Aston Martin has a new apex DB. The DB12 S takes the already accomplished DB12 and turns up the focus, the noise and the precision. Think of it less as a track refugee and more as a grand tourer that has been to finishing school for late apexes.
This is a more assertive Aston, and that will divide opinion in the best way. A dual element front splitter visually lowers and widens the car, while bonnet louvres vent the hot V of the 4.0 twin turbo V8. Along the flanks, gloss black sill extensions stretch the stance. The rear is the talking point. A fixed spoiler and a broader diffuser frame stacked quad pipes that look like they were drawn with a thick pencil. Subtle it is not, but it reads as honest performance intent rather than garnish. If you prefer your Aston minimal, this will feel busy. If you want your flagship to announce itself, welcome home.
Aston leans into the S identity with a red anodised drive mode controller that sets the tone for colour accents on belts, stitching and headrests. Trim options range from semi-aniline leather to leather and Alcantara, including duotone and tritone schemes. Get it right and it feels couture. Get carried away and it risks looking overstyled. The 16‑way Sport Plus seats are standard and agreeable on long days, with a Carbon Fibre Performance seat for those who value lateral grip over latte comfort. An optional Alcantara heated steering wheel is a tactile treat. The winged emblem is applied with an emboss and deboss technique that adds depth without shouting.
Numbers first, because they matter here. The hand-built 4.0 litre twin turbo V8 now makes 700 PS at 6000 rpm and 800 Nm between 3000 and 6000 rpm. Officially it will do 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and run to 202 mph. The throttle map is more progressive, so the initial pedal travel feels cleaner and easier to meter. Gearshifts are over 50 percent quicker, which you sense as a snappier hit rather than brutality.
The standard carbon ceramic brakes are a statement. They bring big stopping power and shed 27 kg of unsprung mass, which you feel in the calmer way the chassis breathes over broken surfaces and the added clarity through the wheel. Revised Bilstein DTX damper software, a stiffer rear anti-roll bar and tweaked geometry give the front end more bite and the body better control. The steering is quicker to key in but not nervous, and the electronic rear diff lets you feed in throttle earlier without drama. A corner braking control system tidies trail-braking with predictive smarts that make the car feel like it shrinks around you on a tight road.
The soundtrack has grown a chest. The stainless steel quad-pipe exhaust shapes a deeper voice across the rev range, with an optional titanium system saving 11.7 kg and adding 1.5 dB. On a cold start it will turn heads. At a cruise it hushes enough to hold a conversation.
Aston’s S badge has real lineage, from DB3S to Vanquish S and Vantage S. This latest S sits at the top of the DB tree and joins DBX S and Vantage S in a renewed performance tier. Competitively, it pushes into the territory of Ferrari Roma, Bentley Continental GT Speed and Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo, where character matters as much as capability. The DB12 S answers with drama you can see and polish you can live with. Offered as Coupé and Volante, first deliveries begin Q1 2026.
The DB12 S sharpens the Super Tourer brief without sanding off the Aston soul. It is faster and more alert, yet still composed, with real gains in steering feel and body control. The aero addenda and stacked pipes will not be to every taste, but they suit the brief. If the standard DB12 is the elegant dinner jacket, the S is the same suit with a slimmer cut and louder cufflinks. For many, that will be exactly the point.
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