Aston Martin Vanquish is a new V12 flagship to take on Ferrari

After months of teasing, Aston Martin has finally revealed its new flagship supercar, in the form of the 800-horsepower Vanquish.

The car marks a return of the Vanquish name, which first appeared in 2001 and starred as 007’s gadget-filled ride in the James Bond film Die Another Day, but disappeared in 2018. The new Vanquish goes up against front-engined supercars like the Ferrari 812 Superfast and, with a top speed of 214 mph, it is the fastest series-production car Aston Martin has ever made.

Powered by a new 5.2-litre, twin-turbocharged V12 engine, the Vanquish will be restricted to under 1,000 examples per year. A price has not yet been announced, but it is likely to cost comfortably more than the circa-£190,000 DB12. The order book is open now and deliveries will begin in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The new Vanquish features a bespoke chassis with a wheelbase some 80 mm longer than Aston Martin’s previous flagship, the DBS 770 Ultimate – and that extra length is all found between the A-pillar at the front axle, giving the car a noticeably longer nose than that of its predecessor.

The bodywork is made from carbon fibre, while the interior will be familiar to anyone who has driven the DB12 and DB12 Volante. However, a major difference between the two front-engined cars is how, where the DB12 has a small pair of rear seats, the Vanquish offers a space for tailored luggage and is strictly a two-seater.

Aston says its new V12 engine produces 835 PS (824 horsepower) and a massive 1,000 Nm (738 ft-lbs) of torque – and it does so without any hybrid electrical assistance. The company says it’ll accelerate to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds and has a top speed of 214 mph, making it the fastest series-production car Aston Martin has ever made.

Although fast, Aston says the Vanquish will be equally capable of long-distance cruising. It describes with ample flourish how the new car “fuses the effortless mile-eating comfort of a continent-crushing GT with the precision, exploitability and immersive, entertaining driving experience of a supercar.” Clearly, the British company is going after the likes of Ferrari, just as it did with the smaller Vantage, which launched earlier this year. Aston wants to identify as a maker of supercars, not sports cars.

The Vanquish’s V12 engine features a raft of new internal components, including turbochargers that spin 15 percent more quickly than in previous models, plus new fuel injectors with an increased flow rate, and a new function called Boost Reserve. This increases turbo boost pressure “above what would normally be required for any given part-throttle position,” Aston Martin says, “so it is ready to go when full power is needed.” In short, it's a clever way to reduce turbo-lag.

This is the first front-engined V12 Aston to mate its engine and eight-speed automatic gearbox to an electronic rear limited differential (also known as an e-diff). This is hooked up to the car’s stability control system and allows precise management of wheel spin. Aston promises greater agility in low- and medium-speed corners, while offering greater control of oversteer. In other words, with a skilled driver and a safe environment, it’ll do great big skids.

Despite all the power, Aston says the new Vanquish “retains a compliant ride quality while delivering improved levels of agility and response,” in GT mode. Switch things up a gear, and Aston says the Sport and Sport+ modes “provide progressively more response and tighter body control.”

Inside, the dashboard features a 10.25-inch TFT driver display behind the steering wheel, plus an equally large touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard for Aston’s new infotainment system, which debuted on the DB12 and also appears on the new Vantage and recently updated DBX707. It provides access to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while ahead of the display are a set of physical controls for key functions like the gear selector, media volume and cabin temperature.

Other tech includes a 4G data connection, a smartphone app and a 15-speaker sound system by Bowers & Wilkins, with double-amplification and surround sound.