This is the new extra-long Aston Martin Vanquish: the most powerful production AM ever

One of greatest names in the car world has returned, attached to the most powerful series production Aston Martin ever made. Well, not literally. It doesn’t actually say the word ‘Vanquish’ anywhere on the bodywork of Aston’s new twin-turbo V12 flagship. They’re betting on the styling leaving you in no doubt.

If you speak metric, then the new Aston Vanquish develops 835 horsepower and 1000Nm. And if you’re more into imperial units they’re no less impressive: 824bhp and 737lb ft through just the rear wheels gets the Vanquish from 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds (0-100kph in 3.3) and it’s geared for a top speed of 214mph. Another record high for a production Aston. To go faster, you’ll need a limited-edition like the Victor, a Valkyrie, or a pilot’s license.

Aston has been intent on making its three front-engined cars – the Vantage, DB12 and this £300k range-topper – the most powerful machines in their class. To score bragging rights over the 820bhp Ferrari 12 Cilindri, the 5.2-litre V12 has a stronger block, heads, crankshaft and valvetrain. The turbos are freer spinning and Aston says it’s invented something calling ‘Boost Reserve’ to give it swift responses.

In short, the turbos overboost most of the time and the extra boost pressure is ‘stored’ until the driver flattens the throttle. It sounds quite trick, and though the naturally aspirated Ferrari will rev higher, the Aston has more overtaking shove. Should be an interesting drag race…

Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s design department insisted the wheelbase was stretched in the name of classic long-bonnet GT proportions. So they’ve added 80mm between the front axle and the A-pillar. There are oil tankers on the seven seas where the bow is closer to the bridge.

Clearly strung by the nagging truth that the last two DBSs have looked too much like the DB cars they were based on, the new Vanquish doesn’t share any bodywork with a DB12.

The bonnet is longer, housing slashes inspired by the flanks of Aston Martin’s F1 car. The front grille is 13 per cent larger than the DBS Superleggera’s, because the engine needs more cooling than a Labrador in a heatwave. Down the side, the new ‘bow-and-arrow’ side vent bleeds into the entirely bespoke door. And round the back, there’s a slashed tail featured a slab of carbon called ‘the shield’. Multi-rod taillights are Valour-inspired, and there’s now a ducktail spoiler and diffuser doing the work of the old DBS’s vented bootlid to keep it shiny-side up at 200mph+. Only the Vantage headlights appear to have been borrowed from another Aston.

Keen to reduce unsprung weight, the wheels eschew the ‘spiderweb’ design we’ve seen on most recent Astons for a forged rim. Ceramic brakes are standard, and save 27kg versus steel stoppers. And you get bespoke tyres with a little ‘AML’ code on the sidewall that were developed to work with the long wheelbase, the electronic differential… and 824bhp. Good luck to them.

Inside, it’s a strict two-seater, with a vast carbon strut brace inhabiting what would be pointlessly cramped rear seats. Aston says thanks to this, under-bonnet struts and underbody bracing, the Vanquish is 75 per cent stiffer in the body than the DBS 770 Ultimate – a good platform for the Bilstein adaptive dampers to go to work. Speaking of handling, the claimed dry weight with all the lightest options is 1,774kg – so around 1.9 tonnes ready to roll. More than its Italian rival, but less than a Bentley.

The engineers say the whole car has been set up to give its best in the default ‘GT’ mode, but there are sportier settings if the driver wants a stiffer set-up.

That’s all tweaked via the touchscreen inside. It and the driver’s instrument display are familiar from other recent (vastly improved) Aston cabins, but for the Vanquish there’s a laid-down centre console rich in tactile switchgear, and details like exposed screwheads to give a more ‘bespoke’ feel.

It’s also got a vast glass roof as standard with no blind – a tint keeps out 94 per cent of the sun’s rays, says Aston. Fun fact: the roof was supposed to be ‘dimmable’ but no glass supplier in the world could supply a tint-able version that met the design team’s brief for curvature. And straightening it out would’ve upset the looks. If you prefer the lightest possible spec, you can have the roof in carbon fibre.

With manual shifting now reserved for million-quid editions like the Valiant and Valour, the Vanquish keeps the venerable eight-speed automatic, with a new software map for faster shifts. We’re also promised a new steering map and retuned ESP.

And it’ll be relatively rare too: Aston says production will be capped at no more than 1,000 examples per year, to keep the V12 exclusive. It’ll arrive with customers later this year, into a very hotly fought ultra-GT class, alongside the Ferrari 12 Cilindri and new plug-in hybrid Bentley Continental GT.

The Aston’s the most powerful – but is it the most beautiful?