The latest V12 Vantage is the most powerful and most expensive ever, offering 700 horsepower and costing £265,000, but from performance perspective it might struggle to live up to the high expectation.

Why? Let's start from the engine. This is the first time the V12 Vantage is served with turbocharging. Output of the 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 might exceed that of the V8-powered F1 edition by 165 horsepower, but its 555 lbft of peak torque is only an increase of 50 lbft. Gaydon fails to explain why its output, especially torque, is so much lower than the version serving DBS Superleggera, which is rated at 725 hp and 664 lbft. Moreover, despite its compact size, the V12 Vantage tips the scale at 1795 kg, 25 more than its senior sibling ! And Aston Martin said it already employed a lot of lightweight materials, such as carbon-fiber bonnet, front fenders, front bumper, side sills, composite rear bumper and rear deck, standard ceramic brakes (which save 23kg), carbon-shell bucket seats (7kg saved), thin-wall stainless steel exhaust (another 7kg slashed) as well as lightweight battery.



No wonder the performance claim is underwhelming. Its top speed is 200 mph, merely 5 mph higher than the V8 Vantage. Likewise, 0-60 mph time of 3.4 seconds is just a tenth quicker than the standard car, and trails the DBS Superleggera by a tenth. Even the aggressive aerodynamic kits don't perform as good as they look. They produce 204 kg of downforce at top speed - yes, at 200 mph. For reference, Porsche 911 GT3 generates 385 kg at 124 mph.

Although Aston said its transmission has been retuned, an 8-speed torque-converter automatic is still more suitable to a GT than something rivalling junior supercars. Ditto the pure mechanical limited-slip differential.



However, the V12 Vantage still got adequate chassis upgrades. Extra shear panels front and rear, a rear suspension tower bar and fuel tank bracing improve its torsional rigidity by 8 percent. To cope with the extra weight, suspension springs have been stiffened by 50% up front and 40% at the rear. The suspension bushings and front anti-roll bar are slightly stiffer, but the rear anti-roll bar is softened by 41 percent to promote rear-end grip, taming the tendency of oversteer due to high power and short wheelbase. The wheels are kept at 21-inch, but each tire gets 20mm wider.

Still, we don't expect the V12 Vantage to match a 911 Turbo or GT3 in any performance measurement. It's no match for Ferrari 296GTB or McLaren 720S either, and probably trailing them a long way. The only thing to justify its high price is the production limit of 333 units. In fact, all of them have already been spoken for.