Jump LinksInfotainment: Apple, Take The WheelPerformance ImpressionsRide and HandlingFuel Economy It's tough to imagine paying $245,000 for a new car, but that is what Aston Martin charges for a new DB12. $265,000 if you want a Volante with a convertible roof. When the average new vehicle in America is around $50,000, justifying spending five times more on a specialty car sounds like a tough pill to swallow. So what about the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish Coupe, a hotter version of the DB12 that starts at $429,000? That's more than the median new house price in the United States (which is $413,500, for the record).What exactly does the Vanquish deliver for an additional $184,000 to make wealthy buyers consider it over a run-of-the-mile DB12? For starters, despite having 12 in its name, the DB12 is only offered with an AMG-derrived V8, while the Vanquish gets a proper twin-turbocharged V12 from Aston Martin. This car replaces the outgoing DBS Superlegeggera, a car that was already outrageous in its own right with 715 horsepower. Aston clearly redefined the meaning of that word, because the Vanquish returns with 824 Ferrari-stomping horses, all going to the rear wheels. Is this now the ultimate British Grand Touring car, or something more?2025 Aston Martin Vanquish hero Exterior Looks: Torpedo On Wheels No, your eyes aren't deceiving you - the Vanquish is longer than its DB12 counterpart, even though this car is now only a two-seater. The Vanquish measures 192.5 inches from front to back, compared to 187 inches for the DB12. Aston didn't just extend the bumpers and sign off for a spot of tea; the Vanquish gains over three inches in its wheelbase, specifically between the A-pillar and the front axle. When viewed from the side, you can tell how different the two cars look, and why the Vanquish deserves such an iconic name rather than its predecessor, DBS, which sounds more like an upgraded DB model.2025 Aston Martin Vanquish2We came to think of the Vanquish, and all of its smaller details, as a rolling torpedo that cuts through the air rather than water. Aston describes the rear end as a "Kamm Tail," a classic car design where the back slopes down sharply before being abruptly cut off. It serves practical and performance-focused aerodynamic benefits, the latter of which was the focus here. The taillights are drastically different from the DB12, looking more like small torpedoes when viewed up close. Almost every element of this exterior was crafted with aero in mind, including the massive grille, which offers 13% more cooling than the outgoing DBS 770 Ultimate. That's needed when you have twelve cylinders, two turbochargers, and 824 horsepower.At this price point, clients aren't used to being told "no," and Aston Martin is in the "yes" business. The Vanquish color palette includes 19 options in the Blacks & Greys category, 15 in Purples & Blues, Six in Bronzes & Oranges, 14 in Silvers & White, 19 Greens, and Five Reds. Our tester's shade of Supernova Red was a Q special paint color, meaning it's priced at $13,600. Other exterior options include three different wheel styles finished in Liquid Silver, Satin Black, Gloss Black, or Satin Bronze; brake calipers in red, yellow, gold, AM Racing Gren, Vidid Red, Vidid Orange, or Vivid Blue; tailpipes in Bright, Matte Black, or Gloss Black, a bright or dark grille; and a roof in body color, contrast color, carbon fiber, or glass (a first for Vanquish). Interior & On-Board Technology: The Leather Supercar The DB12 represented a quantum leap for Aston Martin in terms of interior quality and technological advancement. Whereas the DB11 felt dated upon arrival, the DB12 and now the Vanquish are actually cutting edge. Not only does this car boast Aston's typical top-notch leather, metal, and other great interior materials, this is now one of the first cars to include Apple Car Play Ultra, an advanced phone mirroring software that can take over the entire car, including the digital gauges.2025 Aston Martin Vanquish interiorThe Vanquish shares much of its cabin with the DB12, but the unusable back seat is tossed out in favor of a leather-lined shelf, which is surprisingly more useful to hold a bag or two. Light Ash and Dark Walnut wood trims are available, but our tester's interior came decked out in carbon fiber, including a $21,600 IP & Door Trim Inlay Satin option. While pricey, the carbon looks great when paired with the $2,600 Satin Dark Chrome interior jewelry option, essentially dark metal controls such as the paddle shifters, shifter, volume/climate knobs, and air vents, which are typically a brighter silver.Sport Plus seats come standard with heating and ventilation, and these are the chairs we'd keep if you plan to drive the Vanquish for any extended time. The optional Carbon Fiber Performance seats are pretty extreme, and only make sense if you plan to take the car on a racetrack. Even our testers' Inspire Monotone interior is $10,500, and that doesn't include $6,400 for the Q All Centenary Saddle Tan Semi Aniline leather color, and $2,900 for contrast stitching. Light and Mid Duotone interiors are also available in 32 different colors. Infotainment: Apple, Take The Wheel More important than any of the fancy leather or metal materials is what lives in Aston's infotainment system: the latest version of phone mirroring called Apple CarPlay Ultra. Aston Martin is the first automaker to receive Apple's flagship system, which can now take over the gauge cluster screen and control car functions like the climate, radio, and more. The system takes a bit longer to set up compared to standard CarPlay, and your phone will need a moment to connect wirelessly to the car when you start it up in the morning, but it mostly feels the same after the initial delay.Once active, CarPlay Ultra takes over the gauge cluster, giving you several themes to choose from. We liked the sporty green dials, but the rest didn't feel particularly suited to the Vanquish. More customization and retro gauges would be a welcomed addition in the future.2025 Aston Martin Vanquish3Being able to adjust the temperature and fans without leaving CarPlay is a nice addition, though it will be more necessary in a car that doesn't have as many physical controls like the Vanquish. In the Aston, we mainly used CarPlay Ultra to adjust the settings on the stellar 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system, which is standard. This would typically require leaving CarPlay, which is actually impossible when using Ultra; you need to disconnect your phone, something we learned when an iPhone-related issue caused the gauge cluster to go black, forcing us to revert to the Aston infotainment. Performance: Too Much Power? It may cost significantly more than a DB12, but the Vanquish carries the distinction of using a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine under the hood, meaning it's the only regular production Aston model to do so currently. Output jumps from 671 hp in the standard DB12 to 824 hp in the Vanquish, while torque surges from 590 lb-ft to 738 lb-ft. Power goes to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic from ZF, and this is the first time Aston has paired a front-engined V12 with an electronic limited slip differential. A 2.91:1 final drive ratio enables a 214-mph top speed, making this the fastest series-production Aston Martin of all time.2025 Aston Martin Vanquish engine Performance Impressions Putting 824 hp down onto the ground isn't easy, and the Vanquish only has two pieces of rubber to help with this task. An advanced launch control system does its best to manage wheel spin, but it causes the initial movement off the line to feel a bit gentle before the computer solves the traction equation and deploys the V12 engine to its fullest. We recorded a 3.36-second run to 60 mph, the quickest time CarBuzz has tested for a front-engine vehicle with RWD. While impressive, it was slower than several front-engine AWD vehicles and rear/mid-engine RWD sports cars.2025 Porsche 911 Carrera S: 3.26 seconds2025 BMW M5 Sedan 3.22 seconds2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N: 3.1 seconds2025 McLaren Artura Spider: 3.06 seconds2025 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4MATIC+ Coupe: 3.0 secondsCrucially, the Vanquish was slower to 60 mph than its SUV stablemate, the Aston Martin DBX 707 (3.27 seconds), and it was less than a tenth-of-a-second quicker than the 2025 DB12 Volante (3.45 seconds) we tested earlier this year, despite costing $222,700 more after options. That might be the most expensive fraction of a second in automotive history.If you are the type of person to purchase a car based only on bragging numbers, we'd forgive you for clicking off this review and going to buy a Porsche 911 Turbo S. A V12 in the front sending over 800 hp to the rear wheels is never going to yield a sub-three-second 0-60 launch, but the Vanquish is about so much more than magazine times. The DB12's V8 engine is superb, but the V12 in the Vanquish is on another level.Our tester's $14,400 titanium exhaust spits out a rasp that shakes your ear drums until they quiver in delight. Reduced inertia turbochargers with a new Boost Reserve Function increase pressure beyond what is needed during partial throttle, so when you request full throttle, the V12 can release maximum boost immediately. Ride and Handling We typically describe cars like the Aston Martin DB12 and the outgoing DBS Superleggera as "Grand Tourers," vehicles built to travel large distances quickly but comfortably with two or more people and their luggage. But the new Vanquish doesn't feel like a Grand Tourer - it feels more like a supercar disguised as one. Whereas the DB12 prioritizes a soft ride and the ability to tense up when necessary, the Vanquish takes itself more seriously as a hardcore weapon. It's 75% stiffer laterally compared to the DBS Superlegerra thanks to additional underbody components and bespoke Bilstein DTX dampers.2025 Aston Martin Vanquish Coupe - interiorLike most Aston Martin vehicles, the Vanquish has three driving modes: GT, Sport, and Sport+. Those same settings can be applied individually to the dampers, so you can have softer suspension, but Sport+ for everything else. This is how we preferred to drive the Vanquish because this car is just comfortable enough in GT mode, but pretty stiff in Sport+ mode. In fact, this isn't far off the firmness of most mid-engine supercars. That is why we describe the Vanquish as a supercar that just happens to mount its engine ahead of the driver. The cabin is quieter on long trips, but for all intents and purposes, this is a front-engine supercar. Fuel Economy A V12 engine with two turbochargers producing over 800 hp is going to drink fuel at an alarming rate, which is why the Vanquish gets hit with a $1,300 gas guzzler tax. The EPA rates this car at 13 mpg in the city, 21 mpg on the highway, and 16 mpg combined. Those are obviously not stellar numbers, but the V8-powered DB12 isn't much more frugal at 15 mpg in the city, 22 mpg on the highway, and 17 mpg combined. Even with a plug-in hybrid system, the Bentley Continental GT Speed only manages to do slightly better with 19 mpg combined. Verdict & Pricing: Does Money Really Matter? For the 2025 Vanquish to make sense, you need to live in a world where money does not matter; not only because this car costs $429,000 to start, but because it costs $184,000 more than a DB12, which is essentially adding the price of an entire Vantage on top of an already great GT car. That doesn't even factor in all the pricey options on our tester, including a $31,600 "import tax" and $5,000 transportation and handling fee, which pulls the total cost to $552,600. You could buy two base DB12 models for less.2025 Aston Martin Vanquish Coupe - exteriorWhat we just explained above uses logic, the study of deductive reasoning to seek out logical truths. Logically, the Vanquish can not be worth 75% more money than a DB12 when it only produces 23% more power from 50% more cylinders, and delivers a 6% top speed increase with only a 2.6% drop in 0–60 mph time.But you know what else we know to be true? Numbers are boring, and the Vanquish is fun. From behind the wheel, none of those percentages matter. You won't be thinking about how a 911 Turbo S can launch quicker when twelve cylinders are shaking your eardrums until they melt. Some cars are good enough to make money feel like it shouldn't exist, and the Vanquish is one of them.