Aston Martin Valour review

First things first: remember to push the clutch and the brake before prodding the starter button. Aston Martin hasn’t made a production manual since 2016, so this might not come naturally. The V12 wakes up after a long starter-motor whine and settles into a bassy, expensive-sounding idle.

How’s the shift?

The walnut feels warm and welcoming to your hand and though the throw between gears is long, it never gets lost in notches or friction along the way. And – unlike the old seven-speeder – you never worry the springing will seek out the wrong cul de sac and detonate the valvetrain.

That’s just as well given Aston hasn’t built any guardrails into its ode to analogue. Auto-blipping rev-match function? Not here. There isn’t even a ‘what gear am I in?’ indicator on the pixelated digi-dash, nor a patronising ‘please shift up’ eco nanny. Those are all features that’ve become normal in what few worthwhile manuals are left. It’s amazing how little you miss them when they’re not there.

Does the Valour suit being a manual?

The Valour’s the first opportunity we’ve ever had to sample this twin-turbo V12 and wow, do you notice the turbo lag now your relationship with the power band is DIY. This gives you options. Get stuck in and work the transmission to go truffling for the boost? Or simply sit back, leave it in fourth and let the V12 haul? Either way, it’s fast. At 4,000rpm the massive powerplant comes on song and the Valour surges.

We asked Aston’s engineers if they could’ve pushed this vast motor further: after all it’ll develop in excess of 820bhp in the imminent Vanquish, which will cost a quarter as much as the Valour. Their opaque response was “power delivery from the engine has been tuned to suit the manual transmission, developed in partnership with Graziano.” The Italians also did Victor’s gearbox, which could cope with 614lb ft.

But like we said this isn’t a car which goads you to thrash it, because it always feels like it’s got a tunnel boring machine’s worth of torque in reserve, and the noise isn’t all top end and no trousers. Muffled by turbos, the V12 actually sounds most melodious when hauling hard from low down. On the outside, the triplet-exhaust has been tuned for a more rapturous start-up.

How’s the handling?

Aston’s spent longer on this than you might have expected. New shear panels front and rear. Stiffer fuel tank mounts. Coding for the adaptive dampers and power steering has been remapped. Often, this sort of revamp is accomplished in the name of finding lap time, but the Valour is a fantastic road car. It flows with bends, crests and dips, instead of trying to put it in a headlock.

But you don’t arrive at a corner and commit to carrying as much speed as you dare. The sense of mass in the nose is immense. Take your time aiming the huge bonnet into the corner. Slow-in, fast-out works for the Valour. Savour the moment, it’s a rare treat.