King of the hills: Aston Martin Vanquish vs Ferrari 12Cilindri

Winter is coming. That’s what they say. The doomed tone has grown darker with every passing year. In the quest to reduce emissions there are fines levied, new generations of EVs launched to save us from ourselves and a trail of closed factories. Hot hatches once thrived and now they’re an endangered species. Sports cars are built in tiny numbers not because of demand but so as not to hurt fleet average emissions. Supercars have gone hybrid or electric just to survive. And are dying in the process. The cold, bleak outlook is scarier than a White Walker soaring overhead on a freshly reanimated dragon.

And yet today the sun seems warmer than usual. Italy seems even more beautiful. The Gran Sasso massif shimmers and the rolling hills and plains it oversees are lush greens and vivid yellows. The days might be short this time of year, but they are a wonder to behold. Did I mention the roads? Bumpy and weather beaten in places but flowing, varied and wonderfully challenging. Empty, too. Winter can wait. The long summer around these parts is hanging in there.

It’s the perfect location for our two protagonists. Cars that have emerged from the deep freeze of Euro 7 requirements and the stuttering march towards an electric future completely unscathed. Here we are looking down the barrel of 2025 with two brand new super GTs, each powered by 12 cylinders in a vee formation, unencumbered by heavy batteries and electric motors and exemplifying the cherished days of excess and indulgence. If they weren’t so bloody fast and enthralling I might even pause to shed a tear.

Photography: Jonny Fleetwood

What a grudge match. Aston Martin Vanquish versus Ferrari 12Cilindri. Although, to be honest it doesn’t really feel like a contest. As time goes on the idea that cars like this are deadly rivals fades... I imagine Ferrari engineers nodding in appreciation that Aston Martin has developed an all new 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine for the Vanquish. Just as I’m sure that Aston’s staff look on at the Ferrari’s normally aspirated 6.5-litre that revs to 9,500rpm and tip their hats in tribute. Perhaps they compete for the same audience, but to me they’re almost brothers in arms. Don’t worry, we will choose a winner but my intention is to enjoy these moments rather than just agonise over which one is best.

Living in the moment shouldn’t be hard. Just look at these cars. The Vanquish – now with an 80mm longer wheelbase and even more finely sculpted lines – is classically beautiful yet conveys a raw energy. Rarely has elegance looked so, well, horny. It’s indecent. The mechanical ingredients promise to match the aesthetic, too. That new engine produces a fulsome 823bhp and 738lb ft, delivered through an eight-speed automatic transaxle with integrated e-diff to the rear wheels. Bespoke new Pirelli tyres are said to focus on ride comfort, noise insulation and traction.

The previous model, the DBS Superleggera, leaned heavily on its traction control and was wickedly overpowered but could also feel like the chassis wasn’t a match for the engine’s bloodcurdling stonk. So as well as the carefully developed tyres, there’s also a new torque management system which tweaks and tailors the engine’s power curve not only by gear, but also depending on whether you’re in Wet, GT, Sport or Sport+ mode. It costs from £330,000.

The Ferrari is different. It very definitely channels the untouchable and classical Daytona with the distinctive front light treatment, but the proportion and detailing is more provocative. Less beautiful, certainly. However, the shape does come together in person and on the road it has a retro sci-fi presence that’s hard to resist. Even in Hangover Pee Yellow. Or Giallo Montecarlo as it’s called in Italian.

Pore over the spec sheet and in-depth press kit and the Ferrari continues the sci-fi theme. It has magnetic dampers, Side Slip Control 8.0, an eight-speed dual clutch gearbox and e-diff, Active Torque Shaping, Virtual Short Wheelbase 3.0 (rear wheel steering), ABS-Evo, active aerodynamics and lots more besides. But, of course, all of this is to deploy, enhance and celebrate the main event, a 6.5-litre V12 of ferocious potency. The ultimate iteration of the F140 family, which started with the Ferrari Enzo back in 2002, it produces 819bhp at 9,250rpm and 500lb ft at 7,250rpm. The 12Cilindri is a lot. Of everything. Customers will far exceed the starting price of £336,500.

Yet, on first acquaintance Maranello’s new dynamic monument to the wonder that is the V12 engine – the bedrock of the entire Ferrari legend – is strangely subdued. We sneak away from the hotel early, trickle through town and have a short blast on the autostrada before heading up towards Gran Sasso. The Ferrari rides rather beautifully and it’s so quiet. At UK motorway speeds there’s the hum of tyres, a little rush of wind noise around the top of the windscreen but almost no engine noise at all. You’d be hard pressed to guess this car is powered by a V12 in this environment.

No doubt some of this is due to particulate filters and other legislation, but the murmurs that Ferrari has tried to shift this car’s character from the wild old ways of the 812 Superfast to a more GT oriented experience are ringing very true. From the ride quality to the calmer steering response, the reduction in aural stimulation to the less rabid power delivery, the 12Cilindri is a different animal to its predecessor. The 812 Superfast was a red-blooded supercar in a refined GT shape. It followed the old ways with its front engine/rear drive layout but was as sharp, uncompromising and wild as anything on four wheels. Perhaps the 12Cilindri will reveal this side later, but I can’t pretend I’m not slightly crestfallen that you have to go looking for what was once so vivid and ever present.

On similar roads, the Vanquish is refined, too. It doesn’t ride with quite the same grace and it feels a bigger, slightly more intimidating machine. But the Vanquish’s direction of travel is the exact opposite of the 12Cilindri’s. It’s taken a hugely charismatic, monstrously powerful but slightly blunt GT predecessor and honed its responses to deliver a much more supercar sharp driving experience.

The end result is immediately enchanting. The Vanquish has retained the unstoppable force vibe that only the best front engined GT cars can summon but there’s very clearly a new edge and a greater clarity to the dynamics. Around town the V12 is ever present – there’s ample refinement but the complex, cultured and smooth delivery is unmistakable – and when joining the autostrada the Vanquish sounds thrilling, angry and pure despite having two turbochargers. Picture how you might expect something like a Pagani Utopia to sound. That’s the Vanquish. Exotic, expensive and slightly outrageous.

It’s a wonderful place to be, too. The Ferrari is simple and has a certain chic elegance to the interior, but its bones still feel more supercar than GT. I love the low scuttle and the way the front wings frame the road. There’s a real sense of focus. However, the Aston counters with a much more palpable sense of craftsmanship. The materials are more sumptuous, the detailing more meticulously considered. Plus, the Aston’s mix of touchscreen and physical buttons is vastly better than the 12Cilindri’s arrangement, which has backed off from the hell of the SF90/296 GTB haptic-only UI with the addition of a central touchscreen, but remains a frustrating compromise. By the time we reach the foothills of the Gran Sasso national park, the Aston is proving irresistible.

This is home territory for the Ferrari, though. Lighter (by a substantial 214kg at 1,560kg dry with lightweight options fitted), more compact, weaponised with that incredibly trick rear wheel steering that works on each side independently and a dizzying array of electronics, this is where Ferrari’s super GT effortlessly becomes very, very super and leaves Aston’s feeling out of its depth. That’s the way it’s always been.

It is utterly magical. As the road rises, bunches up and then flows across this landscape, the 12Cilindri ups its game. It feels bizarrely small and light, the gearbox is an instrument of absolute precision, and the car manages to feel extremely alert and responsive but still calm and intuitive. It takes a matter of moments to twist the manettino into Race or even CT Off mode, such is the confidence the 12Cilindri breeds. The electronics, coupled to the engine’s stunningly accurate and linear power delivery, allow you to revel in the natural balance. You can sense how far back the V12 is pushed in the chassis by the turn-in response and incredible resistance to understeer. There’s fantastic traction too, helped by the fact there are no turbochargers giving a huge boost of torque. But, there’s still the small matter of 819bhp to play with. Like oversteer? You’ll like the 12Cilindri. And you’ll love the subtlety of the e-diff and stability and traction control systems. What a way to hurtle through this stunning landscape.

And yet I’m not getting the pure, unbridled joy that I did from the old 812 Superfast. The savagery is missing. The breathless response. The sharp-edged noise and even the eye widening, brain scrambling performance. The 12Cilindri is faster than an 812 Superfast. But it never feels as manic or maniacal. It would be wrong to say that the 12Cilindri has been dumbed down as this is such a high quality, beautifully resolved car. But considering it’s named after its engine, there’s no question the V12 is less central to the whole experience than it once was. In pursuing a more rounded proposition, some of the magic has been suppressed.

The killer factor over the Ferrari is that the Vanquish has just the right amount of edge

It’s almost as if Aston Martin sensed this opportunity was coming and threw everything at the Vanquish to capitalise. Even so, there are some ways in which the Vanquish is comprehensively beaten by the Ferrari. The eight-speed gearbox, for example, is a very good auto box. But it feels treacly compared with the Ferrari’s razor sharp dual clutch. The brakes have a longer travel and offer less consistency than the 12Cilindri’s, and the big Aston doesn’t quite match the outright agility of the deft Ferrari. 

Yet none of it matters. The Aston is outrageous. Unstoppable. Its 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged engine has phenomenal response and torque, but also builds to a fearsome crescendo. The Vanquish is so fast that you don’t just mindlessly pin the throttle. Ever. You squeeze it, mete out the performance as best you can and, occasionally, dare yourself to actually reach for the rev limiter. Very few cars feel this rampant and yet the sheer straight line theatre is matched by a chassis blessed with remarkable traction and balance. The killer factor over the Ferrari is the Vanquish has just the right amount of edge to make exploring its outer limits a thing to relish and fear in equal measure. It’s mannered but not tamed or sanitised.

On these spectacular roads the suspension is at its best in the middle setting, everything else ramped up to Sport+. Disable the stability control and you unlock an adjustable traction control system that works like a volume control for wheel slip. It defaults to 5 and you can turn it down for more intervention, or dial it up for more excitement. Levels 7 and 8 still attempt to refine your inputs but allow enough slip for tyre smoke. One more click and you’re on your own. I would recommend it. But only after a long period of acclimatisation and – if you’re really lucky – the certain knowledge that this isn’t your car or your Pirellis.

Driven unshackled, the Vanquish is quite an extraordinary thing. It doesn’t shrink like the Ferrari but its character and venomous performance make it grow in stature. It’s an odd feeling. You’re intimately involved in the process of making the Vanquish move but also get to look on in awed wonder. Swept along by the performance on offer, agog that you can hustle and cajole a car this big and powerful with such economy of movement and stunned that its poise remains even under the most intense scrutiny. It’s phenomenal. Truly. A car built around the virtues of a V12 engine but determined to do so much more than pay homage to tradition. It is more of an event than the Ferrari. More alive. More joyous. More optimistic. It’s also a landmark for Aston Martin. Let’s hope this is the start of a long, hot summer for this often troubled company.