This decade will bring an end to Aston Martin’s 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 engine, which was introduced as part of the DB11 coupe in 2016, strangled by ever-increasing emissions and fuel consumption regulations. The 2023 Aston Martin V12 Vantage proves that the engine is not going to bed gently. It roars, transforming an entertaining entry-level sports car into a scintillating super car.
Under its dramatically re profiled hood, the 2023 V12 Vantage generates 690 horsepower and 555 lb-ft of torque, making it nearly as powerful as a Honda Civic (163 horses more than the 2022 Vantage F1 Edition) and 125 horses more than the beautiful V12 Vantage S from the previous generation. It’s the quickest, too, with a claimed 0-60-mph acceleration time of 3.4 seconds, and the fastest of the current Vantage lineup, with a top speed of 200 mph.
You Won’t Want To Miss That Suspension And Wing
As part of the 2023 V12 Vantage, a new adaptive damping system, revised bushings, and stiffer front top mounts are part of the suspension revisions. A rear suspension tower strut brace and fuel tank bracing have been added to increase overall body stiffness.
A 1.6-inch widened track, a 50 percent spring rate at the front axle, a 40 percent spring rate at the rear, and a 5 percent stiffer front stabilizer bar are among the changes. To ensure ride comfort without compromising dynamic performance, a 41 percent softer rear stabilizer bar has been added, along with an additional spring with a lower rate than the main spring.
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There are 21-inch wheels at the front and 315/30 tires at the rear that are fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.
A 12-cylinder engine with two turbochargers generates a great deal of heat in an engine compartment originally designed for a V-8. A 25 percent larger grille, a full-width, rear-facing vent on the redesigned hood, and larger vents in the redesigned fenders are all evidence of this. Additional exterior changes over the regular V8 Vantage include large, single-piece side sills extending from the fender vents, a new rear bumper with an integrated diffuser, and central twin exhaust outlets.
This dramatic rear wing, whose softly contoured shape echoes the rear wing of the Aston Martin AMR22 F1 car, isn’t just for showing off to your buddies at Cars and Coffee: It combines with the new front splitter to generate 450 pounds of downforce at 200 mph.
Although the Vantage’s engine bay appears to be filled with the big V-12, the front still has a gap. Despite weighing significantly more than the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 in the regular Vantage, only about an inch of the engine extends over the front axle centerline, explaining why the V12 Vantage’s weight distribution is only marginally different from the V8 Vantage perfect 50/50.
To deliver improved performance over the V-8-powered Vantage, Aston’s engineers have not just relied on the V-12’s power and torque. Among the weight-saving measures are 16-inch carbon-ceramic brakes with a 14.2-inch rear brake that remove 51 pounds of unsprung mass, a stainless-steel exhaust that weighs 15.8 pounds less than the regular Vantage, and carbon-fiber hood, fenders, decklid, and bumpers. As an option, you can choose lightweight forged alloy wheels, saving an additional 17.6 pounds.
The V12 Vantage, weighing 3,957 pounds, has a 20 percent better power-to-weight ratio than the 476-pound-lighter V8 Vantage F1 Edition, the most powerful car in the Vantage lineup until now. And you can feel it, right? Not exactly.
Feeling Like A V12
At idle speeds, you get a growling gut punch from the F1 edition’s AMG-sourced V-8, but the V12 Vantage’s engine initially feels oddly languid in comparison, even though it produces greater torque (555 lb-ft versus 505 lb-ft) at lower revs—1,800 rpm versus 2,000 rpm.
Because of the difference in power and torque between the two engines, it’s perception rather than reality. Even turbocharged V-12s love to rev: While the torque output of the F1 Edition’s V-8 starts to taper after 5,000 rpm and its power peak comes at 6,000 rpm, the V-12 produces its maximum torque at 6,000 rpm and its maximum power at 6,500 rpm.
Occasionally there is a touch of turbo lag below 2,000 rpm, but as soon as everything has spooled up, the acceleration pushes you hard back into the seat as you watch the horizon speed toward you.
Almost 700 hp and weapons-grade thrust mean that this Aston is incredible fast on any road, compressing time and space between corners like no other car can. Despite the V12’s snarl, the ride is not hardcore, racer-edged like that of a Porsche 911 GT2 RS; there’s a velvety edge to its snarl, and it feels almost like a gran turismo with its suspension at its stiffest setting. This is a grand tourer on steroids.
Taking On The Track Like Vettel
With its road-optimized tires, this car is fast on the track as well. With its huge carbon-ceramic brakes, it stops with unparalleled speed. The front end responds to the meaty steering with calmness and authority, despite the extra weight over the front axle, and the mechanical limited-slip differential deftly funnels all that power and torque to the tarmac when you get on the gas.
In a road car with 700 horsepower and rear drive, you aren’t often able to turn off the traction and stability controls after just a few laps, but the V12 Vantage is one of them. Yes, it has a lot of power, enough to smoke the rear tires almost any time you want. You can feel exactly where the limit of adhesion is with the sensitivity of the throttle and the clarity of the chassis feedback, so you can modulate your input accordingly.
V12 Vantage will drift, of course, but what makes it so fun is that you can drift it like Sebastian Vettel more subtly and with much faster corner speeds than Ken Block.
It is the eight-speed automatic transmission that proves the V12 Vantage’s performance weakness. In terms of automatics, the ZF eight-speed used by Aston Martin is a benchmark, but even in Track mode, the upshifts feel sluggish and the downshifts woolly. In a couple of laps, you will realize that a dual-clutch transmission is essential for the powerful V-12.
Over 100 V12 Vantages will arrive in the U.S. from the second half of this year, with just 333 total being built. And every single one has already been sold, despite a price tag that starts at $300,00.
In 2023, Aston Martin’s V12 Vantage will become one of its classic cars. There won’t be another small Aston with a V-12 under the hood, and the engine itself is unlikely to remain in mass production past the year 2027. Fittingly, the V12 Vantage is the beginning of the long goodbye.
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