New V12 era marks return of legendary Vanquish name
“The flagship car, which went into production late last year, is $337,300 worth of unadulterated sex. And the war cry of the V12 at 7,000 rpm is primeval.”2002 Vanquish
“If there exists on Earth a more sensuous mechanical sound than that produced by a V12 motor, I don’t think my heart could stand it. Under a heavy foot, the engine thunders its might as the speedometer spins its way to unlawful limits in hurried, linear fashion.”2005 DB9
“Aston Martin’s tweaked-for-2015 Vanquish sports car (has a) V12 just waiting for the prod of the throttle and the flick of the paddle shifter to unleash 568 hp in an exhaust-tuned aria that would make motor heads of all ages weep with joy … And the sound that only this 6.0-litre V12 can trumpet, a war-like whoop that lingers in the air long after the car has rocketed off into the distance.2015 Vanquish
“As for the sound blasting from the dual exhausts — if there is a more joyful noise emanating from an engine other than a V12, I don’t want to know it, especially when Sport or Sport+ modes are engaged. And the crackles and pops when backing off the gas are a mechanical symphony one can enjoy all day long.”2019 DB11 AR
What powers the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish?
A warning: There will be no pretense of objectivity here. I have been an Aston Martin fanboy for more than 20 years, an ardent admirer of the sleek shapes that are the hallmark of its classically designed front-engined, rear-drive sports cars — and more specifically, the auditory sensation of V12-powered models comprising the storied British automaker’s stunningly sensual and exclusive offerings. Here today, overloading my cerebral cortex with impure thoughts of vehicular hooliganism, is the brand’s halo model, proclaimed nothing less than “the most potent flagship” in its 111-year history. The one marking the comeback, after a six-year absence of the legendary Vanquish name, replete with — be still my beating heart — a twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12. With eight hundred and twenty-four horsepower! A zero to 100 km/h blast to 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 214 miles per hour (344 km/h), Aston casually drops, make this 2025 two-seater Vanquish the fastest “series production” car it has ever built, with fewer than 1,000 examples to leave the factory each year.
A V12 engine sans hybridization or electrification? Alex Long, director of product and market strategy for Aston Martin, says the company set out to create a sports car worthy of the Vanquish name. “It might be unexpected that we invest in a new V12 at this point in time,” he says. “However, the market has not changed in its demand for high displacement, multi-cylinder engines, in particular when they are added to very, very special products. Which is why we will reserve the V12 for the Vanquish.”
I could bore you with engine techno-babble that only the most hardcore of engineering wonks will truly appreciate, but let’s just cut it back to cover the essentials: V12 hardware for this Aston Martin-designed unit include a strengthened cylinder block and connecting rods, redesigned cylinder heads incorporating re-profiled camshafts, plus new intake and exhaust ports. Repositioned spark plugs and higher-flow fuel injectors optimize combustion for performance and efficiency gains. In addition, new higher speed, reduced-inertia turbochargers deliver increased performance and throttle response.
Oh, and a new Boost Reserve function, allowing for more immediate power delivery, particularly beneficial for overtaking poky transport trucks, delivery vans, tourist buses and the just plain slow, as well as assisting — shall we say “sporting” — driving. What it does is increase turbo boost pressure above what would normally be required for any given part-throttle position, so it is ready to go when full power is needed. This is done during partial throttle demands — imperceptibly to the driver, notes Aston Martin — by balancing the throttle flap position (to restrict the intake flow), and the “intelligent” wastegate in the turbo (to fine tune the increased intake pressure) to match what the driver expects. When full power is demanded, the throttle releases the accumulated boost pressure for immediate response.
The 12-cylinder is bolted to an ZF eight-speed automatic transmission — not a DCT — which in turn is paired with, for the first time on an Aston Martin front-engine V12 sports car, an electronic limited-slip differential (e-diff). This e-diff is integrated into the electronic stability program (ESP), providing a direct link to the car’s dynamic behaviour and allowing wheel slip to be managed across the rear axle to optimize traction no matter the road conditions.
Unlike a conventional mechanical limited slip diff, this e-diff can transition from fully open to 100 per cent locked in 135 milliseconds, says Simon Newton, director of vehicle performance. Combined with the latest ESP technology, this significantly improves the car’s cornering capability, providing greater agility in low- and medium-speed turns, while offering greater control “in oversteer and high-speed lane change conditions.” This “shortens” the Vanquish in tighter corners by giving it more rotational response to steering inputs, while keeping it stable and composed when charging sweeping curves. It is also more effective, he says, when dealing with icy, snowy, or rain-covered road surfaces.
In developing the 2025 Vanquish, Aston Martin’s brief was “to create a flagship with nothing less than ‘crushing’ capability; a sports car that feels effortlessly relaxing and secure on long drives, with the ability to tackle all road types in GT mode.” Which it truly does. Yet, when one wishes to up the performance aspect, there’s still the more aggressive Sport and Sport+ damper modes.
All three modes were investigated on the island of Sardinia, a favoured location of Aston Martin to investigate the upper limits of its product line. With mountains, beaches, numerous entertaining roads of a serpentine nature, and a universal disregard of the painfully slow posted speed limits by locals and visitors alike, the Vanquish was in its element. No, not with attempts to approach maximum speed, but an exploration of its ride and responsiveness, and an acid test of the increases Aston Martin made to the long (4,890 millimetres in length) sports car’s body stiffness.
Certainly, the automaker didn’t bring a knife to a gunfight. Bilstein DTX dampers — first seen on the DB12 — has been introduced to the V12 flagship, allowing a significant variance between the drive modes. Ultra-fast damper response times ensure that GT mode maintains a composed ride while still delivering the ability to rock the twisties. Switching the dial to Sport and Sport+ modes ramps up response and tighter body control to a degree that seemed to “shorten” its length and reduce its 1,774-kilogram weight to that of a much smaller sports car. Hairpins and decreasing-radius corners were dispatched at speed with nary a second thought, the larger-diameter anti-roll bars stiffening the chassis and keeping the Vanquish on a flat plane.
The company notes that the electric power-assisted steering (EPAS) has been recalibrated, with a focus on delivering better on-centre steering feel, thanks to variable, speed-sensitive assistance and 2.27 turns lock-to-lock. In GT drive mode and under normal driving conditions, weighting is balanced, switching to Sport or Sport+ results in a heavier and more dynamic feel.
The ZF automatic does a fine job of downshifting when approaching corners at speed but flicking the paddle shifters amplifies control over the car. And while a well-timed downshift or two scrubbed a lot of extra speed before entering a turn, a slight touch of the Vanquish carbon-ceramic brakes when trail braking ensured a tidier line. Comprising 410-mm discs up front and 360 mm at the rear, the setup delivered superior stopping results, not to mention a significant reduction in unsprung weight (-27 kg compared to cast-iron brakes), which also benefits ride quality and improves handling.
Putting maximum rubber on the road, Vanquish features 21-inch forged alloy wheels on bespoke lighter-weight Pirelli P Zero tires — 275/35 up front and 325/30 at the back — as standard.
Like its DB12 and Vantage siblings, the Vanquish is built around a bonded aluminum body with double wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear suspension. Additional underbody stiffening provides a 75 per cent increase in lateral stiffness over Aston Martin’s previous flagship, the DBS 770 Ultimate.
While the Vanquish is not a race car but a high-speed, high-dollar grand tourer, its capabilities are prodigious. But what of its engine sound, in previous iterations a siren song leading to temptation? It’s become more polished, less raw, even when switching the drive mode or using the dedicated exhaust button. Sure, there is a change from the refined V12 tone in GT mode to a bolder, more assertive sound when Sport and Sport+ modes are selected, but the war-like scream of its predecessor has been replaced by a richer baritone — more opera great Dmitri Hvorostovsky, less Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
And, yes, the Vanquish’s teardrop shape still invokes unabashed lust, but it’s become busier, thanks to the big V12 under the hood that needs a lot of air to keep it cool. The traditional vaned grille is still there, with an appreciably larger aperture. New outer bumper vents channel air around the nose and into the front wheel arches to assist with brake cooling. Two very noticeable F1-inspired louvres are embedded in the sculpted hood as are distinctive side strakes. At the back is a Kamm flip-up tail, serving to reduce speed-sapping drag.
A pure styling element of the rear end is the “Shield,” which has been designed to appear as though it is floating at the rear of the car. This panel proudly displays the Aston Martin name. Completing the back-end treatment is a full-width diffuser, which manages low-pressure airflow beneath the Vanquish for improved high-speed stability.
2025 Aston Martin Vanquish interior
Designed purposefully as a two-seat flagship, the Vanquish receives a model-specific interior layout (the tester swathed in vibrant blue leather), with the centre console lowered into a horizontal plane that, along with the scalloped door panels, optimize space around the upper body, ensuring arms are not hindered when working the steering wheel. A subtle bright chrome horizon line replaces the traditional stitch line across the dashboard.
All key driver controls are centrally mounted, keeping the frequently used functions within easy reach. Physical switches, rollers, and buttons are retained for the key mechanical operations of gear and drive selection, heating and ventilation. There are also override switches for chassis, ESP, exhaust, lane assist, and park distance control, ensuring the most used controls can be operated intuitively without the need to take eyes off the road.
Meanwhile the fully digital 10.25-inch TFT driver display has been designed to deliver clear information and offer custom display configurations. The Pure Black touchscreen system features online connectivity with single- and multi-finger gesture control. The screen provides user control for all infotainment, climate, and general vehicle settings.
The Vanquish now gets Aston Martin’s next-generation infotainment, an entirely proprietary system developed in-house from scratch. Supplemented by a new mobile phone app that supports Apple iOS and Android devices, it allows interaction, control, and feedback to and from the customer’s Vanquish via their personal device.
Interestingly, the debut of the Vanquish comes mere weeks after Ferrari unveiled its latest supercar, the 12Cilindri, powered by a normally aspirated, 819-hp 12-cylinder. The pundits will draw their own conclusions, but for the record the Ferrari is lighter and quicker to 100 km/h, while the Vanquish has a higher top speed. And for those flush with cash and the desire to own something 99.9 per cent of us can only dream about, the Vanquish’s $514,800 list price (before the obligatory customization that will undoubtedly follow) undercuts the Ferrari by about $40K.
I will let Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin executive chairman, have his turn, because I struggle to say it any better. “A true halo model in every respect, Vanquish makes an emphatic statement. One that further delivers on our mission to create the most potent, most beautiful and most exciting cars in the ultra-luxury sports car market.”
Gloriously, proudly excessive, this is a car that deserves yearning.
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