBS fanboy, and clever use of carbon fiber all come together to make the Vanquish one of the best-looking cars around. is done today. Incidentally, the carbon panel on the rear of the Cyclops can be painted to match the body color for a more traditional look, and small raised stripes form the taillights, much like the Volcano.

The outside of the doors and body sides are made from carbon fiber to save weight, but my favorite carbon element may be the side trims behind the front wheels with “Aston Martin V12” lettering in red. let you know what this means business. It’s just cool, there’s no other way to put it.

Inside, it may look very similar to the DB12’s cabin, and the control keys are indeed generic, but the Vanquish feels a step more special thanks to the additional carbon bezels below the touchscreen and on the sides of the instruments. Knurled alloy wheels, brown leather, designer cheese-grater speaker grilles and discreet use of chrome look, feel and smell expensive. Like every other current Aston, the Vanquish is a car that’s easy to get along with. The proper infotainment system, developed in-house, features wireless Apple CarPlay and features a variety of hard buttons and scroll wheels scattered across both the center console and steering wheel. Fifteen Bowers & Wilkins speakers sound and look great if you ever get tired of hearing what’s under the carbon fiber hood.

The seats are soft, the driving position feels just right, and the steering wheel feels meaty enough to hold onto. The standard all-glass roof is always clear, but has 6% tint and an anti-UV coating to keep the cabin from turning into an oven.

As an item, all the Vanquish parts add up to a car that looks truly unusual and special. However, in true Aston Martin style, this pomp and quality doesn’t feel overdone or tactless, avoiding the trap of over-design. Many $430K supercars are designed to be annoying, and the Vanquish isn’t one of them.

Driving Experience

Until, perhaps, you light it. A fire-breathing 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 may have also powered the outgoing car. DBS Superleggerabut Aston says this Vanquish is virtually “brand new” because bore, stroke and V angle appear to be the only elements carried over.

A stronger cylinder block helps the engine breathe better than before. The connecting rods are also new and include reprofiled camshafts. New intake and exhaust ports join a redesigned water jacket in the cylinder head. The spark plugs were repositioned and the fuel injectors were installed with higher flow rates. Smaller, low-inertia turbos spin faster for better performance and throttle response, while a new exhaust manifold improves catalyst heating. The new Boost Reserve function stores boost pressure in the background at part throttle, only to be released when the accelerator pedal hits the floor.

And unlike Lamborghini Revuelto, there is no talk of any hybrid system, not even a 48-volt mild-block. At the same time, it is not as clean as naturally aspirated. Ferrari 12Cylinders, but I dare you to angrily drive away the Conqueror and leave, complaining about his forced introduction.

Unleashed onto a long empty stretch of Sardinian highway, the Vanquish is, and there’s no other word for it, fast as hell. Getting to 60 mph on the 3.2 might not seem that special in 2024. Nissan The GT-R did the same in 2007, and I don’t recommend inciting serious EVs between the headlights. But acceleration from a standstill isn’t where this thing excels. It’s all about the acceleration in gear.

This is how fast it accelerates to, say, 50-80 mph. This is what happens after 100 mph. After 120. And I dare to admit how quickly 150 arrived and how much more it undoubtedly had to give beyond that. Alas, given enough space and courage, the Vanquish tops out at 214mph, making it the fastest and most powerful production road car Aston Martin has ever made.

If you hit the gas while already moving, the Vanquish will go into a frenzy. Twelve cylinders, two turbos and over 800 horses fill your ears with lead, making them crackle with pulsating, license-destroying forward thrust. It is oppressive, wonderful, excessive, wondrous speed. Somehow it doesn’t feel dangerous Although. Aston has tuned the V12 so that its torque will delight the billionaires who buy it, but not kill them. After all, he needs them alive enough to buy the next V12 Aston Martin.

Standard carbon ceramic brakes are nearly 60 pounds lighter than cast iron and provide stopping distances comparable to Advantage. New Corner Braking 2.0 predictably maintains stability when braking on the highway by applying more rear brakes, allowing you to stop later. Stopping distance at track speeds and braking behavior on the track require, you know, a track to be fully evaluated, but for this first test we didn’t have access to one. But what I can tell you from driving the Vanquish on the road is that the brakes actually work, and work quite well.

The rear-mounted ZF eight-speed automatic transmission also does a good job when left in auto mode—Sport mode is ideal for keeping the engine simmering for spirited road driving—but when using the steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, it doesn’t provide super-quick gear changes. New to the V12 Aston Martin, the electronic rear limited-slip differential helps the Vanquish corner like a much smaller sports car, and it does it amazingly well.

It’s nimble and almost zippy on mountain roads and feels surprisingly stable when negotiating fast, tight corners. The steering feels ideal in terms of weight, ratio and feedback for a car that does double duty as a comfortable tourer and canyoner, while the chassis feels light but consistently strong. The custom Pirellis provide reliable grip and significant sidewall sway for a better ride.

By the way, reassure Vanquish, because it is also a good cruiser. Bilstein DTX shocks can also be seen under the Vantage and DB12 (Aston definitely got a bulk discount on these) they’re tuned for comfort and are actually quite comfortable. It’s not as luxurious as, say, W12 Bentley (RIP) but this car can’t fuss that much either.

Early verdict

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

Supremely well-balanced between comfort and sport, I find it more flexible and comfortable than the DB12, but still reminiscent of the Vantage spirit, being exciting and fun to maneuver on a country road. As an item, it also feels, looks and sounds much more desirable and special than any of its stablemates.

As a regular Aston Martin Vanquish, however, I find it a little frustrating. Not only does it have a starting price of $429,000, but Aston produces no more than 1,000 units a year, which is two-thirds the number of DBS Superleggera produced. So, for the vast majority of people, the Vanquish is one of those cars that lives simply as an idea.

But when that idea is a two-seat, non-electrified, V12-powered Aston Martin that looks, drives and excites as well as this one, we’ll take every idea we can.

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