2015 V12 Vantage S VS 2014 Vanquish Volante

One V-12 engine and two very special cars make a ruckus in the California desert.

2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S

Slight right-foot pressure makes the V-12 vociferate testily until we touch the leather grip on the right-hand shift paddle, pulling forward for the second of the unusual, rear-mounted automated manual transmission’s seven ratios. The engine yowls with desire to propel the shapely coupe from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and reach 205 mph. Practicality prevails, though, and we repeatedly slow while traversing steeply crowned cross streets to avoid scraping the chin spoiler.

Drivetrain and chassis changes are all about accessing the V-12’s output in this fastest-ever Vantage

Gunning it on the Palms to Pines Highway, we find the car blithely capable of heroic feats. This is the first Vantage with three-stage adjustable damping. Leaving Normal, Sport is the choice rather than Track. The new Servotronic steering firms up, and the car pivots through hairpin turns without drama. It is way too much car for the twisty sections of the road leading to Mount San Jacinto.

The V12 Vantage S is a delicious indulgence fraught with idiosyncrasies

The V12 Vantage S is a delicious indulgence fraught with idiosyncrasies. We wouldn’t claim the Pirelli PZero’s ruckus musical, but neither is the sound disharmonious, especially when that amazing engine hits a crescendo.

2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante

For a moment we forget how the Vantage Volante will breathtakingly gain speed, flashing from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds on the way to 183 mph; how the rear-mounted, six-speed automatic diplomatically modulates power and torque; how the chassis, fourteen percent stiffer than the old DBS Volante’s, is as self-possessed as an explosive-ordnance-disposal technician.

The Vanquish’s carbon-fiber body is a first for Aston, which has developed a patented, seven-step painting process

Rather, we are overcome by soft leather and fabulous, perforated buckets. The instrument cluster, with the speedometer’s italics culminating at 240 mph, is something we would like to carve out and take home for the mantelpiece. And all of the above can be enjoyed in the open air.

With the chassis this capable, the steering this exact, the ride this comfortable

With the chassis this capable, the steering this exact, the ride this comfortable (even with the suspension set on “Sport”), we can hardly imagine a finer touring car. The only distractions are slight wind rush along the roofline and freeway rumble from the fat, twenty-inch tires. When crossing railroad tracks to test the ragtop’s stiffness, the Vantage Volante behaves with firm English resolve. For $300,820-plus, you get overachievement from craftsmen, unusable capability from engineers, and impeccable design that’ll ensure desirability for generations.