First Drive: The 824 HP Aston Martin Vanquish Impresses with Striking Punch and Poise

Earlier this year, Lawrence Stroll announced that Aston Martin would delay launching its first electric car until 2026 at the earliest. The executive chairman said his customers have little appetite for EVs, preferring “the smell, feel, and noise” of sports cars with gas-powered engines.  

In the medium term, Stroll’s strategy means a focus on plug-in hybrids, starting with the Valhalla supercar due next year. Right now, though, it means a brand-new V-12 engine—a rarity in these ever more regulated times. Bring on the smell, feel and noise . . .

That V-12 lurks beneath the hood of the new 824 hp Aston Martin Vanquish, priced starting at $429,000. Replacing the DBS (née DBS Superleggera), the Vanquish sits above the DB12—Robb Report’s 2024 Car of the Year—in the British marque’s revitalized range, and will have production capped at “less than 1,000 cars a year,” according to the automaker.

The Vanquish nameplate is now into its third generation. The original model was launched in 2001, designed (and recently reimagined) by Ian Callum and powered by a 466 hp, 5.9-liter V-12. The second-gen Vanquish debuted in 2012 with the same naturally aspirated mill tuned to produce 565 hp. As for the latest iteration, revealed just last month, its 5.2-liter engine is fitted with twin turbochargers for vastly more power and 738 ft lbs of torque. 

Despite an aluminum structure and carbon-fiber body panels, the new Vanquish weighs a hardly svelte 3,911 pounds. That’s a dry weight, too, so reckon on upwards of 4,100 pounds after fuel and other fluids are added. Nonetheless, with all that oomph channeled to its rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission, this coupé certainly isn’t slow. Accelerating from zero to 60 mph takes 3.2 seconds and the car’s top speed is 214 mph. For comparison, the rival Ferrari 12Cilindri weighs 3,439 pounds (dry), hits 62 mph in 2.9 seconds, and can reach 211 mph. 

Seen from the front and side, the 2025 Vanquish is lithe, muscular, and has a styling that’s unmistakably Aston Martin. Though it’s a handsome car to be sure, it looks rather too similar to the smaller DB12 and Vantage, in our eyes, and nowhere near as radical or head-turning as Ferrari’s 12Cilindri. The rear view, featuring what chief designer Marek Reichmann calls a “ruthlessly chopped” Kamm tail, is where things get interesting. The full-width, floating “Shield” panel is unique to this model and can be painted a contrasting color or left in exposed carbon fiber. 

The Vanquish has a longer wheelbase than the DB12, with an extra 3.1 inches between the windshield and front axle to create space for its elongated engine. Lift the long hood—which is punctured by F1-style thermos louvers—and you’ll see the V-12 squeezed right back against the bulkhead, resulting in near-perfect 51:49 weight distribution. 

Suspension is by double wishbones at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear, with Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers, 21-inch forged alloy wheels, and Vanquish-customized Pirelli P Zero tires. An electronic differential helps transfer all that torque to the asphalt, while the upswept tail and sculpted rear diffuser contribute up to 265 pounds of downforce at maximum speed.

The interior of the Vanquish will also feel familiar to anyone trading up from a DB12, although a huge carbon-fiber strut brace takes the place of the latter car’s small rear seats. Fit and finish is excellent, the quilted leather is gorgeously tactile, and there is endless scope for personalization through Aston Martin’s Q department. Just don’t get carried away, please—this isn’t a Lamborghini.

Where the previous Vanquish relied on dated Mercedes-Benz tech, this model gains the now-familiar 10.25-inch touchscreen introduced on the DB12 and running software developed in-house. The infotainment system offers Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, along with connected car services via the Aston Martin app. A fabulous, 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system also comes standard—not that you need music when this V-12 is an arm’s length from your eardrums.

The heavily reworked engine has a strengthened block, redesigned heads, and lumpier camshafts, plus faster-spinning turbochargers nestled inside its “hot-vee” configuration. Remarkably refined at low revs, it sounds less bassy and bombastic than that found in the outgoing DBS 770 Ultimate. But stretch the Vanquish’s legs and its power plant quickly finds its voice: a rabid, hedonistic roar that will have you clicking down a couple of gears to replay it time and again. 

The transmission is a conventional ZF automatic, yet it feels nearly as sharp as a dual-clutch ’box. In default GT drive mode, shifts are smooth and torque is limited, but twist the dial to Sport or Sport Plus and everything becomes more intense. The Vanquish gathers speed with the unstoppable energy of an avalanche, aided by a new Boost Reserve function that accumulates (then releases) turbocharged air pressure to virtually eliminate lag. It also delivers the kind of instantly vigorous throttle response found in plug-in hybrid supercars.

In the not-too-distant past, any car with 824 hp at its rear wheels would have been a wild ride at best, uncontrollable at worst. So it’s a testament to Aston Martin’s engineers—particularly director of vehicle performance, Simon Newton—that the Vanquish is so easy to drive. Ultimately, it isn’t as comfortable or refined as a Bentley Continental GT Speed, but you could still do hundreds of freeway miles and still step out feeling refreshed.

As for its athletic performance, the Vanquish is fast enough to worry most exotics in a straight line, but will it flounder at the first corner? Absolutely not. Like the smaller Vantage, its chassis exudes a calm yet resolute sense of poise that encourages you to test its limits and simply have fun. Its pointy steering is full of feedback, the carbon-ceramic brakes are mighty, and the whole vehicle seems alert and alive to your inputs. There’s also a nuance and sense of flow here that the heavier Bentley, for example, can’t match.

For all the buzz around its mid-engined Valkyrie and Valhalla hypercars, Aston Martin has long been defined by the front-engined GT, which is what it does best. The new Vanquish pays tribute to that heritage while offering a beguiling, thoroughly modern driving experience. Is it better than a Ferrari 12Cilindri? Well, it’s different, and that’s probably the point; most potential buyers will already have decided where their loyalties lie. Importantly, those disparate loyalties share a common ground—devotion to 12-cylinder internal combustion.

Click below for more photos of the 824 hp Aston Martin Vanquish.