• Aston Martin Vanquish packs an 825-hp V-12
  
• Vanquish does not hassle with rear-wheel steering or lively anti-roll bars
• Vanquish could be a calm cruiser or a raucous sports activities automobile
  

Aston Martin introduced the DBS Superleggera in 2018, which seems like a technology in the past within the automotive timeline. Know-how has developed since, but the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish unveiled in 2024 because the DBS Superleggera’s successor principally shrugs it off. It’s a bit of old-school, and it’s higher for it.

In an period when nameplates usually sound like they have been spat out of a random-name generator, Aston Martin resurrects the Vanquish moniker final utilized in 2018. The brand new mannequin replaces the DBS Superleggera, which changed the second-generation Vanquish, which changed the DBS, which changed the first-generation Vanquish…discover a sample? It doesn’t take an immense stretch to think about {that a} Volante roadster is coming, however proper now the Vanquish is coupe-only.

And what a coupe! Though the Vanquish and the DBS Superleggera share proportions, Aston added about three inches to the brand new automobile’s wheelbase by rising the dash-to-axle ratio to intensify the basic GT traces. Design boss Marek Reichman’s group penned a smooth, elegant silhouette that’s unburdened by bench-sized, race car-like wings, but the Vanquish isn’t fairly what I’d name refined. It appears quick even when it’s parked. Nobody goes to imagine there’s a 1.0-liter 3-cylinder beneath the hood. But it surely doesn’t put on “I’m going to punch you within the nostril” styling. Reichman factors out that each design cue is practical: the large grille will increase airflow by 13%, for instance.

Aston Martin Vanquish: V-12 and purity

The carbon-fiber physique’s pure traces set the course for the remainder of the Vanquish. Right here’s what you received’t discover on the specs sheet: a hybrid system, rear-wheel steering, and a head-up show. It’s simply the necessities, together with a giant, front-mid-mounted V-12 and jumbo-sized carbon-ceramic brakes. Like rivals Ferrari and Lamborghini, Aston Martin is preventing to maintain the V-12 alive for so long as doable. It’s not a priority about heritage or a strategy to spotlight its rebellious aspect. It’s extra of a enterprise determination.

Holding the V-12 “displays what our prospects need,” Simon Newton, Aston Martin’s director of car efficiency, informed me. “There’s an actual curiosity within the V-12, and within the basic GT structure of getting an internal-combustion engine and rear-wheel-drive.” He solely needs to embrace expertise when it is sensible. His group thought of utilizing rear-wheel steering however determined it wasn’t obligatory. As a substitute, they tuned the steering for agility at low speeds and leveraged the digital limited-slip rear differential (a primary in a V-12-powered Aston Martin) to dial in sharp dealing with at increased speeds.

It’s not like Aston Martin doesn’t have a smaller engine in its arsenal. Whereas the Vantage and the DB12 use a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 borrowed from Mercedes-AMG and tuned in-house, the Vanquish receives a home-grown twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V-12. Its predecessor ticked this field as effectively, however Newton stresses that his group solely stored the previous engine’s bore, stroke, and V-angle. Engineers up to date nearly every part else to unlock extra energy whereas protecting emissions in examine. The engine block, the connecting rods, and the cylinder heads are among the many new components, and the turbos now spool quicker. The numbers communicate for themselves: the brand new Vanquish delivers 825 hp and 740 lb-ft of torque, up from 715 and 663, respectively, within the regular-production DBS Superleggera. The V-12 spins the rear wheels by way of a rear-mounted 8-speed automated transaxle and a carbon-fiber driveshaft.

The 825-hp output is very large, however it’s the torque that you just really feel first. The V-12 develops its peak horsepower at 6,500 rpm whereas peak torque is on faucet from 2,500-5,000 rpm. It’s joyful hour on the torque counter: the curve is formed like a espresso desk, not like a mountain vary. That provides the Vanquish relentless acceleration that’s solely interrupted by the transmission’s fast, easy shifts.

Aston’s claimed 3.2-second dash from 0-60 mph feels brutally correct. Newton’s rationalization that his engineers solely weave in expertise when there’s a very good cause for it echoes by my thoughts because the street opens up and I speed up from 45 to 75 mph within the blink of a watch. The place’s the turbo lag? There’s a microscopic quantity of it for those who actually need to nitpick, however the brand new Increase Reserve system retains it in examine. Within the model’s phrases, this function “will increase turbo increase stress above what would usually be required for any given part-throttle place, so it is able to go when full energy is required.” You don’t really feel this occurring, it’s not taking away increase to set it apart for later, however you realize it’s there if you flooring it and the engine responds with fireplace alarm-like urgency.

And but, there’s far more to this automobile than numbers.

Aston Martin Vanquish: A grand tourer with a raucous aspect

One of many Vanquish’s finest traits is the nebulous idea of versatility. It’s a grand tourer that’s joyful to cruise at freeway speeds, however it’s additionally thrilled to flaunt its livelier, extra raucous aspect on a twisty street. Supplies reminiscent of carbon fiber and aluminum maintain weight all the way down to an affordable 3,911 kilos, and pushing the engine near the firewall delivers a 51:49 front-rear weight distribution for balanced dealing with. It’s right here that Aston’s less-is-more strategy to expertise shines: the Vanquish stands out as a driver’s automobile.

Adaptive dampers offered by Bilstein and shared with the DB12 and the digital rear differential assist the Vanquish really feel comparatively nimble round sharp bends. That’s severely spectacular as a result of it’s not a small automobile. We’re not speaking about a Mazda Miata. At about 192.5 inches lengthy and 80.4 inches broad excluding the mirrors, it’s roughly 2.5 inches shorter and 4.5 inches wider than a Toyota Highlander. The steering performs a task as effectively: it’s wonderful, each by way of weight and suggestions, and it makes this large GT simple to take pleasure in. Whereas some supercars are boring when pushed at 50% of their capability and intimidating when pushed flat-out, the Vanquish surfs a better-rounded wave. That’s reassuring as a result of the Sardinian roads used for the media drive are sized for compact Fiat hatchbacks, not Aston sports activities vehicles.

It isn’t completely old-school. Just like the overwhelming majority of its friends and rivals, the Vanquish encompasses a crop of driving modes that change its character. GT is the softest adopted by Sport and Sport+, and the Particular person mode lets the motive force create a one-of-a-kind configuration. The unfold between these profiles is perceptible: Sport makes the suspension firmer whereas letting extra of the V-12’s track into the cabin. Sport+ takes issues even additional, although it’s arguably a bit too hardcore for every day driving.

Aston Martin Vanquish: Sporty but luxurious

It’s in mundane situations that the Vanquish actually lives as much as its grand tourer positioning. Calling the cabin spacious can be a stretch, however it’s not cramped, both. It’s a pleasing place to journey in, even if you’re caught behind a Renault Kangoo in pre-rush-hour visitors that’s thickening by the minute. It’s additionally stunningly well-built; Aston made the trouble to make use of supplies which might be nice to each contact and have a look at. And that’s what a GT needs to be: sporty and highly effective, but additionally snug and opulent. If you happen to get uninterested in listening to the V-12 sing, there’s a 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system able to take over.

The driving force-first strategy to design permeates the person interface. The driving force faces a ten.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and there’s a ten.3-inch touchscreen on the middle stack for the infotainment system that Aston developed in-house. That’s it. There’s no passenger-side display screen or dashboard-wide show to provide the impression that you just’re sitting in a rolling iPad on steroids. The model additionally stored bodily buttons on the middle console together with a quantity knob, the local weather management system’s switches, and the drive mode selector. All informed, the inside is an enormous enchancment in comparison with the DBS Superleggera, whose middle stack regarded like a hangover from the center of the 2000s.

Driving an 800-plus horsepower supercar is a memorable expertise no matter which model’s brand seems on the steering wheel, however what makes the expertise memorable differs from mannequin to mannequin. By detouring an digital overdose, Aston Martin has delivered a automobile for fanatics who’re extra focused on heritage than in expertise. We’d have referred to as that industrial suicide a pair years in the past, however right here once more a lot has modified for the reason that DBS Superleggera’s debut. Authenticity sells at this echelon of the market, and the Vanquish nails it with the poise consumers count on from an Aston.

At $429,000, the 2025 Vanquish sits on the prime of Aston Martin’s regular-production lineup (we’re excluding particular tasks, like the Valkyrie). It received’t stand there for lengthy: the Valhalla is scheduled to make its debut earlier than the top of 2024 because the model’s flagship, by way of energy and expertise but additionally presumably by way of pricing. It feels like England’s reply to the Lamborghini Temerario.

It received’t land as some type of super-Vanquish. As a substitute, it’ll function a 998-hp plug-in hybrid drivetrain constructed round a mid-mounted V-8 engine. It’s completely completely different than the Vanquish, and will probably be fascinating to see which high-performance recipe the model’s consumers desire. Act quick for those who’re on group Vanquish: Aston Martin will cap annual manufacturing at 1,000 items within the identify of exclusivity.

Newton informed me that Aston future-proofed the V-12 till at the least the top of the last decade, so don’t count on to see the Vanquish attempt to appease regulators with a twin-turbo V-6 in, say, 2027. Whereas it’s too early to foretell what’s subsequent, what’s sure is that one thing is subsequent, and that’s a giant change.

“Previously, we’d have a launch adopted by an extended interval of nothing. That doesn’t work,” defined Alex Lengthy, the director of product technique for Aston Martin. “We have now a plan to maintain tempo over the life cycle of the automobile,” he added. Put one other means, the times of Astons withering on the vine are over.

—by Ronan Glon

Aston Martin paid for journey and lodging for Motor Authority to carry you this firsthand report.