The new V12-powered Aston Martin Vanquish arrives to conquer the world of luxury GT cars

To date, the Vanquish name has graced two distinct Aston Martin product cars. The first was the car that ushered in Aston Martin’s 21st century, a brutish V12 designed by Ian Callum that set the scene for the company’s modern era. You can still acquire a ‘new’ Vanquish Mk1, courtesy of Callum’s design consultancy and bespoke car maker, in the form of the Vanquish 25, a complete and expensive overhaul of the original that ‘fixes’ some aspects of the original design Callum didn’t care for.

That car ran from 2001 to 2007, surviving the indignities of an intransigent gearbox and an unconvincing stint as an ‘invisible’ Bond car. The second generation Vanquish, succeeded it, and was produced from 2012 to 2018. For our money, this was one of the all-time best-looking Aston Martins, closed or open and a wonderful car to drive to boot.

Upgraded and uprated over its lifespan, the Vanquish retired without equal in the AM line-up, leading many to assume a replacement would swiftly be forthcoming. Indeed, the name was next seen on the Vanquish Vision Concept, a thrilling but ultimately unfulfilled mid-engined proposal.

Now Vanquish is back. In fact, it’s the back of Vanquish that’ll makes the biggest impact. The new flagship, effectively taking over the role from the accomplished Aston Martin DBS that occupied the role from 2018 onwards before bowing out with the DBS 770 Ultimate edition in 2023.

Up front, there’s no escaping the strength of current Aston Martin DNA, in the form of the new Vanquish’s big, deep grille set below two rakish headlights and a deeply fluted and vented bonnet. Underneath this lies a new 5.2 V12 Twin-Turbo engine said to put out 835PS and 1000Nm of torque. To accommodate this, the new car has an 80mm longer wheelbase that its V8-powered DB12 ‘little’ brother.

This added length is very evident in profile, with a long bonnet that flows back to the cockpit-like cabin, down over the signature muscular rear haunches and then terminating abruptly in a cut-off tail. The visual effect brings to mind a trio of recent bespoke Aston Martins, including 2020’s one-off Aston Martin Victor and the more recent 2023 Valour and this year’s Valiant, which in turn were a nod to the especially brutal Astons of the 70s and 80s, when styling influences shifted from the delicate forms shaped by Italian carrozzeria to the brawnier American muscle cars.

Suffice to say, the new Vanquish blends together a bit of both, creating a uniquely muscular and British statement in the process. This car has to go head to head with the very best from Ferrari, particularly the sensational new 12Cilidnri, with which it shares a basic ethos; excessively powerful, long, low and glamorous, with a focus on big performance and ultimate refinement.

At this point it’s worth cracking out the Top Trumps, because Ferrari quote 830PS and a 211mph+ top speed for their new flagship; Aston has cannily gone one louder with the Vanquish’s 214mph maximum speed and 835PS. The near parity of these figures and Aston Martin’s headline-grabbing but meaningless victory is in no way accidental; the team at Maranello is presumably busy planning a leap-frogging performance boost at this very moment.

That 214mph top speed is all about bragging rights – nigh-on impossible to achieve on almost every race track, let alone the autobahn, but an essential stat in the long-running game of 1% one upmanship. It’s also apparently the ‘highest maximum speed of any Aston Martin series production car’, a slightly torturous construction that excludes barnstorming limited cars like the One-77 and Valkyrie.

Way more important is how the Vanquish comports itself at all sorts of speeds, how well appointed the cockpit is and whether or not it’s the kind of car you want to live with and not just stick in a climate-controlled facility and wait for it to appreciate. In terms of comfort and ergonomics, the Vanquish looks like it’s beaten its near rivals to the punch, with a rich, leather-stuffed interior and a clean, unfussy instrument binnacle and dashboard.

Taking a cue from the cabin architecture found in Vantage, DB12 and DBX707, it’s a world apart from over-fussy Aston interiors of old and also markedly different from the moodier, muddled Ferrari. Optional finishes include lightweight Semi Aniline Leather and Alcantara, with brushes metal trim and chrome buttons and the option of cashmere headlining. Audio is provided by Bowers & Wilkins. All this sits beneath a full-length panoramic glass roof.

Aston Martin will make less than 1,000 examples of the Vanquish each year, preserving its exclusivity and desirability whilst also keeping a cap on its fleet average CO2 rating. Reverting to a production V12 is all very well for performance and status, but there’s no escaping the fact that no amount of engineering wizardry can spirit away the inevitable weight and emissions that come with a bigger engine. Vanquish puts out 312 g/km, even more than the massive DBX 707 SUV.

Whereas some supercar makers weasel out of the emissions impact of their products, claiming that owners tend do a minimal amount of mileage in their prized possessions, the Vanquish is first and foremost a GT car and we’d wager than most will be driven on a regular basis. To tame the power, the car has a huge suite of dynamic vehicle control systems, all of which are intended to silently and instantly flatter the driver and let them get the best out of the car.

But it’s the design that wins it for Vanquish. Inside and out, the two-seater Aston Martin Vanquish delivers the requisite combination of drama, elegance, comfort and technology.

Aston Martin Vanquish, available from Q4 2024
AstonMartin.com, @AstonMartin