Up next in 10
The new limited-run V12 Vantage is the swan song for the V12 Aston Martin, but regardless of its impressive numbers, does it live up to its venerable lineage? Steve Sutcliffe gets behind the wheel to find out.
Read our full online review: evo.co.uk
And follow us on our social channels at:
https://twitter.com/evomagazine
https://facebook.com/evomagazine
https://www.instagram.com/officialevomagazine/
https://www.tiktok.com/@evomagazine?
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
On the surface at least, the new V12 Vantage is everything you'd expect it to be, and then some
0:19
It costs £265,000 and there will be just 333 examples made over the next two years
0:28
all of which are already sold out. Its twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 engine is the same as the one fitted
0:35
to the mighty DBS, and here it produces 690 bhp and 555 pounds-feet of torque. With the optional
0:45
carbon fibre rear spoiler and front splitter pack fitted, Aston claims it generates 205 kilograms
0:52
of downforce, while its brakes are carbon ceramics as standard. Interestingly, its 21-inch tyres
0:59
are Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ss, not Cup 2s, as you might expect, which is surprising given that its
1:07
anti-roll bars and suspension are up to 50% stiffer than in a regular Vantage. So, has Aston
1:14
Martin delivered a last and final masterpiece with the V12 Vantage? We drove it first to Silverstone
1:22
Then on the roads in mid Wales to find out. Keep watching because you might well be surprised
1:28
by what comes next. I don't know, should we all be feeling really sorry
1:34
for ourselves now? The fact that this era of the magnificent V12 engine
1:45
Aston Martin is finally drawing to a close, it does seem quite sad but
1:51
and it's really easy and completely inevitable that you just have this sort of sense of finality
1:57
when you drive a car like this. Last of the line V12 advantages
2:05
So anyway, let's talk a bit about the car. It has this V12 from the DBS, it has 690 bhp
2:15
That a lot of poke even in a car that weighs 1795 kilograms It got these trick seats They weigh about four just under four kilograms Less each you got carbon ceramic brakes you got
2:31
slightly stiffer front end in terms of springs and anti-roll bar. A lot of stiffer rear end
2:36
nearly 50% stiffer than a regular Vantage at the back. Different dampers, they've re-chinned the
2:43
steering but you can talk about all that stuff and yet the only thing that
2:47
really really matters is this thing that's under there because the noise
3:02
this is just brilliant we are seriously gonna miss engines like that when they're no longer around
3:09
The brake feel is fantastic, the steering is really lovely. You very much feel like you're sitting at the back or in the middle of the back of a car with the big engine there and the rear wheels being driven back there
3:24
It's very traditional, very conventional in that sense. I like this car a lot, but I'm not absolutely trembling at the knees about it on this track
3:37
It does feel like it's got its compromises, the gearbox in particular
3:40
I don't know whether it's the software in this particular pre-production car that's not quite doing what it should do
3:47
It's not giving me downshifts when I want to have downshifts. And I don't care about any of that because of the way it looks
3:57
It's the way it goes. This thing's proper quick. Okay, I've had enough fun with this car on the track, so to the road to the Welsh hills
4:07
We go. So on the track, the V12 Vantage goes hard, stops brilliantly
4:14
steers well, even if the weighting of the system is quite meaty
4:18
It also sounds good, but not quite epic, and it doesn't change gear just as well as the very best
4:24
But the V12 Vantage is a great car, not a track monster. Correct
4:29
If so, it should shine even brighter on roads like these than it did at Silverstone
4:37
So here we go on the Welsh mountain roads in the Vantage V12 and I have to say I don know I don
4:50
know quite how to say this but I'm not being totally blown away by this car. Look there are
4:57
lots of things that I really like about this car I love the way it looks I love the cabin
5:01
The performance is thundering. I want it to sound a bit better but it's you can't argue with the
5:07
It's dead cool. It's huge actually. The brakes are fabulous. Loads of feel, loads of stopping
5:17
power. This is a big car, big heavy car and it stops on a sixpence. But look, the performance
5:27
you're never going to argue with how quick this thing is on the road. It's just out
5:34
It's outrageously fast. And it's kind of nicely biased towards the top end
5:41
The best bit of the performance occurs between about 4.5 and the redline at 7.5
5:48
It's got lots in the mid-range too. I mean, that's 4,000 in fifth gear and I'm kind of being pinned back
5:56
But look, there is this elephant in the room and it's time to talk about it
6:02
And that is the chassis. On the track at Silverstone, which is really nice and smooth, you can't tell really just how stiff this thing is, how stiff it's suspended, how stiff the bars are, how stiff the springs are, how stiff the dampers are
6:19
and it kind of doesn't matter which of the settings that you put it in
6:24
either Sport, Sport Plus or Track. It gets stiffer in all of the settings
6:28
but even in Sport, which is the basic setting, on the road, I think this thing is too stiff
6:36
It doesn't feel like a GT car at all, really. There's loads of tyre noise
6:42
The steering's, for me, too meaty, too heavy. It feels a bit cumbersome on the road
6:49
I don't think the gearbox is that fabulous. I want it to be snappier
6:56
Again, just like you can with the chassis where you've got three different settings
6:59
for how responsive everything is With the drivetrain you got the same You got Sport Sport Plus and Track Even in Track the changes aren snappy enough when you change manually
7:11
For me, up or down. Oh, I don't know, I'm being possibly a little bit cruel about this thing because you look at it and it does, you know, it makes your heart melt
7:38
You listen to it and it does make some lovely noises. And when you put your foot down in third gear on a nice quiet road, the performance is kind of outrageous
7:51
It's big, senior, grown-up, thundering performance this thing has got. But I'm not convinced. I am not convinced by this car as a road car
8:09
It's better on the track than it is on the road. Quite a lot better on the track, actually
8:19
Gosh. I thought I was going to absolutely fall in love with this thing
8:26
But I haven't. I'm sorry, Aston Martin. I have not fallen in love with this car
8:32
It's a good car, but it's not one of your great ones. That's kind of all I've got to say
#Autos & Vehicles
#Motor Vehicles (By Type)
#Custom & Performance Vehicles
#Sports Cars