Icing. Meet cake.
Here, the yummy, triple-layer chocolate confection is Aston Martin’s divine, tastebud-tingling DB12 Coupe.
The icing, or some say frosting, is the new DB12 S. That’s “S” as in sensational, maybe seductive, or just plain stellar.
The British maker has a long-standing tradition of adding an “S” badge to it’s flagship models. There’s already a Vantage S and DBX S, though so far no new Vanquish S; I guess it’s hard to improve on a twin turbo V12 packing 824 horsepower.
The DB12 S does get a few more beans. The standard Mercedes-AMG-sourced twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 sees a useful, though hardly significant, 19 hp power hike – from 671 hp to 690.
That reduces the sprinting time from zero to 60 mph by a whole tenth of a second. So 3.5 seconds, down to 3.4. In the supercar world, every little counts.
But the “S” is enhanced with some meaningful hardware upgrades. Like new a exhaust. Now at the rear, there’s a visually-alluring quartet of stacked, oversized tailpipes that give the engine a deeper, throatier sound. Think Barry White instead of Barry Manilow.
There are a few suspension tweaks too, with slightly thicker anti-roll bars and re-tuned steering and dampers to sharpen the handling even further.
And whereas the hugely-desirable carbon ceramic brakes are an option on the regular DB12, the “S” gets them as standard, saving a non-trivial 60 pounds of weight. Jenny Craig would be proud.
As for visual changes, they’re limited to a few “S” badges dotted around the body, new winglets on each end of the front spoiler, and those four tailpipes instead of two.
In the Porsche world, all these mods, however minor, would probably add $30,000 to 40,000 to the sticker. But for some reason, Aston Martin charges a mere $14,000 for that “S” upgrade. I say “mere” because this new DB12 S costs a non-trivial $276,000. $14,000? That’s the cost of the optional, eye-popping Synapse Orange paintwork.
My point here is why would any Aston buyer chose the standard DB12 – which is still being offered – over the much more capable, more potent, and Barry White, basso profundo DB12 S? They wouldn’t.
I wouldn’t either. Spending a week with this British beefcake showed how this evolution-rather-than-revolution makeover makes this latest DB even more desirable, even more seductive than ever. And I haven’t even mentioned the way this thing looks.
Just gaze at those lines and you risk heart palpitations and elevated endorphins, with a rush of adrenaline.
That mile-long hood, the slammed-back windshield and rear fenders surely modeled off Alan “Reacher” Ritchson’s bulging biceps. Then there’s that grille; a Shakespearean sonnet couldn’t do justice describing that iconic pout.
Climb aboard and slump into that body-hugging driver’s seat and you sit way low in the cocooning cockpit, with high doors and a tall center console giving it a true fighter-jet feel.
As always, the quality and craftsmanship, the exquisite detailing, is just glorious. The tactile joy you get sitting here, fondling the semi-aniline leather, gripping that overly-thick steering wheel, is immense.
Press that big, red anodized “start” button that takes center stage on the console, pull back the surprisingly tiny, flap-like shift lever and the Aston surges off the line.
It’s still a grand tourer at heart, so there are no histrionics unless you command them. In GT mode, it all feels relaxed and super-refined, the big V8 burbling away somewhere off in the distance.
Yet all it takes is a switch to Sport, or better still, Sport+ drive mode, plus a prodigious prod of the throttle, for the twin-turbo V8 to deliver its magic.
The slingshot thrust, the wall of sound, the sheer punch-to-the-gut acceleration, is truly mesmerizing. And addictive. No, it’s not an electric Lucid Air Sapphire, or Rivian R1S Tri. But it’s way more immersive.
While you’d need a racetrack, or at least a Colorado mountain road, to discover the outer limits of the Aston’s handling prowess, this new “S” certainly carves Florida curves with poise, balance and Lionel Messi-like agility. There’s endless grip and real steering precision.
Maybe the only car better than this DB12 S Coupe is the convertible Volante version. That’s like having your chocolate cake and eating it too.
