2025 Aston Martin Vanquish First Test Review: Big Performance From One of the Most Beautiful Cars Ever Made

Motor Trend

2 days ago

Pros A rolling work of art
824 hp ain't nothin' to sneeze at
Great to drive Cons V-12 soundtrack a bit muted by turbos
Desperately needs a nose-lift system
Feels big on a winding road
There's a moment when first-date jitters transform into the joy of possibilities. It's when you realize an emotional connection can be so much greater than you originally expected. The automotive equivalent of that experience is the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish, one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. The coupe is this close to epitomizing the perfect front-engine V-12 grand tourer, a classic formula Aston's Italian rivals have iterated on for more than half a century.
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Forget Ferrari for a second. This Aston's real good, and not only in the way you think it would be.
Rolling Work of Art
With the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish, beauty is everywhere you look. The best part about the Vanquish's design is that there isn't a best part. Every angle reveals a new visual delight, and you don't need to be a design nerd to appreciate it.
The proportions are perfect, from the short front overhangs to the way the roofline is low but not too low. It's so much more, though, like the stunning rear treatment. Or the surfacing of the doors. Take a close look at the carefully sculpted hood, and you'll see six holes in each of two hood vents, one for each of the 12 cylinders.
Whether viewed on a phone screen or in person, the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish is one of the most beautiful cars ever designed.
824 HP and 12 Cylinders at the Track
Although the 2025 Vanquish is the latest in a long line of exotic GT cars, there's nothing nostalgic about its powertrain. A 5.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 producing 824 hp at 6,500 rpm and 738 lb-ft of torque at 2,500 rpm makes every trip a special occasion.
Bursting from 0 to 60 mph in only 3.3 seconds should catch most lead-footed Teslas by surprise. The quarter mile is done in 11.2 seconds at an excellent 132.5 mph. On the track, the car just keeps pulling and pulling until you run out of dragstrip.
Surprising no one, however, this isn't a stoplight drag-racer. You have to be in it for the experience. So as much as Aston may have been pleased to learn its baby has 6 hp more than the new Ferrari 12 Cilindri, you don't have to look far to find cars that match its impressive straight-line performance. And we don't mean electric cars like the MotorTrend-record-setting Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Weissach.
Try the Audi RS 7 Performance, which beats the Aston to 60 (3.0 seconds) and matches its trap speed in the quarter mile (11.2 seconds at 123.7 mph). Then there's the new Bentley Continental GT Speed, a plug-in hybrid that hits 60 in 2.8 seconds and rips onto a 10.8-second quarter mile at 130.7 mph. These really are exciting times to be a car enthusiast.
'Way Better Than I Expected'
The biggest surprise was when we ran the Vanquish through our figure-eight course, which evaluates braking, cornering, and acceleration as well as the transitions in between. The Aston finished the course in 23.3 seconds at 0.94 g (average), more than a second quicker than that Bentley. Just listen to associate road test editor Erick Ayapana: 'Way better than I expected. Turn-in is so fast and crisp. I expected this to be front heavy, but this is a very balanced car.'
On and off the track, we found the Aston is at its best with delicate steering and pedal inputs. Finesse the car, and it will deliver world-class performance and rotate the tail out if that's what you're after. At the same time, it never feels as small as Aston's own Vantage. Some cars hide their weight remarkably well, but that's not the case for the 4,334-pound Vanquish. The V-12 GT car weighs 456 pounds more than the eight-cylinder Vantage, another Aston with just about perfect 50/50 weight distribution front to rear.
The Vanquish is a thrill to drive, but on tight switchbacks it feels as wide as a Range Rover Sport with its mirrors folded in. Because it is.
Vanquish as a GT Car
For an occasional-use exotic, it seems like you couldn't ask for much more than a design for the ages, a solid driving experience, and a classy interior with fine attention to detail. But we will.
No car that costs $560,700 should make its owner feel uncomfortable on a sunny day. The optional glass roof lacks a simple roller shade or an electrochromic dimming function, the kind you find on some glass-roofed cars these days. Aston tells us the tinted glass shields occupants from UV-A and -B rays and is tinted to allow 6 percent light transmission. That works most of the time, but we'd like more control when the weather is especially hot and sunny.
The other feature every Vanquish needs is a nose-lift system. Imagine pulling up to the raised entrance of a busy hotel valet. While everyone gawks at your Aston Martin, the car's low front end loudly scrapes on the pavement. That wouldn't happen in a Corvette or a 911. In those cars, the feature is even connected to the navigation system so you can mark frequently visited locations, and the car knows exactly where to lift.
Finally, we wouldn't argue with an even more comfortable Comfort drive mode to have the option of occasionally selecting a cushier ride.
V-8 or V-12? Yes.
Awaken the V-12 engine, and its sound immediately communicates power and exclusivity. Very few V-12 engines remain in production, and this one propels the Vanquish to become the most powerful front-engine Aston in history, as well as the fastest with its 214-mph top speed.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all during our time with the Vanquish was how we started daydreaming about a Lexus LC500. What makes an engine sound like beautiful music is subjective, just like actual music. And for me, the naturally aspirated V-8 of the Lexus LC500 is a treasure. The Aston's V-12 is mighty, but it's also turbocharged. The Ferrari 12 Cilindri manages its 800-plus-horsepower experience with no turbos. That translates to an even more stirring aural performance. As we said, it's subjective, and we'll gladly drive them all through our favorite tunnels anytime.
A Worthy Flagship
The best cars deliver a natural high during your first experience with them. What happens next is the real test of automotive goodness. Do you still see its value after realizing that every car has flaws?
In the case of the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish, the answer is a resounding yes. This classic GT car has a few drawbacks, but its true beauty is in the way it simultaneously looks good and inspires you on the road. We hope Aston won't get complacent with this flagship car, as reputations aren't solidified overnight. But the hard work is done, and what a gorgeous way to honor the classic tradition of gas-powered 12-cylinder front-engine GTs.