Drive Aston Martin V12 Vantages (Part 2)

The extra ratio also helps with fuel economy and CO2 emissions, with Aston Martin claiming 6.8km per litre and 343g/km respectively. It’s still not particularly frugal, but considering the old V12 Vantage used to return 6.1km per litre and 388g/km, any improvement is welcome.

The most pleasing progress of all, however, comes in the V12 Vantage’s handling. It’s apparent right away that the nose-heaviness of the old model is gone, with the new car feeling much more connected to the road. That’s probably down to how the engineers over at Gaydon had a lot more time to develop this car, against the fairly rushed job they did with the previous V12 Vantage.

The most pleasing progress of all, however, comes in the V12 Vantage’s handling.

The new model’s greater agility might also be due to its new dampers with selectable modes (a first for the Vantage family). Even in the suspension’s most hardcore Track setting (the other two modes are Normal and Sport), the ride quality won’t rattle your fillings loose, delivering the requisite amount of control while remaining remarkably supple. It’s not often we say this about Aston Martins, but the ride quality of the V12 Vantage S is brilliant, even rivalling that of some Porsches.

The new model’s greater agility might also be due to its new dampers with selectable modes (a first for the Vantage family).

These suspension modes also govern the steering’s level of power assistance. As with the suspension, the steering’s heft, even in Track mode, never feels too weighty, with an ever-present sense of meatiness to the proceedings in whichever mode you choose.

Providing stopping power is a set of carbon-ceramic brakes (these come standard), which require just a light touch on the brake pedal to effect significant retardation of speed. It’s a good thing, then, that these stoppers don’t have their ilk’s tendency towards low-speed grabbiness.  

Is the price for all that aggression and British melodrama? Well, as you might expect, what they are asking for the V12 Vantage S isn’t cheap – Aston Martin will want $939,000 for it.

It’s a good thing, then, that these stoppers don’t have their ilk’s tendency towards low-speed grabbiness. 

But if you look at it from the point of view of a collector, that sum might be well worth it. The writing is already on the wall for Aston Martin’s glorious naturally aspirated V12s, and you don’t have to read too closely to know they’re heading the way of the dodo.

This is likely to be the 5.9-litre V12’s final, rasping swansong, as Aston Martin has recently inked a deal that will see its future cars use V8s jointly developed with Mercedes-AMG (likely to be the forthcoming C63 AMG’s 4-litre twinturbo powerplant).

The V12 Vantage S is likely to be one of the last examples of a golden but fast-fading era, where power mattered more than CO2 emissions; where a large, atmospheric V12 is favoured over smaller, forced-induction mills.

Yes, $939,000 is a lot of money, but then again, nobody ever said owning a piece of history would come cheaply.

The V12 Vantage S is likely to be one of the last examples of a golden but fast-fading era, where power mattered more than CO2 emissions; where a large, atmospheric V12 is favoured over smaller, forced-induction mills.